Honeybee - An indicator of Human Survival

 

Imagine what would happen-

- If someday your favourite fruits- apples, mangoes, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, peaches, grapes, oranges vanish from Earth?

- If your brain food- 'almonds' are no more available?

- If there is no COFFEE?

- If there are no potatoes and tomatoes?

- If there are no carrots, beans and pumpkins?

...and the above may happen one day, if there are no bees!!! Yes, it's true !!!

Either we know honeybee for its delicious honey or for its venomous sting. But, honeybees are indispensable for human race survival!!!

Honeybees, scientifically, belong to the genus Apis. Their main food is nectar and pollen. While foraging for their food, they transfer pollen from one plant to another. Pollination is an ecological and vital phenomenon for reproduction and diversification of natural flora and honeybees, alongwith some other bees, are the major pollinators of all the crops across the world. Honeybees and other wild bees, together, pollinate about one third of all the world's crops. Increased visitation of honeybees and other bees on various plants/crops, increases their yields by great numbers.(source: Overview of bee pollination)

Due to extensive pesticide and fertiliser use, habitat damage and global warming, the bee population is declining at an alarming rate. If it continues we have to survive only on rice, wheat, corn and grains because cereal crops and grains are not pollinated by bees. 

But would our plate be colourful and healthy with just rice and daal?

Any colour on our plate of food is due to 'bees'. Be it tomatoes or capsicums and carrots or pumpkins. Imagine our fruit platter without apples, mangoes, berries, blueberries, watermelons, strawberries, kiwis, oranges and expensive but humble avocado. It would be too bland without them. 'Coffee and Cocoa-free world' would be scary for the majority of the population.

The list is long.

Technological advancements in science have found a number of ways of artificial pollination. Vibrators can be a good substitute for honeybees wherein vibrators let the pollen to detach from the flower and land on it, which in turn can be used to spread the pollen to other flowers. RoboBee (categorically mini drones) by Harvard scientists is another invention to replicate bee pollination though it has a wider function in environment monitoring and search-and-rescue operations too. Another interesting development is Soap bubble pollination (iScience)- soap bubbles containing pollen can be directionally flown off by soap-making devices or bubble guns on respective plants. In addition, soap bubbles are delicate and don't damage the flowers. 

Above few advancements are a sign that we may be able to replicate our natural pollinators but any artificial technique being implemented requires huge precision, is expensive and labour intensive. In addition, as a robot can never be a cent percent human, in the same way, the relation between nature and its organisms can never be replicated like in the original ecosystem. Saving these little buzzing creatures is far more cheaper and nature friendly. As humans and robots can't be same on emotional quotient, we never know, how would our 'living' plants be sensitized with artificial devices. The results may be drastic on either end.

So what should be the plan of action?

Though on individual level, we cannot do enough to save honeybees. We can't have a beehive in our lobbies, gardens or terraces. But on a wider scale, we can educate people about the importance of flowering plants as bee habitats. Rapidly decreasing green cover is the root cause of almost any major problem on our planet Earth. The only thing world needs today is sustainable development but within the limits of 'NATURE'.