40% of all insect species have declined globally in recent decades, and a third of those are considered endangered. The impacts that wild insects have on our lives are incalculable, while the benefit to humanity by domesticated honeybees is measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
With this decline in insect populations, including the bees that pollinate our food, what can we do? Searching for answers and to understand what was leading to a bee decline, several years ago I reached out to Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp, a research scientist and associate professor of entomology at the University of Maryland and the former Chief apiarist for Pennsylvania to find out more.
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In this newly edited and re-mastered conversation, Dennis shares what he’s learned investigated bee die-offs ever since Dave Hackenberg, a Pennsylvania beekeeper, first reported large colony losses in 2006, which lead to the coining of the term and research into the condition, of colony collapse disorder. During this conversation, Dennis also talks about the ongoing loss of bee colonies in the United States and elsewhere—which continue even now, years after this conversation—and the role of bees as pollinators in our food supply, and what we can do to support honeybees and native pollinators.
You can find out more about his work by watching his TED talk, “A Plea for Bees.” There you will also find more information on what we can do to create pollinator habitats and more research into what is harming bees.
In addition to those resources, I also recommend listening to my interview with Owen Wormser on Turning Lawns into Meadows so you have even more tools to get rid of grass, tear up the lawn, and create space for the insects of the world.
Listening to this conversation with fresh ears, I enjoy the precise and technical conversation regarding the research and issues surrounding bees, while what we talk about remains accessible. For all of his work and research, Dennis clearly communicates what is happening so we can understand what to do and take action while allowing his love and passion for bees to come through.
As Dennis described the co-evolution of flowers and pollinators reminded me of the beauty of nature, why I love permaculture and remain hopeful in a world that feels ever more chaotic, and how each of us can care for our little space to build a better world that includes habitat for pollinators and the other-than-human-life that also call this world home.
Would you be interested in a live stream about creating a permaculture-based pollinator garden? Let me know about that or any other topics to cover in an upcoming broadcast by leaving a comment in the show notes.
Until the next time, spend each day caring for our pollinators, while taking care of Earth, your self, and each other.