The Bees' Needs

Nature's Genius - collage

I did a quick search of my blog and to my astonishment discovered that I've never written about Donna Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries.  Then it's about time that I do. First, I have to say this is one series that I haven't gotten bored with. Over the years I have encountered mystery series that have gotten predictable with their plot lines, but Leon has managed to keep her novels fresh with a variety of themes imbedded in her work, most recently those that center around nature and ecological issues (Guardian article - "Why I became an eco-detective writer).

Leon's novels have provided me with an armchair trip to Venice where Guido Brunetti lives and works as a Commissario in the police force. He is married to Paola, a professor of English literature with a focus on the works of Henry James, and father to a son and daughter. Leon gives us insight to Brunetti's character through his interactions with his family. His has a strong and loving marriage and manages to parent fairly successfully his teenagers. Oh and Paola manages to have time to cook these wonderful family meals (there's even a cookbook).

The newest in the series, Earthly Remains, finds Brunetti in need of a break from the job. On the advice of his doctor he takes two weeks off from work. Paola's uncle has a villa on an island in the Venetian lagoon where Brunetti goes to be by himself to read, swim, and row. The caretaker, Davide Casati, turns out to be an old friend of Brunetti's late father, and the two men take to rowing daily. While out in the lagoon, Casati shows Brunetti the habitats of birds and animals, and the tiny mounds of land where Casati raises bees. But the bees are dying.

Bees all around the world have been threatened. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) was first noticed in 2006 here in the United States. This is a huge concern as the honeybee is one of the major pollinators for our food crops - without them we wouldn't eat. Bees can fall victim to parasites like the varroa mite, fungus, changes in the climate, herbicides and pesticides. Leon in her novel focuses of the suspected dumping of toxic substances into the Venetian lagoon which in turn is impacting the bees, lowering the number of species of birds, and increasing the rates of cancer in humans. Her novel is a warning to us about the chemicals we have created - many of which are never tested for safety until there is an issue. Think back to Rachel Carson and her dire warnings against DDT in her book Silent Spring. By the early 1970s the use of DDT was banned here in the States, however, we still produce it for use in other parts of the world.

We need to be cognizant of what the chemicals, which make our lives "easier", are doing to us and our world. There has never been a time to be more concerned about protecting not only the bees, but our water and air resources.

I suggest reading The Beekeeper's Lament by Hannah Nordhaus. I was fascinated to learn about colony collapse disorder, and the major industry that centers around providing bees to farmers in order to pollinate food crops around our country.

The Sweet Life

Bee food - Bee Balm

Very often when we are so caught up in trying to get the "big picture" we can over look the tiny bits. For example, my love of gardening. My garden wouldn't be nearly as beautiful and abundant if I didn't have the assistance of my little pollinating friends the honey bees. My vegetable garden certainly would be empty without them. Let's face it so would the supermarket shelves. We humans often forget the work that nature must carry out in order to provide us with sustenance.

Millions and millions of years ago, angiosperm plants (those that flower) evolved a form of reproduction that required a little help. The gymnosperms had been using the wind for years, but that doesn't always work effectively. Flowers began making nectar as a way of tempting bees and other pollinating insects, birds, and even bats into helping with their sexual relations. The pay off for the pollinator was the delicious nectar, the plant got genetic variety. With time both flowers and their pollinators co-evolved to have a special relationship. Along comes the human who begins to care for the honey bee and our sweet tooth is satisfied. Over the years humans have developed all kinds of tricks for "raising" bees and harvesting their product.

Hannah Nordhaus's The Beekeeper's Lament, was a fascinating read. As a biology/ecology teacher I had been keeping an eye on articles that described the concern over the death of so many bee hives over the past few years. Nordhaus follows the path of John Miller a bee keeper who trucks his hives from one field to another in aid of pollinating major fruit crops. He's not alone. The food industry which is worth billions depends on many people like John to provide bees in order to pollinate vast quantities of fruit and nut crops: almonds, apples, oranges, blueberries, cranberries, to name just a few.

The European honey bee first made it to the shores of the United States with the colonists who needed pollinators familiar with the crops they were bringing with them. The native pollinators had not evolved to pollinate these new and unfamiliar plants. It didn't take long for the European bee to expand its territory from sea to shining sea. Talk about a melting pot. Not only are we a mix of races and cultures, we've brought plants from all over the world to our country.

But it is a tough world out there for the bee. They can be victims of bacterial and fungal infections for which they receive antibiotic or fungicide treatments. Then there is the varroa mite which can over run a hive. Beetles, skunks, and bears will all take their turns raiding a hive. Bees are very susceptible to pesticides and herbicides. And the worst is Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) where bees just abandon the hive for no reason. Many blamed genetically modified crops.

What's so important about this issue? With seven billion of us on the planet and growing, we need a lot of food. In order to get a lot of food, we will need a lot of bees. So what can we do? A growing concern not just for bees but for plants themselves is monoculture. Raising large amounts of a single crop by which we are losing the biodiversity of plants. It turns out bees like variety in their diet, we could probably benefit from the same. The growing number of lawns (pun intended) results in very little food for the bee. What we need to do is to plant meadows with lots of flowering plants to encourage pollinators, and watch out for the amount of pesticides that are applied to our yards. That will benefit the quality of our ground water as well.

What we need most is to regain a sense of our role in the natural world. We spend too much time in the city, in our houses losing connection with our environment. No wonder apocalypse games and movies are so popular - people fear the end when nature will work to over come the damage we've inflicted upon it. Instead let's get out there and repair the damage we've done. As consumers we can help the shift of current agricultural practices by purchasing organic products. Even better learn to grow a vegetable or two in your yard, on the patio, or even your windowsill or front stoop. A tomato plant, cucumber, pot of fresh herbs, it's a thrill to cook up something that you've grown yourself. Nothing like it in the world. Share those excess tomatoes and zucchinis with friends and neighbors. There are plenty of tasty recipes out there on the Internet. Let's be old fashion again and get back to the soil, tend it, nurture it, and love it.