Protecting bees: New discoveries and Innovations
Sep 27
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Without pollination life on Earth would be radically different, it is essential to the production of fruits, vegetables, oils, nuts and seeds. Almost 21,000 bee species are known to science and many more remain undiscovered. It’s a race against time to discover more species as habitat loss and climate change threaten bee survival. Pollinators including bees affect 35 percent of global agricultural land, supporting the production of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide. Pollination-dependent crops are generally five times more valuable than those that do not need pollination. In addition to their role as pollinators beekeeping for honey also provides an important source of income for many rural livelihoods. Unfortunately, bee populations have been declining globally over recent decades due to habitat loss, intensive farming practices, changes in weather patterns and the excessive use of pesticides.
However, it is not all doom and gloom we are still discovering new and diverse bee species and multiple innovators are working on helping protect bees, some even putting them to work at more than just pollination.
New wild bee species are being discovered globally
A new bee species, Hoplitis onosmaevae, belonging to the genus Hoplitis which are mason, leafcutter and resin bees was discovered in the French Alps and parts of Turkey and Iraq, the bee exhibits unique ecological adaptations and faces conservation challenges due to its highly specialized habitat requirements. Hoplitis onosmaevae is currently found exclusively in the Mercantour National Park in the French Alps and mountainous regions in Turkey and Northern Iraq. The distance of more than 2000 km between these areas highlights a significant biogeographical disconnect between the population. Onosmaevae demonstrates unique ecological characteristics such as its nesting behaviour in dead wood. The Bee is presumed to only harvest pollen from Onosma species, it has a long proboscis, which is likely an adaptation to collect nectar from the long-tubed flowers of this genus. The unique distribution of Hoplitis onosmaevae has important implications for conservation. The species likely has a very narrow ecological niche, making it highly susceptible to future changes in its habitats, for example, due to changes in agricultural practices or to climate change.
Eight more species of bee have also been discovered in Fiji, French Polynesia and Micronesia. These belong to the masked six were in Fiji, one in French Polynesia and another in Micronesia. The method of discovery is expected to yield more discoveries in the future. There are many pollinators in the forest, however, scientific research tends focus on bees living closer to the ground. This sampling bias may be replicated across much of the world. For example:, Pharohylaeus lactiferus (a cloaked bee), was also recently found in the canopy after 100 years in hiding. There is however a simple reason for this bias, sampling in the canopy is physically challenging. Strength and skill are required to sweep a long, heavy nets and poles through the treetops. Sampling efforts are limited to forest edges, where branches won’t tangle the nets. However, the researchers’ efforts were rewarded and eight new bee species were discovered, all in the Hylaeus genus. These are mostly black with yellow or white highlights on their faces, giving them the name masked bees. Hylaeus appear to rely exclusively on the forest canopy. This behaviour is unusual and has rarely been identified in bees before. It may make them vulnerable to land clearing, cyclones and climate change. This means more work is needed to uncover the secrets hidden in these dense tropical treetops. Forest-dwelling bees evolved for thousands of years alongside native plants, and play unique and important roles in nature. Studying these species can help us better understand bee evolution, diversity and conservation. It is not yet known how many new Hylaeus species exist in the South Pacific, or the routes they took to get to there, but it is suspected there are many more.
AI to protect bees
The firm ‘Beewise Technology’ has set up a project called ‘BeeHome’, integrating computer vision, AI and robotics as well as automatic climate and pest control.
Usually, in traditional wooden box colonies, by the time a virus or parasite has been detected in a hive, it may be too late to act. This system uses AI-driven sensors quickly detect if there has been an infestation or any unusual activity. The automated alert means there is a higher chance of timely intervention.
The set up is an apiary which can house between 20 and 40 hives. Each hive is divided off from the others, with a corridor in the middle to house the robotic mechanisms and sensory technology. The system can automatically feed and water the bees, treat pests and even change temperature and humidity. It is also able to sense the amount of honey and pollen in each hive. Beewise Technology have also developed an app for farmers, which provides information about pollination in their field or orchard.
A second job for bees
Bee vectoring is a new application technology rolling out across America’s main berry growing regions. The concept was first established at the University of Guelph in the 1990s.
Biocontrol agents are diluted in powder-based diluent and placed in dispensers. The dispensers are either in the form of cartridges that snap into specially constructed bumblebee hives or they are mounted onto honeybee hives. The bees pass through the dispensers when they leave the hives and the biocontrol agents clings to their body hairs and are carried with them when they fly off to collect pollen or nectar from flowers. Bees pick up small particles that contain biocontrol agents as they leave their hive and spread them to flowering crops. It can be used with any flowering crop that uses bees for pollination. Once they land it rubs off onto the flower, where it protects the blossom from pathogens. Other pollinators can then spread it further.
Bee Vector Technology in Ontario, has a system registered by the EPA for field use in America’s main berry growing regions. Their system delivers Clonostachys rosea strain BVT-CR7 combined with a diluent called Vectorite, directly to the source of the infection on the flowers in order to combat grey mold. As it is so targeted, it reduces product waste, potentially up to 98% over the course of the blooming season. It can also reduce the machinery, fuel, water, and hourly costs associated with spraying fungicides.
Bee vectoring is simple to use and only a slight variation from what producers using bees for pollination are already doing. Growers have reported 28 to 30 percent higher yields in blueberries because the diameter of berries on treated plants are 10 to 11 percent bigger than those in conventional spray programs.
Sources:
https://alpineentomology.pensoft.net/article/118039/
Secrets in the canopy: scientists discover 8 striking new bee species in the Pacific (theconversation.com)
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