How inviting native bees into your yard can support food security
when i tell people i keep bees in my
suburban backyard they usually respond
with
bees why on earth would you do that that
is exactly how i reacted when family
friends of mine bought a native beehive
now i like honey as much as the next
person but not enough to invite swarms
of stinging insects to my home
so i decided to find out why increasing
numbers of people think it’s such a good
idea
and i discovered that the answer has
nothing to do with honey
and everything to do with pollination
pollination
is the act of transferring pollen grains
from the male anther of a flower to the
female stigma
basically it ensures a plant can
reproduce by producing good quality
fruit and seeds
the majority of plants including the
ones we depend on for food rely on
pollination
for some species this all occurs on the
one plant
pollen is transferred from the male to
the female organs because conveniently
they have both
and this is called self-pollination but
for some species they don’t have both
the male and the female organs and so
they rely on animals
and specifically insects to transfer
pollen from the male to the female
flower
and this is called cross-pollination the
animals and insects involved in
cross-pollination are known as
pollinators
and they don’t go around intentionally
seeking to pollinate things
plants attract them with delicious
scents and pollen and their
cross-pollination occurs as a happy
accident
as they travel from plant to plant
foraging for food
it is estimated that 65 of flowering
plants rely on insects for pollination
and this number is even higher among
crops typically associated with food
production
so pollination is incredibly important
not just for our ecosystems but also for
food security across the globe
but there’s a problem pollinator numbers
are decreasing at an alarming rate
all over the world while i didn’t like
the idea of millions of species becoming
extinct
until recently i hadn’t understood what
this meant or fully appreciated just
how big of an issue it really is in the
face of global warming and melting ice
caps
losing insects seemed fairly
insignificant
however tired of never being able to do
anything about these enormous global
issues
i decided to start small i did some
investigation into native bees
and eventually bought my own hive what i
now know
is that bees are australia’s unsung
heroes
thanks to bees which pollinate the
majority of our crops
australia is one of the few countries in
the world that is agriculturally
self-sufficient
which for an isolated island continent
is extremely important
never has this been more evident than
during the current coronavirus crisis
but our ability to trade with foreign
nations is limited
so far australia has avoided
catastrophic food shortages
because unseen and unthanked bees were
working to pollinate our crops and save
us from disaster
2 two-thirds of our crops are pollinated
by european honeybees
which is not a native species this means
that the food security of our country
relies on the survival
of a single foreign species so how is
said species going in 2020
well this is a varroa mite no bigger
than a pinhead and the most devastating
honeybee pest in the world
varroa mites are parasitic bugs that
feed off european honeybees and cause
the collapse of entire hives
they have decimated honeybee populations
all over the globe
and are present on every continent
except australia
when varamites arrived in new zealand in
the early 2000s
ninety percent of the local european
honeybee population was lost
australian bee researchers have
acknowledged that despite our best
efforts
it’s unlikely australia will remain free
from varroa
it’s coming we just don’t know when and
when this pest arrives it will be almost
impossible to eradicate
and is predicted based on statistics
from other affected countries
to decimate up to 95 of our introduced
european honeybee population
if you still aren’t concerned china is a
prime example of how damaging pollinator
loss can be
a decrease in pollinators has forced
some farmers to hand pollinate their
crops
every individual flower could you
imagine
pollinating every stalk of wheat in a
wheat field
well this is what it would take to
maintain our wheat industry which
provides essential staples to families
every day
if european honeybees were to suddenly
disappear
now you might be wondering why i bought
a native beehive if european honeybees
pollinate so many of our crops
well as it turns out native bees could
be the salvation to our pollinator
problem
australia is home to over 1700 species
of native pollinator
some of which are native bees which
researchers believe to be unaffected by
the varroa mite
furthermore studies of native
pollinators have found that in most
cases
they were more effective at pollinating
fruit and vegetable crops than the
european honeybees were
this is due to their ability to buzz
pollinate basically
they vibrate their bodies at a specific
frequency to release the pollen in
flowers
some fruit and vegetables such as tomato
and eggplant can only be externally
pollinated through buzz pollination
a study by dr katja hogendorn from
adelaide university school of
agriculture
found that a native pollinator
pollinated a loosened crop
33 times more efficiently than the
european honeybees did
and after a global study lucas garivaldi
stated
that wild insects improved fruit yield
twice as much
as the european honeybees did there is
no doubt that native bees have enormous
potential as our next champion
pollinator
unfortunately their numbers are
dwindling due to intensive farming
practices
habitat loss bushfires and pesticide use
this is where we come in helping native
bees along
starts at home whether you live suburban
or rurally by buying native beehives and
introducing them to your local
environment
you will develop the proliferation of
wild bee nests which will pollinate not
only backyards
parkland and native plants but also the
wide range of crops grown in australia
unfortunately many people just don’t
understand how important these species
are
and even when they do they might think
that they don’t have the space
all the time to become the part-time
keepers of insects with a notoriously
painful sting
thankfully native bees are the perfect
partners for modern households
and there are so many benefits for
keeping them in urban areas
here are the top five reasons native
bees are the most low maintenance
environmentally friendly and delightful
pets you’ll ever own
one they require no work at all
you literally have to do nothing other
than buy the hive
choose a spot and let it go you’ll have
to put neither time
money nor energy into caring for them
they are the ultimate low maintenance
pet
two they don’t sting forget white
jumpsuits face masks and gloves there is
no danger around native bees
they aren’t as aggressive as honeybees
and most importantly
they don’t have stingers 3. they are the
pet that never dies
well collectively bees are constantly
renewing their hives and their queens
- they can go almost anywhere
it doesn’t matter where you live or what
your backyard looks like
high rise townhouse farm community
gardens school you name it
and they can live there on top of this
they are also unobtrusive
and unlike many other insects won’t
invade your personal space
and five they will improve the vitality
of the local environment
and produce small amounts of honey plus
they are super friendly
fascinating and cute so buy a native
beehive
like i did or if you prefer and you’re
handy with wood
make one and you will increase the
number of essential species
pollinating our gardens parks and crops
you’ll reduce the threat of food
insecurity and have a cute and friendly
pet that makes your garden look good and
asks nothing of you in return
many of you can do this today all you
need to do is look up native beehives
and native beekeepers on the net
hives range in cost and appearance so
you might like to browse around a bit
before you make a choice
but the most important thing is to get
started
native pollinators are the way of the
future for australia’s agricultural
industry
in australia we are so incredibly
fortunate to have such a diverse native
bee population
and the ability to put in place
safeguards before disaster strikes
how lucky are we to have the rare chance
to do something that will make a
difference
in a world where it is so hard to make
change
so go out buy a native beehive and start
singing the praises of the homegrown
heroes
feeding australia from your backyard
you