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