The case of the vanishing honeybees - Emma Bryce
-
0:09 - 0:11There is an environmental mystery afoot,
-
0:11 - 0:13and it begins
with a seemingly trivial detail -
0:13 - 0:18that reveals a disaster
of global proportions. -
0:18 - 0:21One day, you notice that the honey
you slather on your morning toast -
0:21 - 0:22is more expensive.
-
0:22 - 0:24Instead of switching to jam,
-
0:24 - 0:27you investigate the reason
for the price hike. -
0:27 - 0:29What you find is shocking.
-
0:29 - 0:31The number of domesticated
honeybees in the US -
0:31 - 0:35has been decreasing at an alarming rate.
-
0:35 - 0:37This decline appears too big
-
0:37 - 0:40to be explained by the usual causes
of bee death alone: -
0:40 - 0:43disease, parasites or starvation.
-
0:43 - 0:46A typical crime scene
has almost no adult bees left in the hive, -
0:46 - 0:50except, perhaps, a lonely queen
and a few other survivors. -
0:50 - 0:54It's full of untouched food stores
and a brood of unborn larvae, -
0:54 - 0:59suggesting that the adults vacated
without waiting for them to hatch. -
0:59 - 1:01But what's particularly eerie
-
1:01 - 1:05is that there's no tell-tale mass
of dead or dying bees nearby. -
1:05 - 1:07Either they have forgotten
their way back to the hive, -
1:07 - 1:11or they have simply disappeared.
-
1:11 - 1:13These mysterious
disappearances aren't new. -
1:13 - 1:16Humans have been collecting
honey for centuries. -
1:16 - 1:19But it wasn't until European settlers
in the 1600's -
1:19 - 1:21introduced the subspecies,
Apis mellifera, -
1:21 - 1:24that we domesticated bees.
-
1:24 - 1:25Since the 19th century,
-
1:25 - 1:28beekeepers have reported
occasional mass disappearances, -
1:28 - 1:30giving them enigmatic names
-
1:30 - 1:33like disappearing disease,
spring dwindle disease -
1:33 - 1:36and autumn collapse.
-
1:36 - 1:38But when in 2006 such losses
were found to affect -
1:38 - 1:40more than half of all hives in the US,
-
1:40 - 1:43the phenomenon got a new name:
-
1:43 - 1:45colony collapse disorder.
-
1:45 - 1:47The most frightening thing
about this mystery -
1:47 - 1:51isn't that we'll have to go back
to using regular sugar in our tea. -
1:51 - 1:53We farm bees for their honey,
-
1:53 - 1:56but they also pollinate our crops
on an industrial scale, -
1:56 - 2:01generating over 1/3 of America's
food production this way. -
2:01 - 2:04So, how can we find
the culprit behind this calamity? -
2:04 - 2:07Here are three of the possible offenders.
-
2:07 - 2:11Exhibit A: Pests and Disease.
-
2:11 - 2:13Most infamous is the varroa mite,
-
2:13 - 2:17a minuscule red pest that not only
invades colonies and feeds on bees, -
2:17 - 2:20but also transfers pathogens
that stunt bee growth -
2:20 - 2:22and shortens their life span.
-
2:22 - 2:25Exhibit B: Genetics.
-
2:25 - 2:27The queen is the core of a healthy hive.
-
2:27 - 2:30But nowadays, the millions
of queen bees distributed -
2:30 - 2:34in commercial hives are bred
from just a few original queens, -
2:34 - 2:36which raises the worry about
a lack of genetic diversity -
2:36 - 2:41which could weaken bees' defenses
against pathogens and pests. -
2:41 - 2:43Exhibit C: Chemicals.
-
2:43 - 2:46Pesticides used both
on commercial beehives -
2:46 - 2:48and agricultural crops
to ward off parasites -
2:48 - 2:52could be getting into the food
and water that honeybees consume. -
2:52 - 2:54Researchers have even found
that some pesticides -
2:54 - 2:58damage the honeybees' homing abilities.
-
2:58 - 3:00So we have a file full of clues
-
3:00 - 3:02but no clear leads.
-
3:02 - 3:05In reality, scientists,
the actual detectives on this case, -
3:05 - 3:09face disagreement over what causes
colony collapse disorder. -
3:09 - 3:13For now, we assume that
several factors are the cause. -
3:13 - 3:16Honeybees aren't necessarily
in danger of extinction, -
3:16 - 3:20but fewer bees overall means
less pollination and higher food costs, -
3:20 - 3:24so it's crucial that scientists solve
the case of the vanishing bees. -
3:24 - 3:27Because while having less honey
might be a buzzkill, -
3:27 - 3:30crop shortages are something
that would truly sting.
- Title:
- The case of the vanishing honeybees - Emma Bryce
- Speaker:
- Emma Bryce
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-case-of-the-vanishing-honeybees-emma-bryce
In the past decade, the US honeybee population has been decreasing at an alarming and unprecedented rate. While this is obviously bad news for honeypots everywhere, bees also help feed us in a bigger way -- by pollinating our nation's crops. Emma Bryce investigates potential causes for this widespread colony collapse disorder.
Lesson by Emma Bryce, animation by Lillian Chan.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 03:47
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for The case of the vanishing honeybees | ||
Jessica Ruby approved English subtitles for The case of the vanishing honeybees | ||
Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for The case of the vanishing honeybees | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The case of the vanishing honeybees | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The case of the vanishing honeybees | ||
Caroline Cristal edited English subtitles for The case of the vanishing honeybees | ||
Caroline Cristal edited English subtitles for The case of the vanishing honeybees | ||
Caroline Cristal edited English subtitles for The case of the vanishing honeybees |