Who is being told to buzz off?

A new humorous, thought-provoking blog by 'One Thinking Ape' laments the decline of the honey bee. The Dodo, Quagga, Tasmanian Tiger, Passenger Pigeon, Moa and Great Auk. When we talk of extinction, our minds naturally drift to the mighty dinosaurs that once roamed the earth. Their demise is seen as being a potential warning to humankind that we shouldn't get too comfortable on this rock we call home. While the end of the dinosaurs is uncomfortable to contemplate, the more recent extinction of other species of animals is far more chilling. Take the Passenger Pigeon. In the 19th century there were between 1 and 4 billion Passenger pigeons, making up nearly 40% of the total number of birds in North America. The last one, named Martha by the way, died on the first of September, 1914. No more Passenger pigeons, ever again. In less than a hundred years they went from at least one billion to zero, nada, none, naught. We've learnt from our past mistakes, our wanton extermination of species. Today we have the World Wildlife Fund and associated organisations that are making attempts to stem the tide of extinction. There is the endangered species list geared towards the protection of animals in danger of never being seen on this planet ever again. Good news for the Arakan Forest Turtle, Javan Rhino, Brazilian Merganser, Gharial, Blue Whale, Giant Panda, Snow Leopard, African Wild Dog, Tiger, Albatross, Crowned Solitary Eagle, and others. Of course it is not difficult to conjure up public sympathy for the Panda and Snow Leopard. Unfortunately it is more difficult to rally the world population around a little critter that is arguably infinitely more important to us that some other animals, and its decline may herald our own doom. I am talking about the bee, more specifically the honey bee. Honey bees are generally known for four things; buzzing, stinging, pollination and honey. Let's take the first, buzzing. Bees buzz, because they are winged insects. People do not like insects, note the number and different brands of spray insecticide cans on the shelves of your local supermarket. Bees also sting, using their self defence mechanism when in danger. It is a selfless act, one employed in defence of the hive rather than the single bee. The act of defending the hive leaves the bee dead, giving its life and sting to protect others. A noble act. Unfortunately the sting hurts us, and we don't like pain. To compound matters, some individuals are allergic to the sting's venom, going into anaphylactic shock and possibly dying from a single sting. On the positive side, bees pollinate. Still, we live in a world where the food and products we consume no longer bear any resemblance to their natural ingredients. The Big Mac, chocolate bars, and even the green salad do not reflect the role our friend the bee played in delivering such goods to our table. Lastly we have honey. Honey harvesting can be historically dated back to at least 2100 B.C., mentioned in Sumerian and Babylonian cuneiform writings. It might be much, much older. A natural sweetener and energy deliverer, now replaced by refined sugars and artificial sweeteners. How many kids would choose a spoonful of honey over a 'toasted nuts on a bed of caramel cream all covered with a layer of our finest chocolate, then double-dipped in chocolate chips before being sprinkled with icing sugar'? It is much easier to sell panda toys and accessories than bees. Well, real bees. There might be movies and plush toys depicting the little insects, but they are just cartoon reflections of reality. Which are you more likely to try to do, swat a bee with a rolled up newspaper or try and hug the panda that absent-mindedly wandered into your living room? Why? Well, you are more likely to encounter the bee than the panda, so I guess this fear of bees disappearing is just another jumped up fallacy. Wrong. Ever heard of Colony collapse disorder (CCD) or sometimes honey bee depopulation syndrome (HBDS)? It is real. It refers to the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of bee hive colonies. Although this phenomenon has occurred throughout the history of bee-keeping, the alarming rise in such occurrences has finally given the event scientific scrutiny. From North America to Taiwan, beekeepers have reported drastic drops in populations, some reporting losses of greater than 50%. Imagine the cries of alarm and calls of concern if chickens just suddenly started dropping dead in such numbers (bird flu aside). What if this was happening to cows or pigs? Dogs and cats? God forbid it was happening to pandas. If there are a billion billion bees (not a real figure, but one for a frame of reference) in the world, and half are wiped out, that still leaves a half billion billion bees. Numbers staggering to the human mind. If half of the estimated 2000 pandas living in the wild are wiped out, the effect is certainly more noticeable. The problem is that even if half the world population of bees is wiped out, that means a half drop in honey production and more alarmingly a drop in half of all the plants being pollinated by nature's little workers. Goodbye to half the fruits and vegetables bees pollinate, allowing us to be harvest them. With 6.7 billion humans, and the number growing, such a drop in food production means the cost of food soaring and widespread famine. Well, there will still be bread. Most grains and cereals don't require bees to pollinate them. So, there will be bread. Only problem is there will be no honey to go on it. I don't suppose pandas are spreadable, are they? By One Thinking Ape Check out his blog at http://bibmi.wordpress.com/