Name: Why bees are disappearing
Uploaded: 2013-09-17T14:57:28Z
Duration: 15 min 43 s
Description: Honeybees have thrived for 50 million years, each colony 40 to 50,000 individuals coordinated in amazing harmony. So why, seven years ago, did colonies start dying en masse? Marla Spivak reveals four reasons which are interacting with tragic consequences. This is not simply a problem because bees pollinate a third of the world's crops. Could this incredible species be holding up a mirror for us?

Honeybees have thrived for 50 million years, each colony 40 to 50,000 individuals coordinated in amazing harmony. So why, seven years ago, did colonies start dying en masse? Marla Spivak reveals four reasons which are interacting with tragic consequences. This is not simply a problem because bees pollinate a third of the world's crops. Could this incredible species be holding up a mirror for us?

Marla Spivak: Why bees are disappearing

Why bees are disappearing

Bees' decline since WWII mirrors our agricultural shift: from biodiversity to monocultures, stripping their natural food sources.

Pesticides, especially neonicotinoids, disrupt bees' navigation and immune systems, contributing to massive die-offs annually.

A simple, potent act to counter bee decline: plant diverse, pesticide-free flowers to restore bees' health and our food security.