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Bees’ Needs
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September 20, 2002
Two university students have discovered how vital these busy, buzzing little nectar collectors are to the health of our cities – and how important cities are to maintaining diverse bee populations.
"Cities are oases for bees," says SFU environmental science major Desiree Tommasi who, together with UBC ecology student Alice Miro undertook groundbreaking research examining bee habitat.
Much more than just concrete jungles, cities can sustain many species of bees due to the variety of vegetables, fruit, berries, weeds and flowers that grow in urban centers. Quid pro quo, of course. Without bees to pollinate plants, we couldn’t enjoy the robust harvests of fruit, vegetables and flowers we do now.
The students explain that bees have developed a taste for city life because the rural environment – where common sense says they would flourish – is polluted by heavy pesticide and herbicide use. Farmers depend upon these chemicals to eliminate weeds and insects that reduce crop yields. Such toxins are indiscriminate, also killing benevolent, useful creatures like bees, and fellow pollinators like ladybugs and butterflies. "Bees are the ultimate pollinators, and pollinators are considered endangered," says 20-year-old Miro.
Monoculture farming – the cultivation of one predominant crop – is also death to bee diversity. For example, only a single bee species may have the anatomy, such as appropriate tongue or head size, to collect nectar from a monoculture crop like cranberries, Miro says. Alternatively, farmers may plant vast fields of wheat, whose reduced flowers are not conducive to bee pollination.
The pair received $70,000 in funding for the two year study from the EJLB Foundation and Canada Trust Friends for the Environment. They have submittd their findings to Canadian Entomologist.
Research was only half of Miro and Tommasi’s study, which they dubbed Once Upon a Bee Project. The pair also created and conducted education programs about bees for children and adults.
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CONTACT
Desiree Tommasi, 604.939.5916
Diane Luckow, Media & PR, 604.291.3210
"Cities are oases for bees," says SFU environmental science major Desiree Tommasi who, together with UBC ecology student Alice Miro undertook groundbreaking research examining bee habitat.
Much more than just concrete jungles, cities can sustain many species of bees due to the variety of vegetables, fruit, berries, weeds and flowers that grow in urban centers. Quid pro quo, of course. Without bees to pollinate plants, we couldn’t enjoy the robust harvests of fruit, vegetables and flowers we do now.
The students explain that bees have developed a taste for city life because the rural environment – where common sense says they would flourish – is polluted by heavy pesticide and herbicide use. Farmers depend upon these chemicals to eliminate weeds and insects that reduce crop yields. Such toxins are indiscriminate, also killing benevolent, useful creatures like bees, and fellow pollinators like ladybugs and butterflies. "Bees are the ultimate pollinators, and pollinators are considered endangered," says 20-year-old Miro.
Monoculture farming – the cultivation of one predominant crop – is also death to bee diversity. For example, only a single bee species may have the anatomy, such as appropriate tongue or head size, to collect nectar from a monoculture crop like cranberries, Miro says. Alternatively, farmers may plant vast fields of wheat, whose reduced flowers are not conducive to bee pollination.
The pair received $70,000 in funding for the two year study from the EJLB Foundation and Canada Trust Friends for the Environment. They have submittd their findings to Canadian Entomologist.
Research was only half of Miro and Tommasi’s study, which they dubbed Once Upon a Bee Project. The pair also created and conducted education programs about bees for children and adults.
-30-
CONTACT
Desiree Tommasi, 604.939.5916
Diane Luckow, Media & PR, 604.291.3210