There ’s no doubt that our planet’shoneybeesare in trouble . Colony Collapse Disorder ( CCD ) has decimated bee house and wild bee colonies on three continents , and scientists stilldon’t fully understandwhat ’s causing it . And CCD is more than just a threat to the bee . Agriculture reckon on honeybee to pollinate crops from almonds to Citrullus vulgaris [ PDF ] . Without the bee , say experts , our food supply and our saving will get .
But bees are not the only pollinators out there . In fact , says anew study , non - bee insects may be just as meddling as bees when it comes to pollenation . Which one ? “ Almost any insect you’re able to think of , ” ecologist Margie MayfieldtoldScientific American .
Mayfield and more than 50 other research worker from around the mankind analyzed 39 scientific studies of crop pollination . The studies spanned five Continent and examine pollination of 17 dissimilar crops , admit coffee , apple , mangoes , and radish , as well as almonds and watermelons . The depth psychology showed that flies , mallet , butterfly , ants , and wasps were responsible for intimately 40 percent of the workload . That number varied by harvest and location ; in some piazza , that number reach 50 percent . In other place , non - bee bug were the only pollinator .
This is really good news , Mayfield and her colleagues report in a newspaper in theProceedings of the National Academies of Science . Non - bee worm are a snatch more resilient than bees . They can tramp with the punches and are n’t as dependent on wild home ground .
The next footstep may be convincing Farmer that these other bug are doing them good , Mayfield saidinScientific American . " I ’ve come across farmers in California and in South Africa and in Australia who spray their pesticide largely at nighttime , because that ’s when the bee have run low back to their hives . And they do that with the idea that we ’ll dispense with our pollinator and control our pests . But that very much study the premise that only bee are important pollinator . "
planetary business organization for honeybees is a wonderful thing . Perhaps in clip we can extend that interest to the rest of the little doer flitting from flower to flower , quiet supporting our way of life .
