A study in the UK (link http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/17/bees-urban-pollen-diet ) has determined that urban bees have a more varied diet than those in a rural setting and are healthier. Clearly this must depend on the setting but it will be interesting to see how the research pans out over all 45 hives being studied, and we can see what plants the bees favour. But overall I think my response was a “well, Duh!”.
As I think we all knew in the UK, the dreaded yellow peril that is Oil Seed Rape is being shown to give our bees a restricted diet, and that can’t be good. I’d guess it’s the same here in the US, and maybe even worse given the much larger areas turned over to monoculture. A lot of us have been saying this for ages and the findings of this research comes as no great surprise. The comments made at the bottom of the article are evidence of this.
I would however be wary of saying the urban environment is now a refuge for bees. We have some way to go before that is really a reality. How much pesticide do we really use in our gardens and do we apply them in accordance with manufacturer’s guidance? I’d bet a lot of people just use the bottle of chemicals indiscriminately and use it all in one go. There is a lot of debate about how the toxicity of the chemicals may be greatly enhanced when the application pesticides and herbicides is doubled up or applied close together.
It’s all about educating people who live in the ‘burbs so they do not treat, or over-treat, their gardens with chemicals – or indiscriminately ‘fog’ for mosquitoes. If we can move away from a dependence on having that perfect green sword of grass (which benefits no pollinators, well, not much more than a slab of concrete would) and move towards having wild flowers and plants and shrubs that actually benefit animals, and make our gardens and yards spaces that are actually used and not just viewed, then I think we’re on to something big in our towns and cities.
I agree with you about pesticides preventing the urban environment from [sometimes] being a refuge.
ReplyDeleteI live in Eureka, and will be starting my first hive in the spring (2011).
We have a modest size garden in our yard (no pesticides, powders, sprays, etc) and don't have the best "looking" yard, since the majority of our yard has been taken over by clover.
Which, I think I'm OK with, since the clover keeps the yard at the same height without requiring me to cut it often!
While we do try to live as natural as possible, we often come across instances where other's don't, and it always finds a way to sneak into our lives (and the animals lives) around us.
For example, while walking the streets where we live we were passed by a truck with an insect fogger pumping out plums of smog into the air.
Within moment we (my wife, my 3 year old, and my 7 month old) were engulfed in the smog.
I don't recall asking for the city to fumigate the area, or them saying they were going to, nor do I recall it being a bad year (in our area) for insects/pests. I think they did it out of habit (speaking to your second point).
It we can get away from the dependence on pesticides, fumigators, smoggers, etc., I think we'd find all sorts of benefits including (but certainly not limited to): Better garden yields, animals/pets with less health problems, humans with less health problems, drinking water that's not contaminated, etc.
Great blog by the way! You've made it onto my favorites list, and I'll be a regular reader!