Ispectrum Magazine Ispectrum Magazine #09 | Page 62

raise awareness to try and improve pollinator health. the health of bees in the short term. First we must address the loss of habitat suitable for pollinators by planting more flowers in gardens and parks as well as on farmland – this will provide bees with food and places to live. There should also be efforts made to reduce pesticide use in gardens, where neonics can still be used freely. Organizations such as the Bumblebee Conservation Trust promote these efforts and These strategies are still only in their infancy. Goulson said: “The initiatives under way that are trying to get people to grow more flowers are a bit of a drop in the ocean at the moment, but if they gathered momentum they could make a real difference.” References: 1)sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534710000364 2)ibra.org.uk/articles/European-honey-bee-declines/ 3)plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0082996 4)theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/08/uk-food-security-honeybees 5) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11698101 6) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3338325/ 7)rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1787/20140619.full 8)ricehoppers.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Science-2013Stokstad-675.pdf 61