GARDEN ZONE
Cape bee
IN DANGER WORLDWIDE
In the EU and USA , the devastating Colony Collapse Disorder ( CCD ) has raised a lot of public concern over the past decade . In South Africa , the devastating impact of the bacterial disease American Foulbrood was in the news a few years ago . All sources still agree : the world ’ s bee populations are under great pressure . The main culprits are certain practices of industrial agriculture , human movement of species , and the loss of habitat and food sources .
The inappropriate use of pesticides and herbicides is universally considered one of the main causes . Insecticides and many other pest-killing agents are fatal to bees . Even herbicides can be deadly .
African bee
nuts , most stone fruits , canola , sunflowers , certain subtropical fruits like mangoes , berry fruits , and a variety of others are included in this . Approximately 30 % of the food we directly consume . All this is a service delivered for free by our two native subspecies of honeybees – the Cape bee and the African bee .
The beekeeper ’ s direct or indirect contribution to agriculture is often greater than the mere production of honey , wax , and other bee products . And we ’ re not even talking about wild plants , gardens , horticulture , etc . Or the aesthetic pleasure that flowers provide us .
85 MARKtoe ! September 2023