Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional festivals - Albert Einstein once predicted, "If there were no bees in the world, man would only live four years at most." Why?

Albert Einstein once predicted, "If there were no bees in the world, man would only live four years at most." Why?

Sharp decline in bees can lead to drastic ecological changes--

According to the French Institute of Agronomy, the number of bee colonies in France has declined from 1.5 million colonies in 1994 to 1 million colonies today. The phenomenon of the sharp decline of bees has attracted great attention. Recently, the Honey Bee Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences revealed to reporters that the number of honey bees in China has been reduced from 7.5 million swarms in the early 1990s to 6.8 million swarms at present, while a more appropriate estimate of the country's carrying capacity is 10 million swarms. How long can human beings exist without bees? The reporter interviewed China's bee research experts, experts told the reporter a lot of hidden worries.

China tries to track bee colony decline*** with EU

Albert Einstein once predicted that if the bees disappeared, the human race could survive for only a few years. The disappearance of bees would be a great catastrophe, as more than 1,300 of the 1,330 crops utilized by mankind require bees for pollination. However, all signs point to the fact that bees are becoming increasingly scarce, not only in France but throughout Europe. In order to avoid the dilemma that Europe as a whole is currently facing, the European Union is launching a research program to determine just how much of an ecological impact the dwindling number of bees is having, according to a recent report in France's Science & Life. Researchers at the Institute of Bee Research of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences are currently contacting the EU in an attempt to track down this program and look for some ****iness in the sharp decline of bees. Wang Yong, secretary of the Party Committee of the Bee Research Institute, confirmed to reporters that although current technology does not allow for strict statistics on bee data, the estimate of the number of honeybee colonies is already industry-accepted.6.8 million colonies refers to the current number of artificially farmed honeybees. A swarm of bees refers to a box of bees, and in the peak season, a box of bees will gather 50,000 to 60,000 bees.In the early 1990s, provincial bee management stations regularly reported statistics that China's bee colony was 7.5 million. The USDA's statistics on China's honeybee population in the previous two years showed that China's bee colony has been reduced from 7.5 million in the early 1990s to 6.8 million at present. Based on the amount of grassland, forests and crops in China, the more appropriate bee population in China is about 10 million swarms.

The lack of attention to beekeeping is the first reason

Wang Yong not without concern to the reporter put forward a phenomenon: "Nowadays on the road, you will find less and less insects flying around the street lamps, and the same is true for the grass and green areas. While the contribution of bees is well known, the beekeeping industry is less appreciated. People think of bee research as insignificant except when they think of health products such as propolis and honey, and have long forgotten the original nature of bee pollination." A survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that in 1998 in the U.S. nearly 4 million groups of bees for pollination of up to 2.5 million groups of bees, year-round for pollination of more than 1 million groups of bees. China's agricultural and forestry pests are now commonly sprayed with pesticides, which creates hidden dangers for the survival of bees. China is the world's number one beekeeping country, and now the status of the bee industry is not optimistic. According to Wang Yong, the number of bee colonies is declining while the number of beekeepers is also decreasing, and it takes a cycle to master beekeeping techniques, and the beekeepers should not be afraid of bee stings in addition to the wind, food and shelter. "Areas rich in pollen sources, such as Changbai Mountain, are currently home to a collection of beekeepers who work very hard. They chase flowers and nectar all year round, and need to make a big shift from south to north or north to south as the seasons change." Beekeeping is also largely limited by climate, honey and other conditions. Wu Liming, an associate researcher at the Honey Bee Research Institute, told reporters that due to the drought and little rain, honey production in the Beijing area has significantly failed this year, with a drop of about 30 percent. In addition, Wang Yong said, the prevention and control of bee diseases and pests is still a bottleneck that inhibits the growth of bee population. Bee colonies are currently under more serious attack by bee mites, a parasitic disease that can cause a decline in bee productivity and even lead to colony decline. This disease is still not effectively controlled and is an international problem.

Bee colony decline will lead to ecological degradation

The French magazine Science and Life published an article with the title "Honeybee decline induces dramatic changes in the ecosystem". According to Wang Yong, "drastic change" is not an overstatement. A single worker bee can attach more than 20,000 grains of pollen, far more than any other insect. He believes that a sharp decline in the number of bee colonies could trigger a break in the biological chain. Pollination is the result of an intricate relationship between plants and animals, and the reduction and loss of either will affect the survival of both. The use of pesticides and herbicides has eliminated most insects, including pollinating insects. Pollinating insect ecosystems have been destroyed, resulting in severe yield reductions due to inadequate pollination of insect-borne plants. And now a large number of pesticides are used in greenhouses to deal with pests and diseases, and chemical fertilizers are used to produce vegetables and fruits, which have a long-term impact on human health and at the same time limit the pollination of bees. Wu Liming believes that the decline in the number of bee colonies will affect the pollination of plants, some seeds may not be able to normal growth and development and reproduction, plant populations may also be gradually reduced, and the reduction of plant populations will also affect the survival of insects such as bees, the biological world of plant and animal survival is complementary.

Plant quality depends on bee pollination

Scientific experiments have confirmed that bee pollination makes the fruit bigger and reduces the rate of deformed fruit. For example, now on the market strawberries, there are a lot of strange shapes, and pollination of normal strawberries should be chicken heart type; tomatoes have seedless and hollow phenomenon, and by the honeybee pollination of tomatoes should be fruit really, rich in vitamin C, with a high degree of sweetness. It is gratifying that some people have realized the importance of bees. Wu Liming told reporters that some people used to think that honey bees take away the "essence" of the plant, will affect the growth of plants, and this misconception is now gradually changing: Pinghu, Zhejiang Province, melon farmers specifically to buy bees for melon pollination; Shandong region of strawberry planting also use bee pollination; Guangxi litchi blossom season, the farmers specifically paid for Beekeepers are invited to assist in the pollination of lychee.

Cultivating new, more adaptable bee species

In addition, Wu Jie, director of the Institute of Honey Bee Research, is leading research on a new bee species, the bumblebee. The bumblebee is a highly adaptable bee species that hibernates in the wild and has a colony of only a few hundred bees. Researchers at the Honey Bee Institute have mastered the bumblebee's annual breeding technology through research, and artificially bred bumblebees are able to meet the needs of pollination of fruits and vegetables in greenhouses.

As ordinary bees have phototropic, easy to rush to the bright light, while the bumblebee is more sluggish, will be more honest in the greenhouse and other facilities pollination, so in recent years has been generally concerned. At present, Sweden, Belgium, Turkey and other countries are researching bumblebees, China's bee Institute of research has also had a major breakthrough.

How to pollinate bees

Bees are the most important pollinators in the biological world, and the only ideal natural pollinator that humans can control. The bee's feet have specialized structures adapted to collecting pollen, such as pollen brushes, pollen pectens, pollen rakes, pollen baskets, etc. It is also densely feathered. It is also densely covered with feathery, forked downy hairs, which make it very easy to adhere to pollen. A worker bee around the body of the pollen can be adhered to more than 20,000 grains, far more than other insects. When the bee flies from one flower to another flower collection, the pollination is completed.

Bees in the collection of nectar activities, with a fixed in a certain period of time to interview the characteristics of a particular plant. This specificity of visiting flowers makes the pollen particles carried by the bees belong to the same plant, so that the pollen particles are transmitted to the stigma of the flowers of the same plant in the process of visiting and collecting flowers, which effectively ensures the efficient pollination of plants.

A bee can be trained to collect pollen from a particular plant. For example, by dipping the flowers of a certain crop to be pollinated and feeding the colony with a sugar solution with the characteristic odor of such flowers, bees can be trained to interview pollinators on this crop.

Post a comment Big Middle Small Print Close

Key Words:

Select Columns: Please select the date Nearly one day Nearly two days Nearly three days Nearly one week Nearly two weeks Nearly one month Nearly six weeks Nearly two months

- The Second High-level Forum of China Feed Science and Technology and Economy

- 05 Hundred Out Who and Who Contests

- The Central Economic Work Conference 2005 Conference

- The Road of Agricultural Industrialization in China

- Forum on Science and Technology for Agricultural Development

- The First Symposium on the Development of China's County Economy

- The 12th Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Achievement Expo in China

- The 2005 National Conference on Sheep Raising and Academic Conferences

- 2005 High-level Forum on the Development of Forestry, Livestock, and Fisheries Economy in China

- 2005 China Forestry, Livestock, and Fisheries Economic Development High-level Forum

- The Ninth China (Langfang) Agricultural Products Fair