by Melanie Kirby, beekeeper, queen breeder

Please allow me to introduce myself. I wear multiple hats but most of them revolve around bees. I’ve been keeping bees for 25 years and have had the immense and intense roller coaster of emotions learning from bees and working with keepers around the globe. I’ve seen healthy bees and not-so-healthy ones. I’ve seen amazing management techniques and others that were questionable, from sea to shining sea and across the “pond.” These experiences have provided me with several recurring thoughts, including the most important one which is that I have more questions than answers! These experiences have humbled me to the nurture and torture of nature. These experiences have opened my eyes to both what I’ve always felt to be true and to mysteries beyond my immediate experience. I’ve learned that bees and their keepers are fantastical storytellers weaving their journeys to make sense of their environments, their aspirations, and their survival.

But before I delve deeper into talking about bees, and wildfires- of which I have experienced the latter several times but more recently, very closely, I’d like to tell you about where I come from- as it plays a lot into how I view the bees and how I choose to manage my hives, through good times and bad…

My heritage is very important to me. I am indeed a descendant of the American “melting pot” though my roots anchor me beyond words as an Indigenous woman. There are over 500 federally recognized tribes across the United States. And there are many more that are not federally recognized. With recognition comes the prospect of being counted. Though not always and not always fairly. This is not a controversial topic. It is simply, a fact. But it is one, that is changing- albeit slowly, to becoming fairer. And that is a just thing.

I mention this because for many generations, prior to colonization in the Americas, Indigenous peoples and societies have learned from their environments how to preserve, conserve, and manage their landscapes through biomimicry and forward-thinking approaches that take into account, the generations to come. Biomimicry, holistic, regenerative, sustainable, organic, permaculture, and adaptive all have their roots in Indigenous practices.

These buzzwords have been “re-branded” and marketed to capture the interest and influence of settlers. But their roots remain the same- in truth, based on Indigenous practices. Indigenous practices are diverse. They are innovative and respectful. And despite the distinct and unique differences between Indigenous peoples, there is also a shared Indigenous WorldView- a view that sees the interconnectedness of all things and that recognizes that we all influence and depend on each other.

I take this shared worldview to heart and apply it to each of my choices- both familial and professional. I try to put my best foot forward and use my learned experiences to make decisions that I feel best support my regard for our interconnectedness. This interconnectedness definitely drives my continued approach to beekeeping.

It is this interconnectedness that I continue to reference and talk about when I give presentations. It is sometimes recognized by those who have heard me talk, and to others, it may sound like a foreign language. But I’ve been beating this same drum for over 2 decades.

I attended a beekeeping conference one year where they had listed my title as “Agriculture Philosopher.” I found that strange and slightly offensive as I wondered, “So do they think I only theorize, or do they realize that I actually practice beekeeping through a mindful lens?” Underneath their typed title, I added an additional one that read- “Consilience Researcher.”

“Consilience” means the unity of knowledge. It is the weaving together of various knowledge systems and approaches to create an interdisciplinary perspective- one that involves many disciplines and studies in order to gain a better understanding and review. I realized that most of us have been conditioned to learn about things in silos- meaning individually without context, without the relationship, and without concern for how things connect with one another.

Consilience became one of my missions to help bring this style of approach to our American apicultural industry as another valid approach to healthy beekeeping management. It has been a slow and sometimes rocky slope. But one that is gaining momentum with more interest- especially in response to the acceptance of the “rebranded” and marketed buzz words reaching more folks. This is a good thing… although it would be even better if we all acknowledged where these practices originated- with Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).

If you made it this far, you’re probably wondering how this fits into the topic of BEES & WILDFIRES? Here goes….

Bees, like other animals- including humans, react to their environment. Beekeepers have known this across cultures and millennia as we’ve learned how to approach and steward them. Our ancestors recognized that by using smoke, they could pacify the bees and remove the comb carefully. Over time, we’ve learned that the smoke actually muffles their pheromones, which is their main form of communication with each other. We’ve learned that too much smoke, or fire, can cause the bees to flee in search of a safer location. No one wants to be caught in a fire- not bees, nor humans.

This spring, my bees and I experienced the closest of dangers with raging wildfires in the southern Rockies. The fire, which started as a “controlled” burn, turned quite the opposite and merged with another “controlled” burn. These fires- called the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon fires merged into New Mexico’s largest state fire in history. It spanned over 50 miles long and almost 500,000 square miles in coverage. The fires were started by the U.S. Forest Service during the windiest months. Anyone who is from New Mexico or who has lived there for some time knows that you never start a fire in March, April, and even early May due to the volatile spring weather. The southern Rocky Mountain region tends to warm up in March, which causes the thaw to commence. The thawing snow creates cold air that then come April, rushes down the canyons and into the valleys causing late frosts. I call this the “Rocky Mountain Whistle” as it is notoriously windy, and yo-yo temperature swings bring hail, spring snow storms, and abrasive blowing dust.

For the locals, and especially for the Native Peoples in this region, understanding the patterns of weather, as affected by the local topography is essential for survival. Folks don’t transplant or plant directly outdoors until after Mother’s Day or even Memorial Day due to the late frost and spring snow storms. I’ve personally experienced snow as late as June 10th in this region. Local folks don’t burn cleaned brush piles or clearings from their acequias (waterways) during windy periods. But yet, the Feds with their fancy equipment and tools, thought they knew better…

The fires displaced numerous communities and wreaked havoc on businesses and industries. And though my bee farm didn’t actually burn, this whole situation caused the evacuation of the farm and family and the relocation of hundreds of hives. Our spring mountain queen production had to be put on hold until evacuation orders cleared- 8 weeks later. We spent close to $20K just in fuel to relocate all of our hives and for supplemental feed while our bees waited in apiaries over 20 miles away. The fire came close- 5 miles away from the farm. But it was close enough to upend the whole bee season.

So why did we move our apiaries? We had no idea as to which way the fire was going to go. It surrounded us and boxed in our home farm. We didn’t want to risk losing hives due to the lack of relocation. We recognized that with too much smoke in the air, our bees would not be able to smell forage as well- what was just getting blooming at the time. We also didn’t know how long the situation was going to last. Friends in communities miles away offered locations to host our hives. Some even offered to come manually help with loading hives and moving equipment and home supplies.

We are so blessed to have a caring community. We had over 20 loads of bees and equipment that we had to move. Some equipment got stacked at a valley apiary site down by the Rio Grande. Other equipment got placed into storage units that were offered at no cost to the displaced. Queens that we planned to rear for sharing with beekeepers near and far and for research were postponed and overall queen production this year has been at a fraction of what was anticipated. And while I lament on the strife of this season, I can imagine what it meant for my bees…and more so even for the landscapes that provide for them.

One can’t help but start to comprehend the gravity of shifting climate and the uncertainty it brings. Will we have a better season next year? Or will it be worse?! I am reminded of my farm partner’s persistence- farmers are forever optimists hoping that next year will be better, or the next one… But those gaps may become larger and seem insurmountable. How can we all swiftly undo what has caused such drastic weather? Is the rise of the Industrial Age at its peak or will it transform into practices and products that are more mindful of current and future generations to come? What kind of world will not only our children but also our bees and other glorious biodiversity live in?

My hope is that we will return to what our Ancestors have known- that we are all interconnected and that our actions affect each other. Indigenous peoples have been managing fire in complex and diverse landscapes. They’ve learned how to use fire as a healthy stewardship method and to support landscapes and biodiversity through Indigenous technologies and TEK.

But today’s society has been conditioned to prevent wildfires and to try to standardize practices that create mono-crop agriculture, loss of biodiversity, and forests with dry and deep understories that become tinderboxes. If we look at fire as a negative, without reflecting on its positive uses, we isolate it and begin to regard everything out of context, which is very different in our living world than in a vacuum by itself. None of us live in a vacuum by ourselves. Not us, nor our bees.

Now the monsoon rains have begun and are swiftly racing down the burn scars bringing rivers of ash and washing away homes, seeds, and what took years upon years to establish. The understory is now no story. The fire scars will last decades if not longer. The forest areas burned will have to undergo slow repair in order to recuperate. They may never return to their full glory as the fire burned so intensely, and fast that the seeds buried in the thick understory all combusted.

And so here we are at an impasse. How can we move forward and also repair the damage done? How can we better support our bees and their landscapes? How can we ensure that the generations to come learn from our experiences and truly progress in equitable and respectful ways? There is a way forward, and one that is inclusive. The way forward is through consilience. The way forward encourages us to integrate methods from varying knowledge systems- including those from Indigenous Peoples and responsible technology. The way forward is what we make it. And the way forward is also the way back…

I heard an Indigenous Elder once say in a presentation that despite the inequities, the hardships, and the imbalance, and though Indigenous practices have historically been regarded as unadvanced and backward, “Indigenous People are so far behind, we’re ahead.” Being ahead means using one’s head. Being ahead means taking into account all aspects of one’s actions. Being ahead means being cognizant of cause and effect, and of how we impact each other. Being ahead means being aware, being mutually respectful, and being mindful.

My hope, and the hope of other marginalized perspectives, land stewardship “philosophers” and practitioners are that all of us- from all perspectives can sit at the same table and have discussions on how to keep our planet intact and healthy. And, that others are willing to make the table longer and are open to listening to each other with receptivity and willingness to make life better for our bees and all of our plant and animal relatives for generations to come.

About the Author:

Melanie Kirby is a professional queen honey bee breeder and holds a Master’s in Entomology. She currently serves as the Extension Educator at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Melanie is a registered member of Tortugas Pueblo. As an interdisciplinarian, Melanie works with bees and their keepers around the globe. You can follow her on InstaGram @ziaqueenbees and @nectarnomad and at www.ziaqueenbees.com

Additional Readings/Resources:

Burkle, L., Simanonok, M., Durney, J.S., Myers, J., Belote, T. Wildfires Influence Abundance, Diversity, and Intraspecific and Interspecific Trait Variation of Native Bees and Flowering Plants Across Burned and Unburned Landscapes Front. Ecol. Evol., 02 July 2019 Sec. Population, Community, and Ecosystem Dynamics https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00252/full

Evangelista, C., Kraft, P., Dacke, M., Labhart, T. and Srinivasan, M.V., 2014. Honeybee navigation: critically examining the role of the polarization compass. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 369(1636), p.20130037. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2013.0037

Galbraith, S.M., Cane, J.H., Moldenke, A.R. and Rivers, J.W., 2019. Wild bee diversity increases with local fire severity in a fire‐prone landscape. Ecosphere, 10(4), p.e02668.
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.2668

Garvey, K.K., University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources What Do Honey Bee Colonies Do During a Raging Wildfire? https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=43528

Garvey, K.K. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources 2020. The Bee People, The Bees, and The Fires https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=43585&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS%2BFeed

Hegedüs, R., Åkesson, S. and Horváth, G., 2007. Anomalous celestial polarization caused by forest fire smoke: why do some insects become visually disoriented under smoky skies?. Applied Optics, 46(14), pp.2717-2726. https://opg.optica.org/ao/abstract.cfm?uri=AO-46-14-2717

Love, B.G. and Cane, J.H., 2016. Limited direct effects of a massive wildfire on its sagebrush steppe bee community. Ecological Entomology, 41(3), pp.317-326. https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/een.12304

Mason, S.; Shirey, V., Ponisio, L., Gelhaus, J., Responses from bees, butterflies, and ground beetles to different fire and site characteristics: A global meta-analysis Biological Conservation 261 (2021) Elsevier Ltd. Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320721003177

Tan, Y.Q., Dion, E. and Monteiro, A., 2018. Haze smoke impacts survival and development of butterflies. Scientific Reports, 8(1), pp.1-10. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-34043-0

The post Bees & Wildfires appeared first on Lead For Pollinators.

By Ayla Sumer, intern with LEAD for Pollinators, Inc.

Bees are essential to the health of people and the planet and are estimated to pollinate over one third of the food we eat, either directly or indirectly. However, due to a variety of environmental and human-related factors, their populations are rapidly decreasing.[i] More than 50% of the 1,437 monitored native bee species in the United States have experienced a population decline.[ii] While a variety of factors are responsible for the decline of bees, the usage of insecticides, particularly a class of chemicals known as neonicotinoids, has exacerbated this problem. Neonicotinoids, a relatively new category of synthetic insecticides chemically related to nicotine are utilized by farmers in numerous forms, such as seed coatings, in order to protect their crops from the devastating effects of predatory insects.[iii] First introduced into US crop production in the mid-1990, neonicotinoids are now used on hundreds of millions of acres of U.S. agricultural land and have become the most widely used insecticide in the world.[iv] Despite the widespread usage of neonicotinoids for protecting crops from predatory insects, this class of substances has been shown to pose substantial risk to bee populations, both killing them directly and affecting their behavior and productivity.    

Harms of Neonicotinoids to Bees

Neonicotinoids are systemic pesticides. This means that, unlike contact pesticides which remain on the surface of the treated parts of plants, neonicotinoids are absorbed by the plant and transported throughout the plant (including its leaves, flowers, roots and stems, as well as pollen and nectar). Additionally, as only about 5% of the active ingredients in neonicotinoids are utilized by the intended plants, the remaining neonicotinoids rapidly disperse into the environment. This residual pesticide can persist in soil, adjacent plants, and water sources for months or years.[v] When foraging and nesting, bees can come into contact with high concentrations of this pesticide, either through the neonicotinoid-contaminated pollen and nectar of the treated plant, or residual pesticides from the environment. Once absorbed by the bee, the highly toxic active compounds of neonicotinoids kill the bees by acting on their nervous systems, eventually causing paralysis and death.[vi] Additionally, studies conducted on native bees, bumble bees, and honey bees have found that even low concentrations of neonicotinoids can be harmful to these bees. When exposed to sublethal levels of neonicotinoids, bees can experience problems with flight and navigation, reduced taste sensitivity, and slower learning of tasks, all of which impact foraging ability and hive productivity. For example, studies have found that when bumblebees were exposed to a small amount of this insecticide, they made suboptimal foraging decisions and were more likely to visit flowers located further apart than control bees, decreasing efficiency and productivity.[vii]

Policy Approaches to Neonicotinoids

While the European Union prohibited the sale and usage of these pesticides in 2018 until further research and environmental mitigation analysis has been conducted, no comprehensive federal regulation of neonicotinoids exists in the US.[viii] In January of 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency released a set of proposed interim decisions for neonicotinoids. Their proposal included management measures to help keep pesticides on their intended target, restrictions on when pesticides can be applied to blooming crops in order to limit exposure to bees, and language on labels that educates individuals of the dangers of these insecticides to pollinator populations.[ix] While these measures represent the comprehensive government action necessary to protect pollinators, they have not been implemented, meaning that the solutions currently enacted on the federal level fail to fully protect pollinator populations. Individual states and local governments have adopted limited regulatory measures on the usage and distribution of this pesticide. For example, a law passed in Maryland limits the sale of neonicotinoids to sellers who are already permitted to sell restricted use pesticides. Similarly, a law passed in Minnesota prohibited plants treated with neonicotinoids from being labeled or advertised as beneficial to pollinators.[x] Tens of millions of acres of neonicotinoid-coated seed is planted annually in the United States and Canada.[xi] The residue from these insecticides can persist in the environment for months to years, perpetuating harmful lethal and sublethal effects on bee populations. While neonicotinoids are not solely responsible for the decline in bee populations, studies have rigorously established a clear linear relationship between usage of pesticides and damage to bee populations.[xii] The decline in pollinator populations as a result of neonicotinoids not only poses a risk to these insect populations, but overall ecosystem and human health as well. Considering pollinators, specifically bees, pollinate an estimated $24 billion worth of crops every year and many key crops depend almost completely on insect pollinators, the decline in these species due to neonicotinoid usage results in reduced crop yields and food production.[i]

[i] Jennifer Weeks, “Pesticide Controversies,” CQ Researcher 25, no. 21 (June 5, 2015): 481-504, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2015060500.

[i] Julia Jacobo, “Nearly 40% decline in honeybee population last winter ‘unsustainable,’ experts say,” ABC News, July 9, 2018, https://abcnews.go.com/US/40-decline-honey-bee-population-winter-unsustainable-experts/story?id=64191609.

[ii] “Landmark Report: Hundreds of Native Bee Species Sliding toward Extinction,” Center for Biological Diversity, accessed February 11, 2022, https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/bees-03-01-2017.php.

[iii] J. Seifert, “Neonicotinoids,” Journal of Toxicology, no. 3 (2014): 477-482.

[iv]  Thomas James Wood, The Environmental Risks of neonicotinoid pesticides: a review of the evidence post-2013 (Cold Spring Harbor, 2017), https://search.proquest.com/docview/2 070155369/2F5C856D20CA419EPQ/12?accountid=36236.

[v] “Neonicotinoids,” National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, NCEL, published 2001, accessed April 20, 2021, https://www.ncel.net/neonicotinoids/.  

[vi] “How Neonicotinoids Can Kill Bees: Xerces Society,” Xerces Society, accessed February 11, 2022, https://xerces.org/publications/scientific-reports/how-neonicotinoids-can-kill-bees#:~:text=Neonicotinoids%20are%20a%20group%20of,making%20them%20toxic%20to%20bees.&text=Research%20published%20since%20then%20clearly,bees%20or%20changing%20their%20behaviors.

[vii] Jennifer Weeks, “Pesticide Controversies,” CQ Researcher 25, no. 21 (June 5, 2015): 481-504, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2015060500.

[viii] “Neonicotinoids,” National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, NCEL, published 2001, accessed April 20, 2021, https://www.ncel.net/neonicotinoids/.  

[ix] “EPA Releases Proposed Interim Decisions for Neonicotinoids,” United States Environmental Protection Agency, January 30, 2020, https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/epa-releases-proposed-interim-decisions-neonicotinoids.

[x] “Pollinator Protection Act” (Maryland State Senate, 2016).

[xi] “How Neonicotinoids Can Kill Bees: Xerces Society,” Xerces Society, accessed February 11, 2022, https://xerces.org/publications/scientific-reports/how-neonicotinoids-can-kill bees#:~:text=Neonicotinoids%20are%20a%20group%20of,making%20them%20toxic%20to%20bees.&text=Research%20published%20since%20then%20clearly,bees%20or%20changing%20their%20behaviors.

[xii] Tjeerd Blacquiere and Guy Smagghe, “Neonicotinoids in bees: a review on concentrations, side-effects, and risk assessment,” Ecotoxicology, no. 21 (2012): 973-992.

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Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities.

Pollination is, however, a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land. Not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, but they are key to conserving biodiversity.

To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day.

The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries.

We all depend on pollinators and it is, therefore, crucial to monitor their decline and halt the loss of biodiversity.

Read more HERE  

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Spend time in your backyard
• Use the SEEK app by iNaturalist to see what’s living in your own backyard and complete the Biodiversity Audit activity.
• Create a garden filled with plants that attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators (try the Origami Butterfly Planters activity!) or create a backyard wildlife habitat, such as bird houses and bug hotels.

iNaturalist

Biodiversity Audit activity

Origami Butterfly Planters

LEAD for Pollinators is pleased to share these teaching tools by the World Wildlife Fund to learn about and explore our world from home. It is important to keep young and old minds engaged in the world around us. If you know a parent, caregiver, or educator who can use these activities, please forward the link to this blog post. Together we can inspire the next generation.

The post Spend Time In Your Backyard appeared first on Lead For Pollinators.

Conservation in the Classroom (Virtual Learning):
Bring conservation and science to life with virtual events featuring WWF experts, who share stories about protecting species and habitats around the world.

Learn how to sign up for these virtual classroom presentations HERE

Livestream: Wednesday, Apr. 15th, 11:00-11:45 am EST
The Enormous Ocean: Plentiful or Plundered?
Michele Kuruc
Vice President, WWF Marine Policy

The ocean covers almost ¾ of our planet, but is it healthy? Join Michele as she takes a closer look at how human pressures are damaging much of the beauty and value that our oceans hold. She’ll explore how threats like noise pollution and unsustainable fishing practices are impacting the ocean’s inhabitants—including whales, sea turtles, fish, and coral—and what you can do to help.
Targeted grade level: 6-10

Livestream: Tuesday, Apr. 21st, 1:00-1:45 pm EST
Being there for the Bees
Clay Bolt
Communications Lead, WWF Northern Great Plains Program

We are all familiar with honey bees, but did you know that North America is also home to approximately 4,000 species of native bees? Clay Bolt is a wildlife photographer who has dedicated the past seven years to photographing and protecting bees. Join him as he shares some of the amazing facts about bees, photos and fun stories about their behavior, and tells you how he helped to protect the first species of North American bee—the rusty-patched bumble bee—under the Endangered Species Act in 2017, and rediscovered the world’s largest bee in Indonesian rainforest in 2019.
Targeted grade level: 2-6

Learn how to sign up for these virtual classroom presentations HERE

LEAD for Pollinators is pleased to share these teaching tools by the World Wildlife Fund to learn about and explore our world from home. It is important to keep young and old minds engaged in the world around us.

If you know a parent, caregiver, or educator who can use these activities, please forward the link to this blog post. Together we can inspire the next generation.

The post Virtual Classroom: Being There for the Bees appeared first on Lead For Pollinators.