Running head: THERE IS NO PLAN BEE 1

There is No Plan Bee: Alternative Pollination Methods and The Harmful Effects on Honeybees

Zachary M. Coltrain

Legal Studies Academy

First Colonial High School

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Abstract

This paper introduces and explains the current issue of the declining honeybee population, and

links it to the same trend with pollinating species as a whole. This is accomplished through

defining key actions taken in the environmental science community including an explanation of

the current pesticide issue going on worldwide and the recently discovered “Colony collapse

Disorder” that is being noted internationally. The author furthers his research in the problem of

declining populations by providing examples of steps taken in major environmentally active

nations. The author further pushes the concept of the paper to the Alternative Pollination

Methods currently being researched worldwide. Additionally, the author analyzes the benefits

and setbacks to these alternatives and the methods of investigating them. Finally, the author

provides a solution thats been highlighted throughout the paper.

Keywords: Pollination, Pollinator, Honeybee, EPA, Pesticide

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There is No Plan Bee: Alternative Pollination Methods and the Harmful Effects on Honeybees

“​THE BEES ARE DYING AT AN ALARMING RATE​” ranks as one of the most prevalent

headlines in recent years. However, what typically does not garner that same spotlight are the

ways individuals are adapting to having fewer and fewer honeybees. This concept of new

pollination is one that is impacting a community that the US and many other developed nations

desperately attempt to preserve; the agricultural community. This issue, as addressed, is

becoming more and more urgent as more honeybees are dying, resulting in farmers going out of

business. This is occurring as more and more products and crops are being required to feed our

ever-growing population. Although the problem regarding honeybees is well publicized, as it is

taught in schools and covered in the media, the aspect of finding a genuine solution in real-time

is essential to the equation as well. In this desperate time of need for the pollinator, that is most

frequently used worldwide, some farmers and researchers have stopped allocating resources to

preserve the population in search of a genuine alternative. Ironically, the new wave of research

into alternative pollination methods is dangerous to the honeybee population and has yet to find

clear results.

The Problem At Hand

Since 2006, the US has been losing the commercial honey bee species at an incredibly

rapid rate. Recent investigations have shown that around 40% of the species was lost over the

last decade (Grace, 2018). This sad, but true, statistic is a result of a problem that has been going

on for years. Fortunately, the issue has recently gained attention, and now it's starting an entire

movement to “save the bees” before the worst-case scenario happens; it becomes too late, and we

lose our bee populations for good. While the issue is complex, the causes of this sudden decline
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have been widely studied, and according to the “Bees on the Decline” organization, the largest

widespread cause of the disappearances is traced to harmful pesticides, intensification of

agricultural farming on the land, climate change, and parasites/pathogens around the Earth

(2019). Every single one of the identified causes that can be listed is man-made, and therefore

can also be stopped or slowed by humans to significantly decrease the impact on the bees. This

action is urgently necessary to protect our main pollinator species and avoid a collapse of the

food chain; however, due to the lack of significant resources and a lower assumed priority by

government-run organizations, the initiative has simply not been made to establish protection for

these insects. Policies have not been created that will address the importance of this species and

lessen the human causes of their decline. The reason this topic and problem is so unique is that it

is possible to wildly improve the situation right now, as the honey bee population is not too far

gone, and a decline in harmful farming practices would most likely be met by a sharp rise in the

honey bee population. While many solutions have been proposed to address this issue, the most

significant solution being proposed is providing incentives to those in the industry who make the

necessary changes to their techniques in order to farm in a honeybee-friendly manner. This may

incentivize other farmers to switch techniques and work sustainably. Ecological farming is

feasible and already practiced on a large geographic scale within Europe. It uses modern science

and farming techniques to develop methods of crop production that don’t rely on any synthetic or

potentially harmful product in order to protect our crops and earth from the negative effects

associated with pesticides while producing the same crop yields as the more harmful farming

methods (Corrigan, 2017). However, what is important to note is not the issue of the significant

pollinators’ population dropping, instead, it is on the alternative pollination methods that are
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starting to surface regardless of natural or artificial origin. A shift to a new source to pollinate the

world’s crops would relieve the pressure from the honeybees’ shoulders, allowing for them to

learn how to adjust to our ever-changing climate before worrying about anything else.

Colony Collapse Disorder

Since the winter of 2006, a significant amount of beekeepers nationwide began to report

unusually high losses of their essential hives. As many as fifty percent of all affected colonies

manifested symptoms that were not consistent with any known causes of honey bee death to date

(EPA, 2018). Beekeepers observed a very sudden loss of a colony’s worker bee population with

very few dead bees found near the colony. The part that shocks them the most was that the queen

bee stayed in the hive, only to die from lack of food when the worker bees never returned. This

combination of events resulting in the loss of entire bee colonies has been called Colony

Collapse Disorder. This is a very recent finding that does not yet have a definite cause; however,

head researchers on the issue have been primarily focused on immune-suppressing stress on bees

caused by pesticide usage, poor nutrition, and a variety of mites and viruses known to negatively

impact the honeybee population (EPA, 2018).

Harmful Pesticide Usage

According to Carl Johansen of Washington State University, agricultural pesticides have

been connected to a broad spectrum of health hazards, and impacts have been noted anywhere

from short-term physical impacts such as headaches and nausea to chronic impacts like cancer

(2016). Negatives impacts are not only associated with humans, but the effects on the animals

and plants that specific harmful pesticides reach are also detrimental as well. The results are

species decline and an overall lack of healthy pollination methods for our agricultural industry.
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Granted, in recent years there has been less dependence and use of these types of pesticides, but

the number is still way too high for comfort. In metrics, about one billion pounds of commercial

pesticides are being used each year. On top of this, the Environmental Working Group of the

USDA has reported in their annual study that around fifty million Americans are probably

drinking from water that has had contact with pesticides and about seventy percent of all

products within most grocery stores have pesticide residue on them. This issue is a direct cause

of our issues in pollination and has been correlated as such many times in the past few years

(Godfray, 2014). Therefore, it is clear that pesticide usage has a direct impact on not only the

health of those exposed to them but also on the health of the animal and plant species that they

reach. It is time to consider and incentivize alternative farming methods and decrease our

reliance on harmful pesticides, for the safety of ourselves, our food, and our pollinators. In 2018,

the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals demanded that the Environmental Protection Agency outlaw

chlorpyrifos, a very potent pesticide that had been permitted for commercial use (Chitka, 2017).

This was a huge environmental benefit within the United States which is credited to higher levels

of successful farming.

Government Intervention

The actions on behalf of the scientific and research community to push resources toward

finding alternatives have met with some successes, but not nearly enough. Many of those

concerned with the issue are looking at every level of the government to step in and protect the

honeybee population. Generally, the governments of many major developed countries have taken

part in correcting this issue. To further this parallel, recent law tracking reports show that there

has been a significant expansion to pesticide regulation in local governments in the past decade.
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The trend follows suit when it comes to supranational organizations as well as US Court cases.

Government intervention is important to focus on since the science community has started to

search for alternatives that conserve the population of pollinators that they are trying to replace.

In areas where researchers fail to protect to the best of their ability, legislation and decisions of

the government are what draws the line in favor of environmental protection.

Countries Leading the Way

The United States may seem to be leading the way in controlling issues regarding

pollinators. However, the Biomed Central Environmental Health Studies Organization’s research

ranks the US rather low (Mclean, 2019). When it comes to the “Largest agricultural producers

and users of agricultural pesticides in the world,” Brazil, China, The United States, and the

European Union are at the top of the list. A study implemented to track the progress of these

nations was started and the results are not what was expected. Currently, The United States

allows for 72 more pesticides than the EU does, and 185 more than any of the other nations

within the top 4 combined. It is critical to clarify that just because the US has less restriction than

these other nations does not mean they are not leading the way to the protection of Earth’s

pollinators as a whole.

The European Union is far and away the most restrictive on chemical banning and

campaigned preservation of the honeybee/natural pollinators. They currently have banned around

one-fifth of all existing pesticides as they have deemed them too harsh for natural environments.

Every nation representing the EU is reported to take a sense of pride in these numbers as

typically they see drastic differences in farming success and have even occasionally seen bumps

up in the number of pollinators within their borders (Mclean, 2019)

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In South America, the majority of the Amazon Rainforest is contained within Brazil.

Brazil is now trying to adapt the role of protector of the remaining forest. They advocate more

than other South American nations for the environment. Brazil bans more pesticides than any

other nation in the Americas. Furthermore, they have such a large variety of insects and

pollinators to handle such vast vegetation that researches have not named and classified all of

them yet. The defense against the destruction of the rainforest is important and Brazil is now full

of independent organizations pushing for more and more legislation to protect animals and plants

within the large area of land that produces more oxygen and natural resources than most of the

world (Mclean, 2019)

Local Ordinances to International Mandates

Local lawmakers around the U.S. have changed the game for honeybees in local

communities. Recently, many local governments have started programs to help individuals start

up their own beehives. This has encouraged a trend of beekeeping in neighborhoods,

recreationally, which has made a positive impact on honeybee populations in urban areas. To

make the protection of neighborhood pollinators easier, many local governments have found

ways to stop the spread of harmful pesticides into the areas with high activity patterns of

pollinators. The Hampton Roads area specifically passed legislation that allows for individuals

who own bees to place markers in their yards that notify city officials to not spray any

insecticides on the street. This initiative has had great success and allows for all who wish to

keep their plants and insects chemical-free to do so without too much of an inconvenience. These

small changes are what support the goal of preserving pollinators that coexist in neighborhoods

worldwide.
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The United States House of Representatives is currently working in subcommittee in

order to establish bill H.R.1337 “Saving America’s Pollinators Act of 2019.” This bill was

introduced to the Agricultural Committee and establishes a Pollinator Protection Board to be

created within the Environmental Protection Agency (Helmer, 2019). It also requires the

Department of Interior, the EPA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to collaborate with the

monitoring and tracking of pollinators' health and movement patterns. This bill was looked upon

favorably in the introduction when brought to the floor of Congress by Representative Earl

Blumenauer (D) of Oregon. It creates great stepping stones and allows for the government to

protect pollinators in all the areas that beekeepers, farmers, and scientists cannot (Helmer, 2019)

On a more international scale, in May of 2019, the United Nations directly blamed human

activity for the significant decrease in pollinators and produced several incentives to persuade

more people to be environmentally cautious in their everyday lives. At the same conference

where this information was announced, an environmental committee of the UN recorded annual

set data and found some record low numbers coming from areas that used to be preserved by

leading scientific researchers. This leads to the correlation between the reallocation of supplies to

alternatives and the protection of the insects themselves (Mclean, 2019). The United Nations

Environment Program, as well as the Security Council, are expected to publish the most drastic

recommendations for developed and developing nations to follow in order to halt more

permanent environmental damage than any year prior. UN Reporter Shari Nijman is quoted by

explaining these regulations as “A guaranteed protection from the end of the world, that

unfortunately, individuals will brush off.”

Court Cases Protecting Pollinators

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Pollinator Stewardship Council v. The United States Environmental Protection Agency​ is

perhaps the most significant example of judicial intervention on pollinator conservation in the

decade (Bishop, 2015). In 2015, the 9th Circuit Court in the United States heard a case by a

group of pollinators asking to ban any and all pesticides that contain a chemical that has been

notorious for killing honeybees called “sulfoxaflor.” The plaintiffs were able to prove, without a

doubt, that the government agency charged with the sole purpose of protecting the environment

acted without thorough research to allow commercial use and sale of this chemical. Not only did

the court establish that the decision to allow sulfoxaflor onto the market was a mistake, but the

EPA was also reprimanded and instructed on consequences for detrimental mistakes in the

future. Since the case, the EPA has created more sub-commissions with the sole purpose of

further investigation into “chemicals in question.”

A similar story can be told in ​Ellis v. Bradbury​ where the EPA eventually motioned to

have the case entirely thrown out. However, that request was eventually dismissed, and the case

was heard over whether or not pesticide usage could be limited to things solely approved by the

EPA. This case upheld the concept that unless the EPA approves a specific pesticide solution it

cannot be sold or used commercially. This restricts lots of toxic or harmful chemicals from

entering plants that both humans and animals eat. It created a certain and safe precedent towards

chemicals that permanently alter our ecosystem.

Alternative Pollination Methods

Due to the significant decrease in honeybee populations worldwide, researchers have

recently devoted more and more time into finding alternatives to pollinate crops and produce to

sustain our ecosystem. There are two different methods of reaching a true alternative: find a new
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natural pollinator, or create an artificial substance to get the job done (Rader, 2009). Both sides

have had continuous research and found several leads, however, some researchers fear that this is

a case of “Too little too late” for our pollinators.

Natural Alternatives

Currently, most research in this area of study is finding a new species of insect that can

do the same job as the honeybees to allow them to take a break from their pollination duties,

placing less strain on the species and lessening the impact of species decline. This idea started

with the idea of bringing in non-domesticated bees from the wild to pollinate as well. However,

native bees are much more complex and are not used to being managed. As the use of wild bees

began to become more frequent, farmers all around the world realized that the breeds of wild

bees they had simply could not keep up and were not as reliable and consistent in poor weather

(Fletcher, 2019). Unfortunately for farmers and scientists alike, the hunt was still on for the new

perfect pollinator. Many insects are able to be considered pollinators; however, what is needed

and yet to be replicated is the concept of worker bees being as efficient as possible and their

complex relationship between their queen bee. The efficiency is what made the honey bee the

key symbol of pollination in the first place. With all of that known by the affected community,

the most frequently mentioned is the “Blue Orchard Bee.” Catherine Allchin of The Washington

Post explains how Blue Orchard Bees are native to North America, and pollinated local crops for

a significantly long period of time before European Settlers brought over honeybees. Pollination

in a majority of large-scale almond and cherry orchards increased when they were used in

addition to honeybees on the farm. They found that the functionality practiced by the honeybees

isn’t something that the Blue Orchard’s necessarily needed to replicate, as their own more
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task-based mindsets grant them similar levels of success (​Rajasekhar, Lynn, Das, & Suganthan,

2016.)​.

Not only are scientists attempting to bring the horse to water, but they are also trying to

teach the horse to drink on its own. There is a lot of research being done in order to establish the

capabilities for plants to pollinate themselves. Currently, several plants found in heavily

vegetated areas have adapted to catch pollen in the air and spread it amongst other flora in the

terrain. It can be seen in these studies that many types of plants are capable of “self-pollination”

which can vastly impact communities and ecosystems that are taking significant hits in the

pollinator population. Though these plants still take value from outside forces, intervening in the

pollination process, the crucial observation of self-sufficiency.

Artificial Alternatives

In the field of agricultural science, there has been a new trend of finding artificial pollen

that can travel more efficiently and be dispersed into crops by humans. Because of the

overreliance on pesticides and the harmful effects associated with them, it has become almost

necessary to create methods of pollination without insects or animals. Beekeepers and farmers

who do not look into this are at risk of shriveling crops (Ford, 1985). Although this is a recent

agricultural trend, the concept of do-it-yourself pollination is far from brand new. In the past few

decades, farmers who have had a desire to significantly expand their production have understood

the risk regarding the pollinators that naturally pollinate their crops. The process is labor

intensive “When done by hand, using a brush to apply the pollen, can pollinate five to 10 trees a

day, depending on the size of the trees. Tackling thousands of trees takes major manpower and a

hefty budget” (​Bargańska, Ślebioda, & Namieśnik, 2016​). The solution to this issue has created
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many trains of thought, including robotic drones to pick up the slack, but regardless of what

branch, in artificial pollination, someone chooses to investigate they have been proven to spend

way more in research and development than anyone in the field of natural alternatives. This risk

makes artificial pollination a very difficult realm to enter.

Analysis and Summary of Alternative Pollination

Benefits to Alternative Pollination

In short, the aforementioned alternative pollination methods best setup the farming

industry as well as the world’s ecological systems for the future (Mclean, 2019). Evidence in the

realm of alternative pollination is typically positive and allows for growth to show and mistakes

to be made. The direction in which the research is moving is absolutely a positive one, especially

when seeing total success on a small scale.

The diversity of animal species plays a big role in the success of other animals in terms of

pollination. Birds and mice, along with every insect imaginable, play a role in the transfer of key

nutrients from one plant to another (​Potts, Imperatriz-Fonseca, Ngo, Aizen, Biesmeijer, Breeze,

& Vanbergen, 2016).​The research that is required to look into natural alternatives is, regardless

of success rates, bringing many species of animals into a position they have never been put in

before. This helps them expand, grow, and adapt more easily to different situations. Animal

Behavioral Analyst T.L Edwards says that this attention being brought upon by researchers is

creating benefits for them, no one could have predicted, including higher (but not significantly

higher) pollination rates, higher reproduction rates, and lower signals of stress (Potts et al, 2016).

It is irrefutable that research into natural alternatives is helping find a solution and further

helping other lesser-known species, which helps our Earth and all its inhabitants.
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In Artificial Alternative Pollination, new advancements in technology are put to the test

to distribute pollen in any way possible that can be controlled by an individual person. This

concept is attempting to create a best-case scenario for farmers around the world. It shoots far

which is why it appears to receive less positive results. The fact of the matter is the same as the

introduction of new technology-based innovation. It requires more resources and funding than

anything else. With the resources that have been allocated, several tests and inventions have been

created that look into pollination in mass volume without the need for lots of insects to do the

job. This is a dream to farmers in rural areas. Artificial pollination is a case of big risk, big

reward that just hasn’t reached full potential.

Shortcomings of Alternative Pollination

Alternative pollination has lots of promising results coming in. However, it is not

predicted to be a solution within the next 10 years (​Hanley, Breeze, Ellis, & Goulson, 2015)​This

is a significant amount of time to take money away from the conservation of the honeybee

population. The impacts and detrimental damages being pushed onto international pollinators are

putting farmers out of business and forcing farmers to have less quality produce at the end of any

harvest. These are problems that everyday people are beginning to feel now (Gill et al, 2016).

Our research into alternatives fails with the fact that it assumes that our environment can handle

the loss of funds from the scientific research community which now places pressure on

government bodies and independent organizations that have never been required to help out. This

can possibly lead to detrimental outcomes for the environment if not taken into consideration. It

is necessary to take into consideration where resources are coming from before they are

delivered straight to the doorstep of alternative pollination. There is no proven way to pollinate at
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high levels in large fields other than having the current natural in pollinators place (Hanley et al,

2015). There is no way around keeping honey bee populations up regardless of how much

research has been attempted.

Conclusion

Without clear results, the honeybee population is in danger of the movement of financial

and material resources into finding their replacement. The research must be appreciated and

implemented when a solution is found, only then will it be a positive boost to the agricultural

community. However, legislation and UN Resolutions have not yet adapted to make the same

impact on the world of pollinators that research and science communities have been doing for

years. The race to find the “next big thing” may impede protecting the most essential building

blocks in the environment and people are feeling the harsh effects. There is no plan that can

cover the best of both worlds other than a reconsideration of where resources are spread. Other

nations and government systems are doing what they can to protect any and all pollinators but

cannot be expected to keep up with the changes that take place in the world on a day to day

basis. The only proven method of mass pollination is, and has been, pollinators including the

honeybee and they must be preserved and protected before finding a way to help them

accomplish their job.

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