A Bee’s Life

Bees live in hives with large populations, each made up of several different types of bee. The queen bee is the mother of all bees in the hive. Drone bees are male bees whose primary role is to mate with the queen. Worker bees collect food, build the hive, and care for the young.

When bees pollinate flowers, they are seeking two essential nutrients. They draw nectar from flowers through a proboscis as an energy source, and collect pollen in pollen baskets on their hind legs for protein and other nutrients.

Nectar mixes with enzymes in the bee’s stomach and is later regurgitated and stored in the hive as honey.

From a human perspective, bees perform two fundamental roles. We can sustainably harvest their honey when hives are cared for responsibly, and we rely on bees to pollinate flowers, enabling plants to reproduce and ecosystems to thrive.

The Impact of Industrial Agricultural Practices on Bees

Industrial agriculture is contributing to the rapid decline of bee populations worldwide.

Farming large areas with a single crop is known as monoculture farming or monocropping. In these environments, bees have access to only one type of flower, depriving them of the diverse nutrients they would normally obtain from pollinating many plant species.

Monoculture farming also depletes soil health. To compensate for nutrient-poor soils, chemical inputs are often used to boost plant growth. Pesticides and herbicides such as neonicotinoids and glyphosate have been shown to weaken and kill bees.

In some regions, bees are transported long distances by truck to pollinate crops. This practice places extreme stress on hives and disrupts natural foraging behaviour.

In other cases, bees are fed sugar solutions as a substitute for natural nectar. While this keeps them alive, it significantly compromises their long-term health.

Colony Collapse Disorder

As a result of these combined pressures, the phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder has emerged. Entire hives disappear, leaving crops without pollinators.

In some parts of the world, farmers have resorted to pollinating flowers by hand using paintbrushes because bee populations have vanished.

Caring for our whenua and its karaehe (animals) is a responsibility guided by tikanga. Protecting bees means protecting the health of the land, our food systems, and future generations.