From malformations, nervous system problems and disorientation to behavioural problems, bees manifest all sorts of symptoms that reveal a fragile state of health. Some bees cannot find their way back to their hive after leaving it. Others are rejected when they return because they are not recognised by the rest of the group. The new insecticides in use since the 1980s are neurotoxins that are spread when crops are sown (sunflower, soy, etc.) and serve to protect them against their various predators. INRA studies have shown that the toxic chemicals remain throughout the plants’ growth cycle right through the flowering period. The nectar eaten by bees also contains chemical residues that are deeply harmful to them. Honey production has dropped by a third generally, and by up to 90% in some areas.

The new generation insecticides are accused of killing bees. But their harmful effects don’t stop at bees. Some INRA experts argue that their components present multiple risks and have not yet been adequately tested. They argue that these components have effects on humans too. Imidaclopride and fipronil, which theoretically do nothing but protect plants, are also ingested by bees.

One of these products, a neurotoxin called Regent produced by BASF, is particularly singled out as dangerous by beekeepers. The sale of Regent has been discontinued, as the insecticide is believed to decimate bee populations. Another product, Gaucho, produced by Bayer, also subject to grave doubts, has been taking off.

Yet the harmfulness of these chemicals has not been firmly established. Expert analyses have provided contradictory results. Other INRA studies have led to less pointed results. As for the manufacturers, they deny all responsibility.

Over the past 30 years, various pathologies affecting bees have spread all over the world. The complexity of the causes and the increasing number of factors make diagnosis difficult. The importing of species has brought with it unknown diseases.

In the southern Indian state of Karnataka, once a major honey producer, up to 90% of the indigenous bee colonies were destroyed by an imported virus in the early 1990s. The economic damage was considerable, and it is only with the help of a complex FAO programme, including economic assistance and training for beekeepers, that the bee populations are being restored.

In the region of Rimouski in Quebec, the bee populations have also been decimated by unknown parasites.

In Iraq, it is the toxic effects of the Gulf War (smoke due to burning oil wells) that have destroyed 90% of the bee colonies.

Thus the problem is not unique to France, nor does it only affect countries whose agricultural practices entail the large-scale use of chemical products. The responsibility remains to be apportioned according to the various factors involved, but for now, no scientific study seems able to provide precise answers…

Bees are honey producers as well as indispensable actors in the pollinisation of flowers and plants. Bees are an element in the interactive ecosystem chain. The bee’s role is very important in the various life cycles of different species. Without bees, there would be no honey, but more importantly, certain plants would not be able to reproduce and would thus become extinct. In turn, this would lead to the disappearance of certain animal species.

''If the bee became extinct, man would only survive
a few years beyond it'', Einstein predicted…

Making its first appearance on earth 80 million years ago, the bee has accompanied the human journey. In the earliest cave paintings there are images of men harvesting honey. In hieroglyphics, representations of ancient Mesopotamia and China in the first centuries of recorded time, honey harvesting has been depicted. The Promised Land is the land of milk and honey. The bee’s product seems to have been the first sweetness in mankind’s tough early days. It seems that even now, in the early 21st century, mankind can’t do without the bee …

Jacques Tarnero