What if the bees disappear? Biologist says this would be the end of most products

The disappearance of bees and other pollinating insects would also spell the end of most foods, says biologist Carla Rego, who warned today of a global decline in insect numbers.

In an interview with Agência Lusa on World Bee Day on Saturday, the specialist, Vice President of the Portuguese Society of Entomologists, warned of the problems humanity faces as a result of insect decline and also expressed concern about the impact of cattle antibiotics on the animal world. which contributes to the decomposition of manure.

“We are not aware of the problem that this could be related to,” he said, recalling that Australia had already had to import insects when it realized that cow dung did not decompose, creating a public health problem.

“They are still being studied, but there is evidence that this is a problem that we will have to face in the coming years,” he said.

World Bee Day was proclaimed by the UN and is designed to raise awareness of the world’s population about the importance of bees and other pollinators.

According to Carla Rego, who is coordinating the project of the first Red List of Invertebrates in Portugal (insects are one of the invertebrate groups), there are at least 740 species of bees in Portugal, although officially there are 724.

And he adds that little is known about the insect world in the country, and there is no evidence to support the decline in the number of insects that is visible from observations. As an example, he points to car trips, where earlier, unlike today, the windshield was full of insects.

The scientific, he says, is the fact that 70% to 80% of the world’s flora depends on insect pollination. And if in some countries pollination can also be carried out by birds and bats, then in Portugal it is almost exclusively insects.

True, he recalls, sometimes pollination occurs in other ways, such as with the help of wind, but there are examples, for example, in strawberries, in which the fruits are larger and last longer when pollinated by insects.

Strawberries are one of the fruits that need pollinators, but there are many other plants that depend on them. According to Carla Rego, 57% to 60% of cultivated plants. Most of the products for sale in the markets will disappear with the disappearance of pollinators.

“Without pollination, we wouldn’t have food,” says Carla Rego, drawing attention to the frightening decline in the number of insects in the world, including pollinators. He recalls that China “was one of the first places on the globe to experience a lack of pollinators due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides, and people are already doing pollination.”

Small drones are also being developed for pollination, a situation that a biologist considers “cartoon” because it should come naturally to nature to do the job.

Information from the European Union, collected in 2019 and updated later, indicates that the “significant reduction” of bee colonies represents a “global crisis” and reminds that insect pollinators are essential for ecosystems and biodiversity. Fewer pollinators mean plant decline and impact on food security.

The European Union already has initiatives to protect pollinators, one of which is a 50% reduction in the use of the most dangerous chemical pesticides.

Saying that the available information points to a “clear decline” in pollinator populations, the European Union refers to a study that shows that one in ten species of bees and butterflies is endangered in Europe.

Changes in land use, intensive agriculture, pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, and invasive species can be causes that lead to insect declines. To this Carla Rego adds climate change, the emergence of species with less heat tolerance, extreme weather events or atmospheric pollution, and excessive artificial lighting.

The head of the Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Change (cE3C) at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon admits that with the publication of the Red List, some species will receive protected status.

“We understand that our well-being depends on the conservation of ecosystems and, to a large extent, insects, which we try to ignore. These creatures are very important in many aspects, from nutrient processing to food production,” he adds.

Insects are also an important part of the food chain. In 1962, the book Silent Spring warned of extinction of birds due to the indiscriminate use of the pesticide DDT. “What we are seeing now is much more complex, it is quite possible that there is a decrease in the number of birds due to the disappearance of food for insects.”

In recent decades, the biologist adds, people have become increasingly distant from nature, do not like insects in their home, “only care about what can be unhealthy, and forget that they are part of an ecosystem.”

It is necessary, he says, to raise awareness about insects, and this should be done primarily in schools.

On Monday, to commemorate the UN’s International Day for Biological Diversity, Lisbon is hosting a seminar on the importance of schools in this field, promoted by the Portuguese Association for Environmental Education.

Today, the food brand Nestum offered 300 queen bee nuclei to Portuguese beekeepers. It has already offered a thousand hives since 2021, equivalent to 50 million new bees in the country, especially for fire-affected areas.