When I was younger, I remember how excited I'd be at my first sight of a big fat bumblebee each spring, humming across my primary school's field, floating like a striped ball of fuzz from flower to nectar-rich flower. I remember the purple lavander in our back garden flourishing with life, enriching the air with its familiar perfume. Bees swarmed about its fragrant blossom in multitudes, and I would sit and watch them with a glass of orange juice in my hand for what could have easily been hours, delighting in the end of winter.
But now, years later, things are different. I no longer see the bees drifting between flowers, settling on petals and sipping nectar. It is very rare that I see a black and yellow form hovering beside the lilac lavander, humming contentedly as it works. Now, if I see bees, I see them lethargic, crawling, and unable to fly; or I see them dead. It is strange to think that it has only taken a short period of time for the bees to become so seriously threatened. It makes me wonder how much longer they have left on this planet before they are all gone for good.
But what is causing such a rapid decline in the bee population? I did some research and found several reasons for this. It has opened my eyes to the threats that bees are facing right now, and the situation is even more urgent than I had previously realised.
Intensive farming is the largest cause of bee decline, heightened by the increased use of harmful pesticides, such as neonicotinoids, which are having disastrous effects on wild bees. Used to kill pests, they are inevitably killing beneficial pollinators like bees along with them. When a bee feeds from a flower containing pesticides, it disturbs their central nervous system, affecting their ability to carry out essential tasks such as feeding, homing, reproducing, and foraging. Bees and other pollinators need enough flowers to forage, and safe places in which to nest among vegetation, soil, and hedges. But, since WWII, we have lost 97% of our wildflower meadows, and this leaves bees with very little natural habitat in which to thrive.
Climate change plays an enormous role in disrupting the bees' natural behaviour, in terms of their foraging habits, their emergence after winter, nesting, and, the flowering of the plants from which they feed. Plus, invasive species, such as the Asian Hornet, could devastate British species if left to take hold.
In the UK, we have already lost around 13 species of bee, and another 35 are currently at risk of extinction. Losing bees would severely impact our planet, and cost farmers £1.8 billion to pollinate their crops without the help of pollinators. These little insects, although small, are incredibly significant. If we were unfortunate enough to lose them for good, our world and our lives would be much less rich and vibrant. Imagine our planet with only a fraction of the colour and diversity we have today. Our food will become tasteless, our diets will become dull, and our landscapes will become colourless. Costs will rise as farmers will have to pollinate their own crops without the help of bees. If we continue to undermine the importance of bees and the role they play on our planet, then there is every chance that we will lose them forever. It is only when they are gone for good that we will regret having done nothing.
At Tesoro Nero, we support the charities and conservations that dedicate their time to helping these humble honey-makers. We have designed a 24K gold piano with a hexagonal texture to mimic the lustrous shine and structure of honeycomb. With every purchase of our piano, a considerable sum of the profits will be donated to leading bee conservation charities.
We will not stand aside and let the bees die out. Right now, they need us almost as much as we need them. There is so much we can do to help, so why not start here?
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