0:00:00.102,0:00:03.534
Human society is extremely[br]complex and fragile,

0:00:03.534,0:00:05.352
built upon various pillars.

0:00:05.612,0:00:07.275
One of them is the honey bee.

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One out of three meals eaten by humans[br]is made possible by honey bees.

0:00:12.289,0:00:15.971
They are so important that if all the[br]honey bees were to die out,

0:00:15.971,0:00:17.904
thousands of plants would follow,

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which could lead to millions of people[br]starving in the following years.

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On top of that, honey bees have[br]a huge economic impact.

0:00:24.956,0:00:27.694
The dollar value of plants[br]pollinated by them each year

0:00:27.694,0:00:30.259
is around $265 billion.

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Food we take for granted would just[br]stop existing without them,

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or there would be a massive[br]decrease in productivity.

0:00:36.455,0:00:40.649
Food including apples, onions, pumpkins,[br]and also plants used for feeding livestock

0:00:40.649,0:00:43.338
and thus extremely important[br]for our milk and meat.

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Einstein is often quoted as having said,

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“If honey bees die out, humans[br]will follow a few years later.”

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Actually, he probably didn’t say that,

0:00:51.785,0:00:54.042
but there might be some[br]truth in the statement.

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It’s unsettling, but honey bees[br]have started to disappear.

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Millions of hives have died[br]in the last few years.

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Beekeepers all over the world have seen an[br]annual loss of 30–90% of their colonies.

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In the US alone, bees[br]are steadily declining.

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From 5 million hives in 1988[br]to 2.5 million today.

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Since 2006, a phenomenon called[br]“colony collapse disorder”

0:01:19.240,0:01:21.637
has affected honey bees in many countries.

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And we’re not entirely sure[br]what’s causing it.

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All we know is that it’s pretty serious.

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Over the last few decades bees have seen[br]an invasion of very dangerous foes.

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Parasites straight out of a horror movie,[br]like Acarapis woodi,

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microscopic mites that infect the tracheae[br](that’s the breathing tubes) of bees.

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Here, they lay their eggs and feed from[br]the fluids of their victims,

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weakening them considerably and spending[br]their whole life inside the bees.

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Or Varroa destructor, a fitting name[br]because they can only reproduce

0:02:00.448,0:02:03.890
in honey bee hives and are one of[br]the bees’ greatest enemies.

0:02:04.060,0:02:08.630
The female mite enters a honey bee brood[br]cell and lays eggs on the bee larva

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before it’s about to pupate and

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before the hive bees cover the[br]cell with a wax capping.

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The eggs hatch and the young mites and[br]their mother feed on the developing bee

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in the safety of the capped cell.

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The bee is not normally killed[br]at this stage, just weakened,

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so it still has enough strength to chew[br]its way through the wax capping

0:02:25.933,0:02:27.663
and release itself from the cell.

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As it does, it releases the mother mite[br]and her new offspring from the cell,

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and these are free to[br]spread across the hive,

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starting the process over again[br]in a cycle of about 10 days.

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Their numbers grow exponentially,[br]and after a few months,

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this can lead to the collapse[br]of the entire bee hive.

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Once outside of the cell, adult mites[br]also suck the bodily fludis of bees

0:02:48.875,0:02:50.755
and weaken them considerably.

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To make things worse, they also transmit[br]viruses that harm the bees even more

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and can lead to birth defects[br]like useless wings.

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But there are other threats too,[br]such as viruses and fungi.

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Under normal circumstances, these[br]phenomena should be manageable

0:03:06.102,0:03:08.020
and are not enough to explain

0:03:08.020,0:03:10.762
the horrendous amount of[br]dying going on in bees.

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Over recent years new insecticides[br]have been introduced

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that are deadly to bees.

0:03:16.056,0:03:19.655
Neonicotinoids, a chemical family[br]similar to nicotine,

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was approved in the early 1990s[br]as an alternative to chemicals like DDT.

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They attack insects by harming[br]their nervous systems.

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Today, they are the most widely[br]used insecticides in the world.

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Globally, they saw sales[br]of €1.5 billion in 2008,

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representing 24% of the global[br]market for insecticides.

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In 2013, neonicotinoids were used in the[br]US on about 95% of corn and canola crops,

0:03:46.085,0:03:48.996
and also on the vast majority[br]of fruit and vegetables,

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like apples, cherries, peaches, oranges,[br]berries, leafy greens, tomatoes, potatoes,

0:03:55.740,0:03:59.937
cereal grains, rice, nuts,[br]grapes, and many more.

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Bees come into contact with the toxin

0:04:02.295,0:04:05.191
while collecting pollen or[br]via contaminated water,

0:04:05.191,0:04:07.281
often bringing material into the hive,

0:04:07.281,0:04:10.497
where it can accumulate and[br]slowly kill the whole colony.

0:04:10.717,0:04:14.507
The toxins harm bees in a[br]variety of horrible ways.

0:04:14.767,0:04:19.105
In high enough doses, it quickly leads[br]to convulsions, paralysis, and death.

0:04:19.425,0:04:21.455
But even in small doses, it can be fatal.

0:04:21.655,0:04:24.690
It may lead to bees forgetting[br]how to navigate the world,

0:04:24.690,0:04:29.805
so bees fly into the wild, get lost, and[br]die alone, separated from their hives.

0:04:30.205,0:04:34.572
If this happens often enough, a hive[br]can lose its ability to sustain itself.

0:04:34.832,0:04:37.839
We know that neonicotinoids[br]are harmful to bees

0:04:37.839,0:04:40.118
and that we urgently need[br]an alternative to it,

0:04:40.118,0:04:44.056
but there are billions of dollars[br]to be made in delaying this.

0:04:44.456,0:04:47.743
Studies sponsored by the chemical[br]industry magically appear to prove

0:04:47.743,0:04:52.728
a much lower toxicity to bees, compared to[br]those produced by independent scientists.

0:04:53.048,0:04:56.397
There are even more factors[br]contributing to the demise of bees,

0:04:56.397,0:04:59.422
like too much genetic uniformity,[br]crop monocultures,

0:04:59.422,0:05:03.485
poor nutrition due to overcrowding,[br]stress because of human activities,

0:05:03.485,0:05:04.967
and other pesticides.

0:05:04.967,0:05:08.335
Each of those factors on its own is[br]a major problem for bees,

0:05:08.335,0:05:12.527
but together, they probably account[br]for colony collapse disorder.

0:05:12.797,0:05:15.308
With parasites upping their[br]game in recent decades,

0:05:15.308,0:05:18.084
the honey bees are now[br]fighting for survival.

0:05:18.414,0:05:21.142
It would be a catastrophe[br]if they lost this fight.

0:05:21.522,0:05:25.618
This is a conundrum we have to solve[br]if we want to continue living

0:05:25.618,0:05:28.527
with a relative abundance[br]and diversity of food.

0:05:28.957,0:05:33.400
Humanity is deeply interconnected with[br]Earth and the other lifeforms on it,

0:05:33.400,0:05:35.581
even if we pretend that we’re not.

0:05:35.821,0:05:37.882
We have to take better care[br]of our surroundings,

0:05:37.882,0:05:42.388
if not to preserve the beauty of nature,[br]then at least to ensure our own survival.

0:05:43.698,0:05:47.044
This video is supported by the[br]Australian Academy of Science,

0:05:47.044,0:05:50.131
which promotes and supports[br]excellence in science.

0:05:50.331,0:05:52.771
See more at .

0:05:53.161,0:05:55.834
It was a blast to work with them,[br]so go check out their site.

0:05:56.114,0:05:59.822
Our videos are also made possible[br]by your support on .

0:06:00.172,0:06:02.291
Recently, we passed[br]an important milestone,

0:06:02.291,0:06:04.782
which is why there will be[br]an additional video in July.

0:06:05.172,0:06:09.253
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0:06:09.253,0:06:10.954
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0:06:11.244,0:06:13.982
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0:06:18.064,0:06:19.562
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