Bee Happy!

There are several things I like about being an early riser, sunrises for example. This week, the sunrises have been spectacular. I’m usually driving on the motorway, so seldom get to capture a photo of the skies all lit up, at the start of a new day. Another source of joy is listening to the Radio 4 programme, Farming Today. There is always something interesting to listen to. Last Thursday, I heard all about the delicate art of bee insemination.

Yes, I did a double take when the item was introduced. Bee insemination? Apparently, it has become an important part of keeping the national bee population healthy. It was a fantastic listen. The captured Queen Bee, slightly anaesthetised, walks backwards in a test tube, towards the insemination ‘device’, which is just 0.16 mm in diameter. You can find the story here.  

Bees per se, seemed to have featured in my life last week. Many media outlets picked up on the article published in the prestigious Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences journal*. The story reported on long-term research, undertaken by the Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden. Their joint study explored the eating habits of bees. What we might observe as random buzzing between flowers is actually ‘strategic snacking’– well there is probably a more scientific name for this, but I like the idea of ‘strategic snacking’. In bee nutrition terms, it helps keep both the individual bee healthy, as well as the rest of the hive community. It’s a collective and collaborative approach to wellbeing.

Bees are able to balance their intake of protein, fat and carbohydrates. The balance between each of these changes with the seasons; a kind of bee equivalent of salads in the summer and stews in winter. Healthy bees are critically important to the fate of the human race. Whilst they are not the only pollinator in the insect world, they are the most prolific. But the bee population is on the decline, hence the bee insemination programme being so important. Bees are becoming increasingly vulnerable, due to exposure to pesticides, climate change and habitat loss.

So, it was interesting to read last week of the ‘corridors of nectar-rich plants’ to be found on the sloping alleyways of Bristol. Just a year ago these areas were uncared for, litter-strewn, neglected pathways. Just 12 months on and thanks to the pollinator pathways project, locals have transformed these spaces with insect-friendly flowers grown in pots, and murals painted on the walls. You can do something similar, see here. The project is a powerful indictment of what can happen when a few like-minded folk get together to make their community a better place to live – such a contrast to what appears to be such troubled times seen in so many communities across England right now.

As well as being critical pollinators, bees, of course, produce honey. Nature intended this to be a source of food for the bees themselves during the long winter months. Early on, mankind realised the value that honey has to our diet. In 1851, the American, Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth invented a beehive, whose design is essentially what all bee keepers still use today. Now honey is said to have many health benefits. It is full of beneficial antioxidants. There is some research that suggest eating honey regularly can help protect you from heart disease, cancer, reduce cholesterol levels, diabetes and aid wound healing if applied locally. 

At this point I’m going to shift left – not those currently being discussed across the NHS, but as my sat nav would say: “make a slight turn to the left’’. Forget Trieste, Sweden has in the past two years been recognised as the leader in the provision of great mental health care. It has a totally patient-centred approach and superb care facilities. Factors such as the majority of swedes having an abundance of personal free time, retaining strong family connections and eating little ultra processed food, alongside great government investment in all aspect of mental health and wellbeing, all contribute to the maintenance of positive mental health. 

As does eating honey. Swedish honey is highly symbolic, almost sacred, and people are justifiably proud of their mainly organic honey, and its consumption throughout the year is highly valued.

Finally, driving home last Friday, the short story that afternoon was about a bee, who inadvertently flies into a car and causes an accident. Don’t worry it is a delightful story, and well worth a listen to.

 *Proceedings B is the Royal Society’s flagship biological research journal, accepting original articles and reviews of outstanding scientific importance and broad general interest. The main criteria for acceptance are that a study is novel, and has general significance to biologists. Articles published cover a wide range of areas within the biological sciences, many have relevance.