The number of bees is dwindling. In the United States, more than half of
the bat species are either critically endangered or experiencing a severe
decline. International experts have also lately warned that the monarch
butterfly is in grave danger of going extinct.
These three species have one thing in common: they are all pollinators.
Without them, fruits, vegetables, and other plants wouldn't be pollinated,
which would pose a serious threat to the availability of food.
Ron Magill, a wildlife expert at Zoo Miami and the director of
communications, told CNN that "one out of every three bits of food that
humans eat" is directly related to a pollinator. It is estimated that
insects like butterflies, bees, and bats are responsible for around 30% of
the food that ends up on our tables.
In addition to losing those vital populations, we could also lose some of
our favorite foods.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, some of the items most
vulnerable to the pollinator loss include apples, melons, cranberries,
pumpkins, squash, broccoli, and almonds. According to the EPA, bees in
particular are in charge of pollinating about 90 commercially grown crops.
Tequila itself is under danger.
Whether you consume food that has been directly pollinated or food that
depends on a pollinator, everything is tightly interrelated, according to
Magill. It has a cascading impact.
This means that if you consume fried chicken or pork chops, the fruit,
vegetables, and other plants the animals ate were
pollinator-dependent.
Pollinators have also suffered as a result of the climate catastrophe. The
most obvious effect is a longer, more intense drought, but an increasing
concern is the impact of high heat, especially on butterflies.
In terms of climate change, butterflies are regarded as the "canary in the
coal mine" since they are among the insects that are most susceptible to
temperature fluctuations, according to Magill.
Plants bloom earlier as a result of warmer temperatures, which is out of
phase with when butterflies deposit their eggs and undergo metamorphosis.
This will have a significant influence on the butterflies' capacity to
reproduce and live since the food-producing blooms will already have
flowered out, leaving nothing for the butterflies to consume.
The situation worsens into a vicious cycle where neither the plants nor the
butterflies are able to reproduce and both suffer significantly as a
result.
Additionally, food along their route may no longer be accessible when the
normal migration occurs for butterflies like monarchs, who are known to make
lengthy journeys from the Northern US to Mexico.
According to a 2019 UN assessment, if the climate catastrophe worsens, a
million species might go extinct in the next few decades. Insect populations
are beginning to reflect that, according to Magill.
In the next 50 years, one million species will exist, according to Magill.
That is disastrous.
Effects of people on natural pollinators
The International Union for Conservation of Nature's scientists last month
added the monarch butterfly, one of the most well-known and recognizable
insects in the world, to its red list of endangered species. They noted that
the species is increasingly threatened by the destruction of its habitat and
rising temperatures brought on by the climate crisis.
According to scientists, "climate change has had a significant impact on
migration of the monarch butterfly and is a fast-growing threat; drought
limits milkweed growth and increases the frequency of catastrophic
wildfires; temperature extremes trigger earlier migrations before milkweed
is available; and severe weather has killed millions of butterflies."
In 2006, honeybee populations started to fall drastically. According to
Auburn University's College of Agriculture, beekeepers in the US lost over
45% of their colonies between April 2020 and April 2021, despite the fact
that the typical permissible turnover is just about 20%.
A fatal parasite in honeybee colonies may be becoming worse due to climate
change. According to research, those parasites that kill bees are more
common in warmer locations, which implies that when temperatures increase,
the parasites may grow and pose a serious threat to bee populations.
A number of nations and even some US states are already taking action to
support the protection of these vital species. California is pressing for a
ban on chemicals that kill bees.
While these decreases are occurring gradually, according to Magill, they
will ultimately become too severe for ecosystems to handle, acting as a
tipping point beyond which certain species will go extinct forever.
When it comes to maintaining the balance of the ecosystem, what is the
straw that will break the camel's back? said Magill.
Tequila in danger
Bats are vital to the security of our food supply. According to recent
research cited by the USDA, the cost of crop damage and pesticides in the
United States might be reduced by more than $1 billion year by the
consumption of pests by bats, mostly in the maize business.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that bats' consumption of insect
pests saves more than $3 billion annually across all agricultural
productivity.
Bats are important pollinators as well.
Because only bats can pollinate the agave plant, the source of tequila,
Magill stated that without bats, there would be no tequila.
The same way that butterflies and bees are impacted by the climate
catastrophe, so are bats.
Bats are more sensitive to heat stress, according to Magill. Due to the
limited cooling systems that bats have, there have been significant die-offs
of bats as a result of rising temperatures.
Bats, like birds, are important for our ecosystems and are regarded a major
seed disperser, unlike butterflies and bees, which are only important
pollinators.
After passing through their digestive system, the seeds from the fruits
that they consume germinate and are subsequently dispersed across their
range to "plant" future trees, according to Magill.
How to get involved
The fact that this is a global issue necessitates global solutions, yet
there are still ways that private citizens may contribute.
Create gardens with local fauna and the native flora that are essential to
their survival, said Magill.
Native plants will also require less maintenance. A cactus won't thrive in
Louisiana's humid climate if you try to grow one there. Similarly, impatiens
or begonias won't thrive in the arid Southwest since they need a lot of
water to grow.
Users in the UK may now search a new online database to locate plants that
can attract pollinators to their gardens and promote biodiversity. There are
similar lists of native, pollinator-friendly plants in the US.
According to Magill, when you plant native wildflowers, you're providing a
smorgasbord for the wildlife, which depends on them for survival. "Those are
our pollinators' recharging stations."
Magill mentions Lady Bird Johnson's initiative to spruce up US roadside
areas. Though she had a global objective, Texas saw the best of her
work.
According to Magill, "She accomplished such a fantastic job with
wildflowers in Texas." She recognized the worth of it. "There are times when
you can drive across Texas and see wildflowers for as far as the eye can
view, and it's such a lovely sight."
While other states are doing the same thing beside roads, private homes can
also do it.
"In the native locations where we reside in this nation, there is lovely
plant life. We can begin restoring those natural rhythms if we concentrate
more on it and begin to reconstruct what was already present."
You might also make an effort to use less chemicals and pesticides around
your house. Alternatives that work well include employing organic items like
compost to improve soil health and adding pest-repelling beneficial insects
like ladybugs, praying mantises, or even nematodes.
