b'YOU ARE MYTH TAKENPOLLINATORSCOMPILED BY MARCEL BRUINSMYTH: THE HONEYBEES ARE DISAPPEARING many more are highly dependent on it. Production of the FACT: : In 2020 the EU had approximately 19 million honeybeeremaining crops would likely continue without bees with only hives, managed by 615,000 beekeepers. These hives altogetherslightly lower yields.produced 275,000 tonnes of honey. Beekeeping is practiced in allAlthough it is very important to protect all species of polli-EU Member States where, together, they are the worlds secondnators from their various threats, it seems that the doom-laden largest honey producer, after China with 500,000 tonnes. Despitestatement that if the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, millions of hives, people are worried about honeybees. Ask anyman would only have four years left to live, should be taken number of people on the street, and most will claim honeybeeswith a large grain of salt. Fun fact: although the quote is often are disappearing. Wrong! credited to Einstein, thorough research has not revealed any In 2017, the EU had 16.4 million hives, so the 2020 numberlink between the quote and the man.is an increase of 13.3 per cent. Fifteen years earlier in 2003, the amount of hives in the EU stood at a meagre 8.9 million. At aMYTH: POLLINATORS SUFFER FROM GMOSglobal level in 2020 there were 94 million beehives, increasingFACT:There have been numerous claims that particular GMO from 93.5 million beehives the previous year. According to thecrops are harmful to pollinators, but there is currently no proof FAO, managed hives have increased worldwide by 83 per centwhatsoever to support these claims. Much of the negative impact since 1961. on hive populations over the past 20 years can be linked to the varroa mite, not agriculture. Commercial GM crops have not MYTH: MANKIND HAS ONLY FOUR YEARS TO LIVEbeen found to have any negative consequences in extensive ONCE THE HONEYBEES DIE field testing. FACT:The most essential staple food crops on the planet, likeThe EU Commission in a recent report, identified many bee corn, wheat, rice, soybeans and sorghum, are wind-pollinatedpathogens, including two species of mites, four species of fungi, or self-pollinating and need no insect help at all. Approximatelynine species of bacteria and 12 species of viruses! And if that 60 per cent of the total volume of food grown worldwide does notwasnt enough, there is a beetle, a louse, a wasp and two species require animal pollination. Many staple foods, such as wheat,of butterflies out there to harm the honeybees. And these are just rice, and corn, are among the many crops that require no helpthe biological pathogens. Then there are several abiotic stress from bees. They either self-pollinate or get help from the wind.factors, such as intensive agriculture, habitat fragmentation and Those foods make up a tremendous proportion of human calorieloss, wrong use of crop protection products, poor bee nutrition intake worldwide. leading to bee starvation and weak bee genetics.Nut producing trees such as walnuts, pecans and pistachios are usually wind-pollinated as well. Many economically impor- MYTH: COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER IN tant trees are also wind-pollinated, such as pines, spruces, firsHONEYBEES IS CAUSED BY GMOS and many hardwood trees. FACT:The sudden and widespread disappearances of adult Other staple food crops, like bananas and plantains, requirehoneybees from hives, termed Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), no pollination of any form, as they are sterile and propagatedwas first documented as early as 1869, long before the arrival from cuttings. Other foods such as root vegetables and saladof GMOs. Claims have been circulated that insect protected GM crops will produce a useful food crop without pollination, thoughcrops harm bees, but these assertions have been refuted by the they may not set seed. In addition, many hybrid food crops relymainstream scientific community. According to several scientific entirely on human pollination to produce hybrid seeds. Apartstudies it is a variety of factors which are impacting bee health, from that, many common non-hybrid crops, like potatoes or heir- mostly biotic stress factors, such as fungi, mites, and other bee loom tomatoes, are self-pollinated. pathogens. But also, abiotic stress factors, such as habitat loss Among the other crops that use animal pollinators, thereand poor bee nutrition. Genetically modified plants and their are varying degrees of how much the plants need them. Only aimpact on honeybees have been widely studied, and the results very small portion absolutely require animal pollination, whileindicate that GM plants are not harmful to bees. 28IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'