How Close Are We to Saving the Bees?

A world without bees would… sting, to say the least. » Subscribe to Seeker! http://bit.ly/subscribeseeker » Watch more How Close Are We | http://bit.ly/HCAWplaylist » Follow Olivia on Instagram: @OliviaPavcoG Correction: Our Interview with Dr. Villalobos & scenes at the University of Hawaii at Manoa were filmed by Jonathan Keao, whose name was misspelled in the credits. We apologize for this error. Find more of Jon's work at http://www.skybluepictures.com/. Beekeepers are losing 40-45% of their colonies each year, so scientists, farmers, and engineers are foraging for answers and creative solutions to save the bees. But how close are we? A lack of bees would impact more than just our ability to access honey. Without bees, up to 1/3 of crops could be affected. A world sans bees could jeopardize our entire economy, health, and your second cup of coffee. The last time you heard about bees in the news, it might have been connected with colony collapse disorder, or CCD. CCD was a series of strange, sudden disappearances of entire colonies––where workers left behind a queen, some young, and plenty of food. And while scientists haven’t pinned down what the cause of CCD is, researchers agree it is a combination of the perilous Ps. The perilous Ps (parasites, pathogens, pesticides, and poor nutrition) combined are a major threat to bee health. While being able to monitor bee hives in real time with sensors like Nectar is helpful in uncovering which one of the four Ps is potentially affecting the colonies, we also need to figure out how to prevent the problems from happening in the first place. Some ideas include helping bees fight off different viruses by providing them with a super vitamin and improving bees' nutrition. Learn more about the perilous Ps, the technology being created to monitor hives, and what is being done to help save the bees, on this episode of How Close Are We? #Bees #Technology #Beekeepers #HowCloseAreWe #Seeker #Science Read More: