BeeOdiversity Knokke-Heist (EN)

POLLINATION, A MATTER OF SURVIVAL FOR PLANTS, ANIMALS, AND HUMANS

In pollination, pollen is transferred from one flower to another. When a male reproductive cell fuses with a female cell, fertilization occurs, leading to the growth of seeds and fruits. Bees, such as solitary bees, honeybees, and bumblebees, are the main pollinators. Solitary bees do most of the work, pollinating even more flowers than 120 honeybees combined! If the flowers of fruits, vegetables, and other crops are not pollinated, many plants on Earth would become extinct.

Some plants are not only pollinated by insects, but also by wind or water. This is called wind pollination or water pollination, and it occurs in plants such as grass pollen, corn, and aquatic plants.

BUILD OF THE HONEYBEE

The honeybee (Apis mellifera) is an insect belonging to the family of Apidae. Its body is divided into three parts: the head with the antennae, the thorax with three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings, and the abdomen. These bees live in groups called colonies, which can contain up to 50 000 individuals. They tend to naturally nest in tree cavities but are often housed in specially designed beehives. These hives are usually made of wood and are designed to facilitate the production of honey, which is essential for feeding the bees during the winter.

Bees primarily communicate through scents, also known as pheromones. They can perceive these scents with their antennae.

HONEY BEE COLONY

A bee colony is a well-organized team of insects that work together to survive and increase their numbers. In the summer, there can be up to 50 000 bees, while this number decreases to 20 000 in the winter. Within the colony, there are three important groups: the queen, the workers, and the males, also known as drones. The bees live in a specially built beehive where they take care of their offspring and stores such as pollen and honey. The queen lays eggs, the workers take care of the brood nest and collect nectar and pollen. The drones primarily take care of reproduction. Sometimes, the queen leaves the hive with some of the bees to find a new place to live, a phenomenon known as swarming. A new queen then takes over the old colony and ensures the continuation of the bee family.

A queen can lay up to 2000 eggs per day.

THE LIFE OF THE HONEYBEE IN A NUTSHELL

A bee colony consists of 1 queen, 1000 drones, and 60 000 worker bees. In the summer, the queen lays up to 2000 eggs per day! The worker bees take good care of her. After a few days, a larva emerges from the egg. It is first fed with royal jelly and later with bee bread. The larva grows quickly and after molting four times, it transforms into a bee. The worker bees seal the cell with a layer of wax. After 12 days, the bee emerges and begins as a cleaning bee. Then it becomes a nurse bee, a builder bee, a guard bee, and finally a forager bee.

To make a pot with 500 grams of honey, the bees have to cover a distance equal to the circumference of the earth, or 40 000 kilometres!

HONEY AND POLLEN-GIVING PLANTS

Flowers need pollen to reproduce. This pollen is spread by the wind or by insects to other flowers, allowing them to form fruits and seeds. Pollen is actually the male part of the flower and ensures that the flower can be fertilized.

Some flowers produce nectar, a sweet liquid, to attract insects. When insects come to drink nectar, they often touch the pollen and thus help with the pollination of flowers.

Bees need honey as food and pollen to feed their larvae all year round. Fortunately, there are many different types of plants that provide nectar and pollen, ensuring that bees always have enough to eat.

Due to the great variety of plants, pollinators can find high-quality food throughout the year. This allows them to continue ensuring the reproduction of flowers and plants in nature.

Not all flowers produce nectar and pollen. For example, bees find pollen on corn but no nectar.

WILD FLOWERS

Bees and flowers are best friends! Bees help flowers reproduce by carrying pollen from one flower to another. This is super important for wildflowers and for our food, because without pollination, there would be no vegetables or fruits. These wildflowers are not only beautiful, but they also attract various insects and animals that make our world colorful and lively.

Think of an ecosystem as a big team of plants, animals, and other creatures living together in a specific area, like a field or a forest. Everyone has an important role in ensuring that everything stays balanced and works well. Together, they make the world a beautiful and pleasant place to live.

Here, no less than 21 species of wildflowers were sown. They bloom from April to October in a color palette that changes over time from red to yellow to blue.

ACTIONS WITH FARMERS: POTATO GROWERS

In conventional agriculture, various types of pesticides are used to combat diseases, weeds, and pests on the same crop, such as potatoes. Fungicides are essential to prevent diseases like phytophthora and alternaria, which can lead to a decrease in yield. Farmers often carry out preventive treatments to prevent the spread of these diseases, but it is sometimes difficult to know when to act.

Special meetings have been organized in collaboration with BeeOdiversity and Inagro to find alternatives to reduce the use of pesticides and treatments. Following these discussions, the Municipal Council of Knokke-Heist has decided to invest in two weather stations to provide farmers with accurate information about the upcoming weather. This will help them adjust and reduce preventive treatments for their crops while responding to the challenges of climate change and consumer demands for potato quality.

You can support our hardworking farmers by purchasing their high-quality products directly from the farm. As a consumer, you are, just like the farmer, an essential part of the transition to sustainable agriculture.

ACTIONS WITH FARMERS: FRUIT GROWERS

Our local fruit growers mainly produce apples, plums, and cherries. At the beginning of the season, fruit growers use products like the fungicide Captan to prevent fungi from infecting the trees, protect new shoots, and ensure good growth throughout the season. In Knokke-Heist, we discovered that sometimes there was too much Captan in the air. To reduce the amount of Captan, the municipality decided to collaborate with the fruit growers. They organized workshops to understand what the growers needed and how they could help them change their methods. BeeOdiversity provided each fruit grower with tips to use less Captan while still achieving a good harvest. It is amazing to see how well everyone has worked together. After the workshops in 2020, the amount of Captan decreased and continued to do so in the following years. In just a few years, the amount of Captan was reduced to a very low level. This shows that we can really make a difference when we all work together.

The level of Captan was measured using BeeOmonitoring. This is a measurement tool from BeeOdiversity that works with bees. They analyze the pollen that bees bring back to the hive to determine which pesticides are present in the environment and in what concentration. Thanks to this analysis, the municipality of Knokke-Heist can learn more about the pesticides around us.

BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity is a rather complex word that comes from "biological diversity." It encompasses all living beings on Earth, such as animals and plants, as well as the places where they live, such as meadows, forests, oceans, and lakes. In Belgium, we have many different habitats, including forests, wetlands, and even urban areas. This means there are many different kinds of living beings.

Experts estimate that there are more than 55 000 different species of living beings in Belgium! That is an enormous number! But this figure is probably only a fraction of the actual biodiversity. New species are still being discovered regularly, and there are many microorganisms and species that have not been well-studied yet. So, biodiversity is simply the great variety of life on our planet.

Half of the cataloged species living in Belgium are animals, mainly insects, including more than 4 500 species of beetles, 4 500 species of flies, and 2 400 species of butterflies.

HONEYBEES AND SOLITARY BEES

In our country, there are many different species of wild bees, around 400 to be precise. In Knokke-Heist alone, 140 species have been counted by Natuurpunt. The way wild bees live is completely different from that of honeybees. They live alone and take care of their nests and food supplies for their young by themselves. They only come together with another of their kind for a brief mating.

Wild bees are active from March to September. During this time, females look for a place to build their nests. Most dig a small tunnel in the ground, but some use existing cavities in wood, stems, or between stones. They are very creative in finding nesting sites.

Did you know you can easily make a bee hotel yourself? It is best to hang it on a warm south-facing wall, under an overhang, and out of the rain.

FROM VERY PICKY TO SUPER FLEXIBLE

Forage plants are plants that provide food to bees and other insects in the form of pollen and nectar. Certain bees are very picky and only get their food from a few types of plants. These bees are true food specialists. For example, the saltmarsh bee gets its food from sea aster, bitter herb, and small hawkweed. There are also bees that can find food on many different plants; these bees are very flexible. The silver flute bee is an example of such a generalist.

Did you know that boxwood is a good bee plant, but if you prune it into a ball, it can never bloom and thus cannot produce pollen? Let all plants bloom before you start pruning!

BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION

At this moment, nearly 8% of species are extinct, about 22% are threatened, almost 30% are vulnerable, and only 40% of species are not threatened.

There are five main reasons why our biodiversity is declining:

1. Habitat loss, such as the disappearance of hedgerows,
2. Pollution from plastics and pesticides,
3. Overexploitation of resources, leaving plants and animals no time to recover, such as in fishing,
4. Invasive species that threaten local species,
5. Climate change, where rising temperatures make it difficult for many species to survive.

We can take action together to protect biodiversity! We can plant native species in our gardens and reduce pesticide use. Protecting natural habitats and raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity are also crucial steps.

AGRICULTURE AND POLLINATION

Pollination is an essential process for the reproduction of 80% of all plant species worldwide. Pollinators transfer pollen, produced by the male organ of a flower - the "stamen" - to the female organ of a flower, the "pistil." These pollinators include bees, butterflies, ants, flies, and even some birds and bats in other parts of the world!

There are different types of pollinators. Some are specialists and visit only one type of flower, while others are generalists and visit a wide variety of flowers. They carry pollen with them as they fly from flower to flower, thus aiding in the reproduction of the flowers.

But these pollinating allies are threatened by the loss of their natural habitat, the use of pesticides on fields, and climate change. It is estimated that about 40% of pollinators are threatened each year!

Imagine a world without pollinators... Juicy fruit, crunchy vegetables, melting chocolate, and even our morning cup of coffee would disappear from our lives.

But don't worry, there is also good news! Everyone can help in their own small way. You can do this by planting bee-friendly flowers in the garden, not using pesticides, or building an insect hotel for solitary bees.