Weed Killer could be responsible for the worldwide disappearance of honey bees

By Austin Schoonmaker | September 25, 2018

According to scientists, a commonly used weed killer could be responsible for the massive disappearance of honey bees worldwide. The weedkiller in question is glyphosate, which appears to destroy the "good" bacteria found in the honey bee's intestine, making them more vulnerable to infection and even death.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that hypothesizes that glyphosate can be extremely lethal to the bee microbiome. A microbiome refers to the plethora of essential bacteria that inhabit the interior and exterior of living organisms and play a vital role in the health of the body. In the study, researchers urge decision makers to begin implementing better guidelines for the use of glyphosate, as current guidelines state that these herbicides are not harmful to bees.

To test if their hypothesis is true, the researchers gave the insects glyphosate levels similar to the cultures, then after several days they took DNA samples from the bowels of the bees. They discovered that after three days, glyphosate had eliminated the good bacteria from the digestive systems of bees, making them far more likely to be infected with common pathogens than they could easily fight easily.

In the past year alone, US beekeepers have lost 33% of their bee populations. Beekeepers also had a hard time trying to figure out a strange disease known as a colony collapse disorder, where the majority of worker bees simply disappear, leaving behind a colony unable to support itself.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has identified bees as one of the best ways to create a sustainable global food supply and support more sustainable agriculture. In the United States alone, pollinators such as honey bees are linked to an annual market value ranging from $ 235 to $ 557 billion. Without bees, we would live in a very dull world without access to adequate nutrition. We would lose the availability of wild crops and plants, which provide essential micronutrients extremely important for human nutrition, as well as humans who develop a deficiency of important vitamins such as iron and vitamin A.