Anyone who doubts the wisdom of bees should consider they’ve been mastering their contribution to life on Earth for 120 million years. Despite this, we know very little about them. Melittologists (scientists who study bees) are just discovering amazing aspects of bee physiology which if better understood could lead to cures for some diseases.
You may be familiar with the medicinal benefits and traditional uses of bee bi-products, like propolis which is rich in flavonoids and anti-oxidants, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, and proven more effective than antibiotics at inhibiting the growth of certain bacteria. Honey is also an excellent preservative due to its low moisture content and high sugar concentration which creates an environment unfavorable for bacteria growth. Those who suffer from seasonal allergies also find relief in a teaspoon of local honey which contains the pollen from the same plants, and relieves symptoms.
We could discuss so many of the promising directions royal jelly, propolis, honey and the melittin in bee venom offer, but let’s focus on one particular study that gives context to how much we need to learn from bees and how little time we have to save them.
In 2012, a group of scientists wanted to see if the highly adaptable brains of these skilled learners, had plasticity, and if older bees would adapt to learn jobs tasked to younger bees. When they removed the you ger ones, as you might expect, these senior citizens of the colony took over the young ones’ jobs, and something revolutionary occurred, after ten days, half of them not only significantly improved their capacity to learn new tasks and stop the aging process, they actually began to age in reverse. The molecular structure of their brains had changed; two proteins appeared, one also found in humans known to help prevent memory loss, and the other “chaperone” protein, which protects proteins from being damaged when exposed to cell-level stress.
This study has begun the research into a drug that could help people maintain brain function and prevent age-related dementia, which may be available in 30 years, if all goes well.
Meanwhile, other tests have shown that what is qualified as safe levels of pesticide exposure in Canadians is in fact highly toxic to bees, and bees that ingest even sublevel amounts experience problems with flight and navigation, reduced taste sensitivity, slower learning of new tasks, and the loss of smell, all impeding foraging and hive productivity. Recent research has demonstrated that odor may serve as a powerful cue for the recovery of autobiographical memory, found to be impaired in those suffering from Alzheimer’ Disease.
We have much to learn and so many ways to benefit from bees, but it may be too late. Once wild bees are gone, they are gone forever.
