On a pleasant evening couple of years ago, as I was watering our terrace garden, my attention was drawn to a swarm of flies hovering close to ground. On a closer inspection I realised that these were bees. Alarmed and excited, I searched for the hive, and found one in the most unlikely place just few inches off the ground in a native shrub - the yellow flowering Barleria prionitis. Like most of us, I also do not have the pleasantest close encounter with bees. I was stung twice, nevertheless, I didn’t hate them, but was simply wary of their presence. I have always encouraged exploring compassionate methods while removing/relocating their hives from residential colonies, instead of using pesticides. Now I faced the dilemma. Let them bee? That's when I got in touch with Rakesh Gupta ji, who became my guru on bees. He not only helped me identify the species who chose my terrace as their home but he readily shared information that warmed me up to them. When he offered to take the hive, I quipped, “ they are mine!” and they can stay here as long as they wished. I had already grown fond of these fascinating pets, wide eyed, I observed them daily, while I continued to water my plants just a couple of feet away. I would talk to them softly so that they can recognize a friends presence.
Two winters passed and and there was no bee hive. This year they re-appeared in another native plant, a fragrant climber: Vallaris. Its heartening to see them again. I have also been reading snippets of information on the importance of pollinators for food security and bees are the easily recognizable vital pollinators, and as we all know, use of chemicals in farming is one of the drivers for their decline. I would now like to digress from the human centric view of attributing value to a creature, based on their contribution to our economy. We must view ourselves as an intricate part of this web of life, we are oblivious of our dependance on the less significant beings till the time some new research brings them to the focus. As a passionate proponent of native flora, I am delighted that bees chose native plants for building their home and raising their young, giving me another reason to validate their plantation.
Native flora are the building blocks of resilient habitats that have evolved over millions of years. Our limited understanding of this grand natural design has led to fragmentation and devastation of our lands. The irony of it all is planting of unsuitable plants that cater to our whims and fancies and misplaced aesthetics in gardening, horticulture and plantation drives by completely overlooking the functional role of native species, generally leading to the collapse of regional ecosystems. I am quiet appalled at the greenwashing efforts with fanfare and media coverage with little accountability and knowledge leading to further problems for the survival of pollinators who thrive on the native species.
The dance of evolution where species adapt to changes in the environment unfolds over millions of years in slow motion. The land use change from forests, especially to agriculture, denies the access to food and shelter of thousands of species of bees at other times of the crop cycles. So where will they go? How will they survive? Unlike a forest the diversity of crops is minimal. Forests rich diversity ensures a safe and secure home for pollinators who have special adaptations for specific flora. These forests are the banks of bees, the bees flourish on the resins, cavities and the steady supply of nourishment and when the time is right they are drawn to the fields nearby giving rich dividends to farmers through higher yield.
This highlights the importance of conserving forests and converting degraded lands into appropriate eco-systems. To plan for a better future for all, we must conserve and restore our banks of the bees; forests.
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