No.

It is the age old problem with civilized human beings of believing in their quixotic minds that whatever nature has in her possession can be made better. And in that attempt almost everything we touch upon changes for the worse, leading to even more loss of resources to make it right and we usually end up either incorrigibly changing what we had or barely redeem ourselves.

Ironically every problem being faced by us today started as nothing more than our whim to control nature to make our lives free of problem.

Barring the use of pesticides and many other restorative measures are needed if we truly want the best pollinators to be back at their jobs doing what they do best. We know of the solutions but are we eager enough to try them out?Its not the responsibility of the few to address or even attempt to rectify the mistakes of the masses. Unless there are mass movements upholding the cause of the planet Earth, no degradation can be reverted and no solution will be long term.

Si yo soy optimista y creo que se estan sumando muchas personas con sus investigaciones para mejorar nuestros problemas ambientales, y se estan sumando tambien las nuevas generaciones a los que se esta involucrando con la problematicas de los polinizadores, incluyendo principalmente a las abejas.

Instead of technological developments to replace the work of bees, it seems preferable to keep them in good health. And in order to fight the different bee diseases, the organization of the beekeepers is essential too, besides all technical means or veterinarian aspects.

The number of honeybees is strongly decreasing in France too, and fighting against their various diseases is an essential tool in the recovery of apiaries. In the sanitary field, an action is generally only effective if it is collective; especially for bees whose movements cannot be controlled, and despite a strong heterogeneity of the beekeepers (owning one to over a thousand colonies), with diverging interests. In the case of one disease chosen as an example, I show in a paper how the decision rule in some organizations, in charge of the bee health, is a critical success factor for the survival of the bees (see Terreaux J. P., 2017, Epizooties et efficacité des processus de décision : un exemple en apiculture, Revue Française d’Economie, 32, 2, 160-197; available in RG : https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321749663_Epizooties_et_efficacite_des_processus_de_decision_un_exemple_en_apiculture ).

loss of 40% of bee colonies is not unusual during the winter. "loss" of colony is sometimes interpreted to mean loss of the hive queen. Remember that in the fall, bees must store enough honey reserves to provide an energy source for the entire winter. We take away their honey reserves for our own uses. Many bee keepers will supplement the honey with sugar (dry) or syrup if the temperatures are above 50 degrees F. If brood is present in the spring, but the queen has been lost, then the remaining bees can make a new queen.

The decline in bee populations must be due to the expanding use of pesticides. Somebody needs to prove the above (if not done yet), so that there can be some coordinated effort, same as the fight against POP's, DDT, CFC's, etc

My personal focus is mostly US based, 5 years as a bee keeper, and reading the American Bee Journal (ABJ). Regarding colony losses I mentioned in my previous note, I read for example in ABJ 158:7, 2018, US Honey Crop and Markets, p. 735 :"...Northwestern New England had mixed reports on losses up to 40%, mainly due to starvation and queen loss...In Tennesse ...colony numbers are down 40%. Weather this spring was cool with below average temperatures. Tennessee beekeepers on average lost 80% of their bees overwinter...Winter loss is reported at 25-30% for Iowa, whereas before devastating varroa mites, losses averaged 15-20%.. A reporter from Oregon notes that colony numbers are down 60% due to bad mite problems last fall, this was probably made worse by the mild winter, which allowed an early growing season and brood rearing."

In summary, many factors can lead honey bee colonies to fail, including high bee foraging activity during warm winters when nectar sources are absent, cold winters when bees freeze, cool, wet springs that delay flowering until after nectar reserves are depleted, and the many parasites and diseases now faced by bees, most notably Varroa destructor mites, Nosema, and foul brood. Also modern industrial pollination services that move millions of colonies across long distances during the season leads to colony stress. To say that decline in bee populations "must be due to...." and studied until proven, ignores the many factors that affect bee health.

Although honeybees and other pollinators face some of the same issues, it is difficult to compare the two sets. A big issue for wild pollinators is loss of habitat which does not impact honeybees, as a managed species, in the same way. Although in the UK, change of land use can be a problem for honeybees as it results in a loss of forage, however Varroa and beekeeper knowledge seem to be the main reason for bee losses at this time (I am currently researching British beekeeping issues), but in the UK winter mortality is reducing, with 8.5% losses for 2018/2019. This fluctuates annually though, as it can also be affected by the weather. Other countries have different problems depending on their beekeeping community composition, as John mentions above, in the U.S, migratory beekeeping is common practice whereas in the UK migratory beekeepers only make up a small percentage, but the UK has a large hobbyist beekeeping community. Technological development could help, it really depends on what sort of technological development, if it enables more food to be grown on less land and in a more sustainable way therefore reducing the need for chemicals and freeing up land, and/or provides a solution to honeybee pests & disease, then it would be beneficial.

It might, but I doubt it will happen in time. It's already getting too late.

In many places on the globe, bees and other pollinating insects are dying out again massively. How to stop this process of extinction of pollinating insects, which is also very dangerous for humans?

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