Bee chic

Published by 3C Style

Scientific journalist, author and fashion blogger from Montreal - Journaliste scientifique, auteure et blogueuse mode de Montréal View all posts by 3C Style

Photography: Burt’s Bees & Pink Tartan

Raise awareness about the importance of bees to the ecosystem and curb the threat on agriculture disappearance. These are the objectives of the brand Pink Tartan and Burt’s Bees that have joined forces and created the t-shirt Bee chic to restrict the disappearance of pollinators.

Available in limited edition since May 2016, the t-shirt is sold at the Pink Tartan store in Holt Renfrew for $ 49. Each Bee chic t-shirt comes with two Burt’s Bees 100% natural lipsticks in spring shades (Iced Iris and Tulip Tide). The funds raised will enable Burt’s Bees and Wildlife Preservation Canada to plant thousands of wild flowers to support bee health and sustainability.

The use of pesticides, especially neonicotinoids, cause the disappearance of bees. Other factors, such as habitat loss, the parasite Varroa destructor and monocultures increase the problem. To date, in many parts of the world, more than half of the bees needed to sustain crop yields are lacking.

According to Dr. Pascal Dubreuil, a professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montreal, increases in monoculture is a serious problem. It can cause malnutrition bees. ” If you eat bananas 365 days a year, you will survive, but I do not know what will be your condition! It’s the same for a bee that can only forage blueberry flowers ” says Dr. Dubreuil.

To combat malnutrition, beekeepers give pollen supplements to their colonies. A common solution today is to hire itinerant hives at the time of flowering. This is particularly the case in California where each year nearly two million hives for almond tree fertilization are transported by trucks. In Quebec, beekeepers are increasingly likely to move their hives to help pollinate. ” My brother is a beekeeper says Dr. Dubreuil. His revenue now mainly derived from renting his hives rather than selling his honey. “

The environmental initiative of Pink Tartan and Burt’s Bees therefore is good, but does not fully solve the problem. It is nevertheless noteworthy.

This post is part of an article about the disappearance of pollinators that I wrote initially for the journal Forum in May 2015 and was republished by Techno-Science.net.

Update: Here’s a recent scientific study from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in UK about the impact of neonicotinoids on bees that I recommend you to read. (Note: Thank you Darren for this interesting and very relevant study and for giving me access to it.)

 The mite Varroa destructor, a parasite of the bee Apis mellifera, sows death in hives everywhere on the planet. Illustration: Benoît Gougeon

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