Credits: Reuters / Heinz-Peter Bader
The bee population declines when flowers are reduced by parasites or when an epidemic wipes out bees. Sometimes human interference can reduce the population of bees too. But recently in U.S. alone 40% of honeybee population was reduced due to inexplicable die-off.
Earlier research suggested that when bees hunt for honey they don’t avoid nectars contaminated with aluminium. In U.K. when researchers measured the content of aluminium in bee pupae taken from naturally foraging they found levels of aluminium content in bee pupae that ranged from 13 to 193 ppm (parts per million). Brain aluminium in excess of 3 ppm can neurological disorders including dementia, reports an article published in the journal PLOS One.
The decline in the bee population could be caused by the insect’s high contamination of aluminium, a chemical element implicated as a factor in Alzheimer’s disease in humans
Points to note:
- Aluminium is a known neurotoxin.
- Burning of fossil fuels result in acid rain.
- Mining of aluminium ores to make metal and salts.
- Fish, trees, crops and humans have all been affected by aluminium contamination.
- Now the bees.
