TED talks: why bees are disappearing – Marla Spivak

Why are bee populations dwindling in the 21st century when the creatures have been around for 50 million years? Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota professor of entomology, explains in this week’s featured TED talk.

Spivak, who in 2010 was named a MacArthur Fellow (for “creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world“), outlines how there are four processes that are combining to contribute to the bee decline.

The consequences of such processes could be devastating, she says, given bees pollinate a third of the global crops. Could this incredible species be holding up a mirror for mankind?

To watch this video on the TED website, click here.