Bernard Werber, Einstein, and the Bees
(Part 2)
Bees, lured by the scent and nectar of flowers, inevitably coat themselves with pollen as they reach deep into blossoms to extract nectar located at the base of the petals. When they move on to the next flower, some of that pollen brushes off and lands on the stigma—the female part of the plant—enabling fertilization and the eventual formation of seeds.
The precise moment in evolutionary history when bees became active participants in the sexual reproduction of flowers remains unknown. However, paleobotanists speculate that around 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, the explosion of plant species—growing nearly sevenfold—may have compelled flowers to evolve mechanisms for attracting insects and birds to aid in reproduction.
The Vanishing Bees of America
Author Hannah Nordhaus, who spent five years with fourth-generation American beekeeper John Miller, wrote The Beekeeper's Lament, where she observed:
"Without bees traveling in search of blossoms and without the beekeepers who migrate with them, the vast array of fruits and vegetables stacked in our supermarkets would simply not exist. Through this book, I came to understand how incredibly complex our food system truly is."
However, these indispensable bees began vanishing en masse in the United States between 2006 and 2007. The first to raise the alarm was Hackenberg of Ohio, who initially described it as "Fall Dwindle Disease." But as the seasons changed and reports continued to pour in—from across the U.S. and eventually Europe, India, and Brazil—the scientific community renamed the phenomenon: Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In 36 U.S. states, over one-third of the bee population disappeared.
What the Experts Say
What do those who have witnessed this collapse firsthand—beekeepers and scientists alike—have to say?
Ecologist Rachel Carson warned the world in 1962 through her groundbreaking work Silent Spring that the rampant use of pesticides would trigger ecological catastrophe, silencing even the spring birdsongs. To her, the mass death of bees signaled punishment for humanity’s environmental sins and the unchecked crimes of the chemical industry.
Renowned pollination expert Mark Winston, in his book Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive, issued an ominous warning:
“The disappearance of bees is a clear signal that our food systems are teetering on the edge of collapse. Bees are the casualties of human arrogance, which assumes we can control all aspects of the natural world. For centuries—especially over the past hundred years—this arrogance has intensified. As nature loses its resilience, it can no longer offer us the benefits it once so generously provided.”
A Swarm of Stressors
Environmental journalist Rowan Jacobsen, in his evocative book Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis, described bees as being on the brink of a nervous breakdown:
“Today’s bees face stressors their ancestors never encountered. They're besieged by Varroa mites, tracheal mites, small hive beetles, Africanized killer bees, foulbrood bacteria, fungi, pesticides, and antibiotics. They're battered by urbanization, globalization, climate change, and electromagnetic waves. Their bodies are riddled with viruses like IAPV, deformed wing virus, black queen cell virus, Kashmir bee virus, and more.”
Something is gravely wrong in the world of bees. That they still survive at all is nothing short of a miracle. But what exactly is stressing them to this degree?
The Common Thread: Loss of Wildness
What unites the voices of these experts is the idea that bees once thrived in the wild—resilient and resourceful in the face of predators, parasites, and climate extremes. But under centuries of human intervention—where beekeepers shield them from disease, relocate them to nectar-rich regions, regulate their climate, and even feed them—the bees have grown fragile. Now, bombarded by mites, viruses, pesticides, pollution, electromagnetic radiation, and climate change, they are collapsing under pressure.
Hope for the Bees: Natural Selection
Hannah Nordhaus offers a stark but hopeful suggestion:
“Only breed the bees that survive on their own.”
She proposes one solution:
“Until entomologists engineer a ‘magic bee’—one that retains its current pollination skills but also withstands modern stressors—the only way forward is to breed from survivors. Let the rest perish. The bees that survive will be resilient, able to rebuild collapsed ecosystems, and may possess mysterious capabilities beyond human comprehension.”
This idea mirrors the storyline of Bernard Werber’s The Prophecy of the Bees, where a long-lost queen bee encased in wax is resurrected from beneath an ancient temple—one with the innate wild traits needed to restore the balance of nature.
Two Paths Forward
We now stand at a crossroads.
Like in Werber’s novel, we may unearth ancient, genetically pure bees—untouched by human interference—capable of restoring a vibrant, self-sustaining pollinator ecosystem.
Or, we may choose to select only the strong, allowing natural selection to shape a new generation of bees that are adapted to survive the harsh realities of our modern world.
One thing is clear: though bees may be small, they carry within them a powerful foreshadowing—a signal of humanity’s future.
Whether we heed this warning and act with wisdom will determine whether we survive or fall.
Written by Yongkap Hur
Propolis Specialist
CEO, Unique Biotech Co., Ltd.
Bernard Werber, Einstein, and the Bees
(Part 2)
Bees, lured by the scent and nectar of flowers, inevitably coat themselves with pollen as they reach deep into blossoms to extract nectar located at the base of the petals. When they move on to the next flower, some of that pollen brushes off and lands on the stigma—the female part of the plant—enabling fertilization and the eventual formation of seeds.
The precise moment in evolutionary history when bees became active participants in the sexual reproduction of flowers remains unknown. However, paleobotanists speculate that around 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, the explosion of plant species—growing nearly sevenfold—may have compelled flowers to evolve mechanisms for attracting insects and birds to aid in reproduction.
The Vanishing Bees of America
Author Hannah Nordhaus, who spent five years with fourth-generation American beekeeper John Miller, wrote The Beekeeper's Lament, where she observed:
"Without bees traveling in search of blossoms and without the beekeepers who migrate with them, the vast array of fruits and vegetables stacked in our supermarkets would simply not exist. Through this book, I came to understand how incredibly complex our food system truly is."
However, these indispensable bees began vanishing en masse in the United States between 2006 and 2007. The first to raise the alarm was Hackenberg of Ohio, who initially described it as "Fall Dwindle Disease." But as the seasons changed and reports continued to pour in—from across the U.S. and eventually Europe, India, and Brazil—the scientific community renamed the phenomenon: Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In 36 U.S. states, over one-third of the bee population disappeared.
What the Experts Say
What do those who have witnessed this collapse firsthand—beekeepers and scientists alike—have to say?
Ecologist Rachel Carson warned the world in 1962 through her groundbreaking work Silent Spring that the rampant use of pesticides would trigger ecological catastrophe, silencing even the spring birdsongs. To her, the mass death of bees signaled punishment for humanity’s environmental sins and the unchecked crimes of the chemical industry.
Renowned pollination expert Mark Winston, in his book Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive, issued an ominous warning:
“The disappearance of bees is a clear signal that our food systems are teetering on the edge of collapse. Bees are the casualties of human arrogance, which assumes we can control all aspects of the natural world. For centuries—especially over the past hundred years—this arrogance has intensified. As nature loses its resilience, it can no longer offer us the benefits it once so generously provided.”
A Swarm of Stressors
Environmental journalist Rowan Jacobsen, in his evocative book Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis, described bees as being on the brink of a nervous breakdown:
“Today’s bees face stressors their ancestors never encountered. They're besieged by Varroa mites, tracheal mites, small hive beetles, Africanized killer bees, foulbrood bacteria, fungi, pesticides, and antibiotics. They're battered by urbanization, globalization, climate change, and electromagnetic waves. Their bodies are riddled with viruses like IAPV, deformed wing virus, black queen cell virus, Kashmir bee virus, and more.”
Something is gravely wrong in the world of bees. That they still survive at all is nothing short of a miracle. But what exactly is stressing them to this degree?
The Common Thread: Loss of Wildness
What unites the voices of these experts is the idea that bees once thrived in the wild—resilient and resourceful in the face of predators, parasites, and climate extremes. But under centuries of human intervention—where beekeepers shield them from disease, relocate them to nectar-rich regions, regulate their climate, and even feed them—the bees have grown fragile. Now, bombarded by mites, viruses, pesticides, pollution, electromagnetic radiation, and climate change, they are collapsing under pressure.
Hope for the Bees: Natural Selection
Hannah Nordhaus offers a stark but hopeful suggestion:
“Only breed the bees that survive on their own.”
She proposes one solution:
“Until entomologists engineer a ‘magic bee’—one that retains its current pollination skills but also withstands modern stressors—the only way forward is to breed from survivors. Let the rest perish. The bees that survive will be resilient, able to rebuild collapsed ecosystems, and may possess mysterious capabilities beyond human comprehension.”
This idea mirrors the storyline of Bernard Werber’s The Prophecy of the Bees, where a long-lost queen bee encased in wax is resurrected from beneath an ancient temple—one with the innate wild traits needed to restore the balance of nature.
Two Paths Forward
We now stand at a crossroads.
Like in Werber’s novel, we may unearth ancient, genetically pure bees—untouched by human interference—capable of restoring a vibrant, self-sustaining pollinator ecosystem.
Or, we may choose to select only the strong, allowing natural selection to shape a new generation of bees that are adapted to survive the harsh realities of our modern world.
One thing is clear: though bees may be small, they carry within them a powerful foreshadowing—a signal of humanity’s future.
Whether we heed this warning and act with wisdom will determine whether we survive or fall.
Written by Yongkap Hur
Propolis Specialist
CEO, Unique Biotech Co., Ltd.