แม่จ๋า ผื้ง หายไปไหน แล้วใคร จะ ผสมเกสรดอกไม้ ให้ผลไม้เรา

Where Have All The Flower Lovers Gone?
 
The morning has broken. The Sun's golden rays reflect off glittering dews on tree leaves and grass blades. Many flowers open up - stretch their colourful petals out to catch the sunlight. The sweet smells of their nectar fill the cool morning air. Soon, their pollens become dry and powdery and get blown away by warm winds as the Sun climbs up. By noon, the flowers begin to wither. Their petals turn limp and droop. Their sweet scent is spent. Then, the flowers die.

What is missing from the picture we just described?
 
For more than 50 years, we have been killing our friends - the flower lovers - the pollinators of our flowers, so, our flowers go to fruits and go to nourish us. We have been spraying them with insecticides and other chemicals. We have been destroying their homes - trees, hollow logs and cracks. We have been clearing their food supplies in forests, meadows and glades. We say in excuse: we have to protect our crops; we have to increase our yields; we have to control weeds; and the bees and their friends - pollinators - have our flowers to work on.
 
We need air every second. We need water every few hours. We need food every day. What if the airs we breathe become polluted and toxic? What if we don't have clean water to drink to let our blood flow? What if we don't have weeds that feed us in the time when the orchards are not in blooms? And what if we can't get all kinds of foods and minerals that we need from these mono-culture farms?. What if our stump homes get pushed down and burnt to ashes? Some unsprayed flowers in a season would be good if only we could hold on until then. What do we feed ourselves in the meantime? Where do we live? We are tired and weary from going further and longer to find, collect and carry back our foods? Where are our friends who have helped putting fruits on our trees in the past and just now?
 
What if our children look up and ask "แม่จ๋า ผื้ง หายไปไหน แล้วใคร จะ ผสมเกสรดอกไม้ ให้ผลไม้เรา"?
 
        
<Note 1> In 2008, population of bees in apiary in USA was down by 90%. No one knows what happened to the population of bees in the wild. An attempt to quantify the economic loss came up with a figure of USD 15 Billions. Surveys in many countries found similar decline in bee population.  
 
Since then bees have been imported (from Australia) to rebuild the US bee population. Urban communities are helping to raise bees in city parks and school grounds.
 
<Note 2> The chemical warfare on insects and weeds may have far greater collateral damages on bees, friendly wildlife and companion plants. Toxins leak into grounds and water ways have reduced fish and birds population.
 
Industries have added pollutants and wastes into air and water.
 
Land development (for housing) has reduced forests and habitats for all wildlife. Pollinators have lost their homes too.  
 
Our liking for green grass and nice flowers over clovers and weedy wild flowers may have offset natural diversity and robbed the bees of their food sources. Many weeds are known to provide staple food for bees and pollinators.
   
<Note 3> Recent floods have also proved disastrous to bees and other pollinators (butterflies, flies, moths, birds,...). Floods destroyed their homes, reduced their food sources, starved and killed their young,...
 
<Note 4> Pollinators play a major part in agriculture. Their contributions to Thailand economy have never been recognised nor estimated. There are apiary beekeeping courses, but aimed towards honey production. There are many pollinators. Most have evolved to serve only particular plants. For example: Pitaya or dragon fruit flowers come to bloom around 7-9PM - when bees have gone home. So, pollination is performed by night (nocturnal) moths.
 
<Note 5> Rice is said to self-pollinate (without external help from pollinators). There is an "urgent" need to study the pollination mechanism for rice to ensure our main food supply.
 
Pollination mechanisms for many other important crops must also be studied and understood. Lacking in knowledge, conservation of our remaining environment must take high priority. For all the silver and gold we profit (from manufacturing exports at the expense of our environment), what is life if we don't have good clean food, clean water, clean air and clean place to raise our family?