SAD but True: Species Awareness Disparity in Bees Is a Result of Bee-Less Biology Lessons in Germany

Abstract

Bee and insect mortality has recently moved to the forefront of current nature conservation debates and experiences intensive media coverage worldwide. In order to understand the complexity, it is necessary to raise awareness of the diversity of bees. This study investigated whether students are aware of the species diversity of bees. We are guided by the concept of ‘plant blindness’ and show that it cannot be assumed that people are only ’plant-blind’. Therefore, we introduce the concept of Species Awareness Disparity (SAD) in bees to describe a phenomenon which can be defined as the failure to appreciate the significance of wild bee species and the inability to distinguish between individual species of the Apidae family. A total of 421 German students in grades 5–7 participated. The majority of students did not associate a diversity of species with the term ‘wild bee’ but rather consider the honeybee as the bee. Only 2.7% (N = 421) of the students were able to correctly identify pictures of wild bees and the honeybee. This highlights the importance of educating students about the identity and nature of bees in their environment so that they become aware of their meaning from both a personal and an ecological perspective.

Euskal haur eta gazteen biodibertsitate-alfabetatzea: kezka iturri bat

“…Biodibertsitate terminoak, ekosistemetan, biometan edo planeta oso batean bizi-formek duten aniztasun-maila hartzen du baitan; hau da, ikuspegi desberdinetatik azter daiteke, maila biokimiko batetik hasita (aniztasun genetikoa), planetan zeharreko bioma aldakortasuna arte [6]. Hartara, biodibertsitatearekiko xalotasuna ere (sarri kontzientzia desberdintasuna edo itsutasuna deitua) maila edo eskala biologiko ezberdinekiko azalera daitekeela hauteman dute ikertzaileek, espezie mailako kontzientzia desberdintasun batetik hasita ("Species Awareness Disparity"; [7]), erreinu oso batekiko itsutasuna izatetik igaroz ("Plant Blindness" edo "Plant Awareness Disparity"; [8,9]) eta eskala biologiko gorenekiko kontzientzia desberdintasunera iritsiz ("Biome Awareness Disparity"; [10]).…”

Be(e) Engaged! How Students Benefit from an Educational Citizen Science Project on Biodiversity in Their Biology Classes

“…In addition, the general public uses the term bee as synonymous for honeybees, and is not aware of the species richness and importance of wild bees. The majority does not recognize wild bees and identifies only honeybees as bees [26,27]. Educational research often focuses on insects in general or other insect families, such as ants, beetles, or butterflies.…”

“…Furthermore, students were asked to decide from color photographs whether the species depicted were wild bees or not. As previously described [27], they were shown two pictures of honeybees, seven pictures of other bee species, and three pictures of hoverflies. The response options were 'Yes', 'No', and 'Do not know'.…”

Citizen Science Apps in a Higher Education Botany Course: Data Quality and Learning Effects

“…The successful application of CS in biodiversity and species literacy classes is of particular interest, given the low knowledge about native species among students [38,39], also in Germany, be they plants [40], vertebrates [41], or insects [42,43]. The same trend is measurable among adults, who are becoming more and more getting disconnected from nature [44], and lay experts, for example, hobby naturalists, who overage without a new generation coming along [45].…”