ABSTRACT
This chapter takes a deep ecology perspective on accounting for bees. It focuses on the inter-connectedness of life and notes which stakeholders have an interest in Bombus terrestris and whose lives would be impacted should the queen and others like her fail to bring up a family. It starts from the premise that a bees’ nest is not, and cannot be reduced to, a pollinating plant or honey factory; it is a living, adaptive community full of individuals who can themselves learn and adapt. Further it is part of an ecological supra-system often involving numerous ecological communities each of which can, in the longer term at least, adapt and change. In the face of such complexity any attempts at control simply ask for unintended consequences. The following section outlines the life of a Bombus terrestris queen and her family. In particular their relationship with other flora and fauna is investigated. The section thereafter provides an overview of deep ecology, focusing on the concepts of inter-connectedness, ecological egalitarianism and diversity. These concepts, particularly inter-connectedness, are now seen as integral to general systems theory as noted in Chapter 1 of this book. The penultimate section discusses stakeholder engagement and argues the case for Nature and ultimately bees to be considered as
stakeholders.1 The final section argues that our current understanding of Bombus terrestris is at best shallow and most likely just plain wrong. I argue for an alternative view that demands we leave space for Bombus terrestris and Nature in general, one which also has lessons for humanity.
