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

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  • Laura Christ

    (Department of Biology Education, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, D-5099 Mainz, Germany)

  • Daniel C. Dreesmann

    (Department of Biology Education, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, D-5099 Mainz, 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Christ & Daniel C. Dreesmann, 2022. "SAD but True: Species Awareness Disparity in Bees Is a Result of Bee-Less Biology Lessons in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2604-:d:757023
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anastasia Adamou & Yiannis Georgiou & Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi & Andreas Ch. Hadjichambis, 2021. "Environmental Citizen Science Initiatives as a Springboard towards the Education for Environmental Citizenship: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-29, December.
    2. Gallai, Nicola & Salles, Jean-Michel & Settele, Josef & Vaissière, Bernard E., 2009. "Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 810-821, January.
    3. Anne-Kathrin Sieg & Daniel Dreesmann, 2021. "Promoting Pro-Environmental BEEhavior in School. Factors Leading to Eco-Friendly Student Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Sara Diana Leonhardt & Nicola Gallai & Lucas A. Garibaldi & Michael Kuhlmann & Alexandra-Maria Klein, 2013. "Economic gain, stability of pollination and bee diversity decrease from southern to northern Europe," Post-Print hal-01946480, HAL.
    5. Gallai, Nicola & Salles, Jean-Michel & Settele, Josef & Vaissière, Bernard E., 2009. "Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 810-821, January.
    6. Wessel Ganzevoort & Riyan J. G. van den Born, 2021. "Counting Bees: Learning Outcomes from Participation in the Dutch National Bee Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-17, April.
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    1. Laura Christ & Marie Hahn & Anne-Kathrin Sieg & Daniel C. Dreesmann, 2022. "Be(e) Engaged! How Students Benefit from an Educational Citizen Science Project on Biodiversity in Their Biology Classes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Cristiano Ziegler & Renan Mitsuo Ueda & Tiago Sinigaglia & Felipe Kreimeier & Adriano Mendonça Souza, 2022. "Correlation of Climatic Factors with the Weight of an Apis mellifera Beehive," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-13, April.

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