I am writing this to respond to the article you sent me and provide some insight on the issue. Honeybees and flowers are interdependent. Honeybees’ primary objective is to collect pollen from plants, which they use as protein to reproduce. As a byproduct, bees also create honey, which powers their flight muscles and provides warmth for the hive during winter. A secondary function for honeybees is pollination, which is the fertilization of plants in order for them to blossom. The process involves the bee foraging in the flower and collecting pollen through electromagnetic forces. Honeybees then distribute the pollen as male sex cells of plants to the ovules, the female sex cells of plants. One third of human consumption is comprised of plants that require pollination and honeybees provide up to 80% of this. This includes: vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Bee pollination provides a higher quality and quantity of crops. Additionally, cattle are fed from plants that require pollination of insects. Pollination is a mutualistic interaction benefits both insects and flora. Both honeybee and plant communities can thrive and prosper as long as the process remains at an optimum efficiency. Honeybees play a vital role in the environment and their disappearance would prove detrimental to both the local ecosystem and human would have to adjust their diets drastically. Honeybees are not facing endangerment, however, their disappearance greatly impacts the industry of commercial
The honey bee is vital to an estimated $117 billion annual production of crops through pollination within the United States more than a half of the food that humans consume has a correlation with the bee either directly or indirectly. The USDA reports the following food products would be immediately damaged if no bees were available to pollinate:
Thesis: Without a change in policy and practice, honeybees may disappear, causing humans a dilemma that is much bigger than many understand.
Bee populations are declining at an alarming rate all around the world, and daily life without bees would be detrimental. Without the bees around to help pollinate our food, 30 percent of which is grown using bees, there is an incredibly high chance that we would starve. “Mankind will not survive the honeybees’ disappearance for more than five years.” (Albert Einstein) By using harmful pesticides in our agriculture, and the excessive use of high fructose corn syrup, we are killing the bees at an alarming rate. One of every three bites of food rely on pollination for a profitable harvest. We must acknowledge everything that the bees provide for humans, then ban pesticides that hard bees, move away from industrial agriculture and put our focus
There is no worse feeling than losing something important, and having no clue as to what has happened to it. This has occurred to many beekeepers around the country. They wake up overnight to find a large portion of their bees gone. Honeybee loss has been around for quite a while. Its reach extends as far as Europe and Asia. The amount of bees disappearing, gradually increased in number as the years went by. In fact, according to the ARS, 32% of honeybee colonies were lost in the winter of 2006 to 2007, and that is only a quarter of the year. If the rest of the year is taken into account the total loss is much greater. For example, in the year 2010-2011, 36.4% were lost, from the year 2011-2012, 28.9% were lost, in 2012-2013, 45%, and in 2013-2014, 34%(Kaplan). Although the percentage of loss is not consecutively increasing, and instead is creating almost a roller coaster of ups and downs, it is still a problem. In fact, the Bee Informed Partnership, a group of knowledgeable universities and research labs, reported that about 42.1% of honeybees, were
Honeybees are dying and we have to help! Honey Bees are becoming extinct and this could have a major effect on food and, food prices! We could lose cherries, almonds, apples, oranges, and much more! There are many reasons for honey bees becoming extinct, for example “One is poor nutrition…” (Lindsay Lowe) There are already helping for example “...The USDA announced in may…” (2014) “... that it would set aside $4 million for those looking to grow pollinator friendly plants.” you better read on so you can find out more about the honey bees.
Honeybees are a massive part of most of the world's agricultural. Many plants rely on the honeybee to pollinate and allow the continued growth of their species. Many crops also rely on these insects. Honeybees pollinate three quarters of our major food crops. What would happen if most of the bee population disappeared? Would the human race die out? Would have to find alternative methods of pollination? How would this affect the rest of the environment? Many of these questions would be erased if there was a major change in the way people treat bees. The decline of the honeybee population will become a major threat to the US, unless the population initiates a major change in the beekeeping industry.
In centuries, the honey bee has a very important role in our agriculture. According to Watanabe, Honey bee approximately benefits $10 billion of crops, including almonds, apples, and alfalfa every year in the United State (Pollination Worries rise As Honey Bees Decline, 1170). In addition, The National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) had estimated 2660 million honey producing colonies in 2015 (2017). Based on honey bees’ behavior, they can expand nearly all habitable corners of the globe which made them highly adaptable species (Dennis, 80). With adaptable capability and high productivity, our beekeepers can able to maintain their life
The decrease in the honey bee population is a threat to today’s society because bees account for pollination, fertilization, and have an impact on the economy. The honey bee’s extinction is a problem because of the impact it can have on everybody’s life. It affects the economy and the food supplies. If you eat food and enjoy flowers the decrease in bee population impacts you.
As the Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck once said: ‘‘If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.’’ The abovementioned quote that was used by the famous astrophysicist Albert Einstein many years later proves that the importance of honeybees in our ecosystems is a known fact since the beginning of the 20th Century. It has been 15 years that the worldwide bee population’s decline, the colony collapse disorder (CCD), is at an alarming rate, which concerns the whole scientific domain. Many companies, environmentalist groups and
Bees are some of the most feared insects on the planet but aside from their sting they are quite a complex and beneficial creature. There are over 20,000 species of bees on the planet (Spivak,2013). They are often associated with honey however, they play a far more important role, they pollinate. Bees are responsible for about 80 percent of pollination worldwide and a single colony is able to pollinate upwards of 300 million flowers each day (Greenpeace.org). Although there are ways for human pollination it is often a painstaking and time-consuming process. Studies have also shown that human pollination is not as effective (Spivak, 2013)). With 90 percent of the worlds nutrition dependent upon bees we need to support the bees with pollination (Greenpeace.org). If we want to continue enjoying the many foods bees provide for us we
Albert Einstein once said, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man” (“Einstein Once Said…”). After careful thought on this matter, this can be a scary concept to process. Millions of years have passed with the honey bee gracing the earth, and in fact, the honeybee is the only insect that aids in the production of food that is consumed by the human race (“20 Amazing Honey Bee Facts!”). Imagine going to a grocery store and there being no almonds to buy, a scarce supply of apples to choose from, and a very limited
Honeybees play a significant role in helping pollinate many different crops and flowers. As honeybees gather pollen and nectar for their survival, they pollinate crops of fruits and vegetables. “Some crops, including blueberries and cherries, are 90-percent dependent on honey bee pollination; one crop, almonds, depends entirely on the honey bee for pollination at bloom time” (KAUFFELD). According to facts listed by the Almond Board of California, “one-third of global food production volume relies on pollinators, to some degree” (@almonds, Bee).
As a board member of Project Apis m., and the president of the California State Beekeepers Association, you are probably well aware that honey bee populations are in rapid decline all over the world. They play quite a significant role in the production of the various crops humans consume on a day to day basis. I am writing to you because I believe we have similar goals. I am particularly concerned with the severity of the diminishing bee population and the negative outcome this will have on our food.
Honeybees are a major source of food for the United States. Honey is in many foods expected and unexpected. Honeybees population is decreasing day by day and we cannot figure out why. Is it global warming? Is it Air pollution?
Bees and other insects are responsible for the pollination of plants. This allows for plant reproduction and ultimately yields food, plant, and flower crops. Bees, specifically, collect nectar and pollen from the flower of a plant. Some of the pollen from the stamen--the male reproductive organ--sticks to the tiny hairs on the bee. When the bee travels to another flower, the pollen is transferred to the stigma--the female reproductive organ--and fertilization is possible. When considering the number of bees and the number of plants in existence, the positive impact of bees is undeniable.