Bees are some of the most hardworking insects on the planet, but unfortunately, their diligence is often overlooked, leaving these creatures extremely underappreciated. Not only are bees the sole producers of honey, they also responsible for pollinating around one-sixth of the flowering plant species worldwide and approximately 400 different types of plants. Without the pollination of bees, a large portion of the world’s food supply would vanish; different studies have shown that between 50-80% of the world’s food supply being directly or indirectly affected by the honey bee population. From the pollination of apples, or of the seeds used to produce grain for livestock, the food chain is strongly linked to honey bees. Furthermore, bees also provide us with beeswax, propolis, pollen, royal jelly, apitherapy, and an income for bee keepers; they certainly have a lot to offer. This paper will discuss the mysterious decline of the bees over the past few decades and why they are disappearing. There are many endangered species around the world, and the honeybee may become the …show more content…
One pesticide in particular, called neonicotinoid, a new class of insecticides chemically related to nicotine that is used on farmland, is known to have a negative impact on bees and is likely the main cause for CCD. Neonicotinoids were thought to have had a low toxicity level with a low rate of harm towards many insects, but research shows that it is toxic to bees even when exposed to a small amount; it targets their brains, affecting their ability to navigate to and from food sources and disrupting their ability to learn and memorize routes. This diminishes their potential and stops them from doing their job, or even killing them, which has undoubtedly already taken its toll on the bee
Furthermore bees specifically are particularly efficient with it being estimated that they are the sole pollinators for 50% of the approximate 80% of flowering plants which rely on insects for pollination (Bradbear, 2009). Their efficiency is further illustrated by the fact that a single colony containing 25,000 forager bees is able to pollinate 250 million flowers per day (Bradbear, 2009). As a result of this it can be seen that bees are hugely important as pollinators with many species of flower being completely dependent on them. Furthermore, the importance of bees extends beyond ecological diversity; certain types of bees are hugely important economically. In addition to pollinating a large variety of fruit and vegetables, bees produce Honey; together this results in them having an estimated value of service of £200m a year in the UK (National Audit Office (NAO), 2009). Overall it can be seen that bees are of significant importance that any decrease in population should be treated with concern, as a result of this a large quantity of research has been conducted into identifying possible
The article begins with the statement of how falling population in bees will lead to a decline is crop production for the united states of America. This statement was announced at the American Association for the Advancement of Science or for short the AAAS. The United States relies on these bees for pollination as it is a big part of the economy bringing in over 3 billion dollars annually. It is mention how it is possible to reverse the decline in wild bees by habitat restoration. Bees are a huge part of the crop production in the united states which helps with the income and rotation of crops. In the article maps of troubled zones where placed in over 139 counties in agricultural regions of California, Pacific Northwest, the upper Midwest and Great Plains, West Texas, and Mississippi River Valley. All those places are known for their specialty crops such as almonds blueberries and apples. Those specialty crops
Scientists performing ecotoxicological studies believe that over time the poisons from Neonicotinoids, cause paralysis in the worker bees and also effects future bee generations when the toxins are ingested. CCD is caused by Neonicotinoids bonding to the anatomy and central nervous system in the bees. This affects their navigation capabilities and also impairs their memory. When they are unable to work effective then things don’t get done. The neonicotinoids are also known to compromise the bees immune systems making them more susceptible to a virus
Many people say that bees are accountable for one of every three bites of food we eat. In addition to plant pollination (crucial to crop growth), bees also provide people with many wax based products as well. Honeybees are singlehandedly one of the most important organisms in our ecosystem, however their efforts are often ignored. The bees are dying, and their mysterious disappearances are raising far less warning signs than needed. Colony collapse disorder has been an enormous concern for quite a while now, and it is only getting worse. Using multiple scholarly sources, the importance of CCD and bees will be brought to light throughout this paper. An introduction to the definition of colony collapse disorder will be looked at as an
An issue that is very important to me is the environment. More specifically, the issue of the declining bee population . As a vegetarian, animals are quite important to me. Honeybees and Bumblebees are pollinators. Pollinators fertilize plants . The bees have a crucial role in the growth of flowers and plants. of pollinate 80% of flowering crops, according to the Department of Agriculture. If bees were to disappear, we would lose a lot of our staple crops. This will induce national effects on America. The bee population is declining at an alarming rate. The main reason why this is happening is because of pesticides. Science with no respect to the environment and to people has catastrophic effects. But, I believe that we can reverse this problem.
Recently I read an article in the Hill Country Observer titled “Hives of Controversy” by Tracy Frisch (http://www.hillcountryobserver.com/2015news/Sept2015bees1.htm). The article talks about colony collapse disorder and the causes. The tests that have been done and continue to proceed mention that the insecticide neonicotinoids can be a major cause for the loss of bees. As with most if not all chemical insecticides they don't readily break
In order to do that, I need to find out why these pesticides aren't being banned. David Schuburt says, "Unless the chemical kills the bee outright, it's use will be allowed." This might be more of a problem than the pesticides themselves because this problem keeps reoccurring. The pesticide doesn't kill the bee right away, it takes time for it to set in. Another source states, "Another reason for the die-off is something called tank mixing. This is where you mix all the pesticides and insecticides at once" (Sanders). So this problem for the farmers, all comes back because of the farmers. There are many reasons for the death of the bees but the major sources are the pesticides and how the pesticides are being
Neonicotinoid pesticides are a group of chemicals widely used on farm crops, plants, and trees (1). The concern behind these pesticides is the harmful impact on pollinating insects such as honey bees and bumble bees (1). Neonicotinoids are sprayed onto the plant where they are absorbed by the plant and are transported to all parts of the plant including the pollen (see figure 1) (1). Bees then ingest the pesticide via the pollen; specifically, this is the point where the central nervous system of the bees becomes compromised. A large number of deaths in bees is being used as an argument against the use of neonicotinoids (1).
What are the causes in the decline of HoneyBee populations, and their colonies? Bee extinction, it’s only the bee-ginning. We swat at them, we spray them, we kill them. Has anyone ever thought of the importance of the honeybees people are trying to eliminate?
Problem: Decreasing Bee population caused by Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) During the 1980s onwards, the population of the bees had decreased at an alarming rate. The cause of the decline was “due to Varroa and tracheal mites: The first Varroa mite infestation was reported in 1987; tracheal mites were first detected in 1984.” [8] These die-offs forced many bee-keepers out of employment. These die-offs during the past were called by various names: “spring dwindle disease, fall dwindle disease, autumn collapse, May disease and disappearing disease.”[3]
An empty hive will result in completely ruining that certain colony since there is no team work to be done within it. Because of different types of pesticides in honey bee farms, more bee hives are damaged and lost due to effects of these chemicals. Synthetic products that once was believed to only kill viruses and result in healthier and more producing bees, are acting completely opposite. There are however, diseases and microscopic parasites that can get into the bodies of this type of insects and kill them over time and use the resources of their bodies. “New or emerging diseases such as Israeli Acute Paralysis virus and the gut parasite Nosema” (1). Nosema parasite for example can be a serious threat during colder times of the year specially if colonies are foraging on non nutritious pollen at the same time. But by feeding anti fungal medication such as Fumagilin-B®, to the bees it can be very successful for controlling the problems and keeping the group of insects healthy. But how come using pesticides in this way is going to be a benefit rather than killing the bees? I believe that here we can find a perfect example of fine line between using these kinds chemicals. Same as Fumagilin-B, Neonicotinoids are insecticides that gained a popularity by protecting the plants and bees from different types of bugs and parasites. This type of chemical was praised mainly for its water solubility to be used in soil for plants and also for their low-toxicity to many beneficial insects, including honey bees. However, this claim has been recently come into question (2). This new class of insecticides is chemically related to nicotine as you can probably tell by the way it has been named after. Although nicotine is non toxic to mammals, birds, and plants, they are much more toxic to invertebrates such as insects. When explaining something toxic, probably the
Decline of the honey bee population is an undoubtedly urgent problem that requires a swift and effective solution. The survival of our species and many others are very reliant on the success and fecundity of the honey bee populations. A large portion of the earth’s biodiversity is rather dependent on the service that honey bees provide, their pollination allows plants to flourish and therefore provide sustenance for the surrounding species. Unfortunately there are numerous and increasing negative impacts on the honey bee species ability to complete this vastly important natural service.
The European continent is climatically diverse, which allows a wide variety of different crops to be grown. Unfortunately the process of growing crops necessitates the use of insecticides and pesticides for protection, and that can be very dangerous to wildlife and humans. In this case, three pesticides widely used in Europe are posing a serious threat to bee population; clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. These chemicals, with their continued use, have the ability to solidify the possibility of a tenth of bumblebee population in Europe becoming extinct. The extinction of bees would have a significant impact on the world’s ecosystem.
Over the course of time, bees have been vital to the ecosystem as they continue to perform agricultural services for us. Humans and animals have benefited greatly from the role the bees play within the environment. For example, by pollination, they provide us food to consume; without the pollination to help the crops grow, crops would suffer tremendously. Not only do they provide us food, but their pollination saves the economy money unlike if humans were to pollinate by hand. However, hand pollination will be a consequence if bees were to go extinct, being disastrous to our economy. Another benefit of bees is helping the growth and fertilization of flowers. Although bees provide us with assistance, their population is decreasing at an alarming
There are around 25 000 species of bees describes worldwide Michener (2007). Most information available comes from those bees that are integral part of human development and provide any kind of benefit to human societies such as honey, wax, pollen and even pollination services. Bees are important pollinators of flowering plants and most fruit plants. Only in the United States 75% of fruits, plants and vegetables produced annually are bee pollinated (Moisset & Buchmann, 2011). By 2009 around $11 billion profit was estimated by pollination services of honey bees, plus $3.5 billion by other non-Apis bees (Calderone, 2012). Crop production of apples, oranges, tomatoes, almonds, blueberries, among other depends on bee pollination for a successful