Honey Bees Serve A Critical Role Of Agriculture

Bees are important pollinators of many plants in the ecosystem (2). Recently, the decline in the number of bees in North America and Europe has shifted the research focus of many ecologists towards pesticide use (2). The impacts of pesticides on bees and other pollinators can have a major influence on honey production and biodiversity.

The honey bee is the substructure of the human population. It is imperative that the world knows about the decline of honey bees and work together to save the honey bee population. Nearly one-third of the world's crops are dependent on honeybees, but over the last decade the black and yellow insects have been dying at an unexpected rate in the United States. Pesticides, disease, poor weather, and the stress of being taken from one orchard to another to pollinate different crops all play a role in the decline of the honey bee. The honey bee as a species is not in danger of extinction, but a large portion of our food supply is, because the honey bee no longer has the ability to support the industry of commercial pollination. Without honey

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.

Bee decline is a significant sustainability issue of today’s environment. Bees are in decline due to multiple interacting causes. These causes are diseases and parasites, use of pesticides, monoculture and flowerless landscapes (Spivak, 2013). The diseases and parasites cause bees to become ill. This makes it harder for bees to access food, as they are required to travel large distances due to large monocultures and flowerless landscapes, since changes in farming practices after WWII, when cover crops of clover and alfalfa, which are nutritious for bees, were no longer used (Spivak, 2013). The increased use of pesticides also causes bee decline, due to bees consuming them, causing death, or not finding their way back to the hive due to intoxication.

The environmental change associated with the decline of the honeybee in America has gained much attention in the past decade as scientists and farmers have come to terms with the seriousness of the issue on hand. The importance of the bee has been emphasised and acknowledged as the human race is now forced to deal with a life threatening issue.

“Neonicotinoids are a class of pesticides that are known to have acute and chronic effects on honey bees and other pollinator species, and are considered a major factor in overall population declines. Twenty-nine independent scientists conducted a global review of 1,121 independent studies and found overwhelming evidence of pesticides linked to bee declines.”

Did you know that without the honey bee, people around the entire world would not be able to eat the food that their body needs? According to an article posted on the Yale website, “One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators, especially bees, for a successful harvest” (Grossman). Without the honey bee, many farmers would not be able to harvest enough produce. This would have a negative setback on the agriculture industry that would not only affect farmers but would also affect grocery stores and the general public. Without bees, the world would be entirely different.

Bees are widely seen as an annoyance, a pest or just another insignificant bug, but in actuality, bees play a crucial role in our environment. Honeybees are responsible for pollinating eighty percent of vegetables fruits and seed crops in the U.S. Bees are important towards both our ecosystem and economy, “They are critical pollinators: they pollinate 70 of the around 100 crop species that feed ninety percent of the world. Honey bees are responsible for thirty billion a year in crops.” (Bees extinct)

First of all, there are many said causes and the pesticide problem is one of the biggest, next to habitat decrease. Bees pollinate our biggest food supply and if they die, so does the food supply. The pesticide, attacks the bee's nervous systems, causing them

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.

A few companies are also creating new pesticides that target pests harmful to honey bees. The EPA is working to expedite reviewing and testing of new products, such as pesticides that control Varroa Mites in beehives. The plan’s goal is to provide use of new, friendly products more swiftly. In addition to testing new products, the EPA is also re-evaluating current pesticides, such as neonicotinoids, to confirm their harmlessness to honey bees. The USDA and the EPA are working together to further determine the risks to pollinators using the harmonized risk assessment process. Until they can confirm the harmless effects on honey bees, they have halted the approved use of new outdoor neonicotinoid pesticides.

A chemical is produced by the queen bee. It is a substance that prevents worker bees from producing new queens. However since 2006, there was been a Colony Collapse Disorder. (CCD) Where bee colonies that are affected by CCD can appear healthy, but then the adult bees disappear from the colonies. Apiologists (The scientific study of Honey Bees) haven’t found the cause of the CCD. However, the Environmental Protection Agency has reported problems with Neonicotinoids. Pesticides help the environment by increasing toxicity in honeybees, they also help the economically by treating crops, and soil treatments which is an increase in economic industry.

Bee keeping has been an extremely important part of agriculture dating as far back as ancient Egypt, having records of the transportation of honey bees up and down the Nile for means of pollination. The honey bee is among the most important insect in the world, because without having them for pollination we would lose approximately 70% of the crops we use to feed ourselves and our livestock. Without the proper keeping of bees we could see the end of many crops like strawberries, apples, almonds, and alfalfa due to a lack of pollination. While it is not uncommon for a 30% loss of bees during winter, bee keeping began to see much higher

No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man”, and he’s right. Honeybees have been dying at an uncommon rate. The 3 major factors that have been contributing to their death are : CCD, pests and fear. CCD is the Colony Collapse Disorder which kills the worker bees that don’t come back to their hive after they have left to find food. Pests and external parasite have been accidentally exported to the U.S and rapidly spreading through beehives. The most common concern about honey bees is a bee sting but honey bees aren’t aggressive by nature. As a matter of fact honey bees are unlikely to sting. Reactions caused from the sting of a bee is 1 in 5 million chances. Chance that you will be hit by a car is 59.3% higher. A world without honeybees can have a huge impact on our planet considering that bees pollinate about one-sixth of the flowering plant species worldwide and more than 400 agricultural types of plants. Honeybees can collect up to 4 to 5 pounds of nectar in just one day. 4 pounds of nectar is the same as 1 pound of honey. 8 pounds of nectar is also the same as 1 pound of beeswax. 1 pound of honey is the equivalent of a honeybee visiting two million flowers and flying 55,000 miles. Honeybees need healthy crops as much as healthy crops need bees. The involvement of honeybees is essential in the growth of crops for farmers. Honeybees are so important that farmers have bee hives transported to their farms so the honeybees can pollinate their crops. The honeybee is the only insect that produces food that can be consumed by man. The pollinating service that these wonderful creatures provide us with have helped produce approximately $19 billion worth of agricultural crops, just bees alone. On the other hand, animals such as bats and hummingbirds, and insects such as moths, butterflies and beetles, have

Pesticides harm the ability of bees to collect food and are as well as killing them (“The Harmful Effect of Pesticides on Honey Bees”: hiveandhoneyapiary.com,). Since pesticides are utilized broadly in cropping systems with a final goal to eradicate herbivorous insects, one is left to consider the potential for non-target compound impacts on foraging honey bees. Additionally being presented to poisons while scavenging, honey bees likewise may experience poisons by drinking water tainted with chemical runoff, experiencing different chemicals (family unit, business, and so forth.) through contact outside of the hive. (“Pollinator Protection” Colony Collapse Disorder: epa.gov, April 18, 2017). Neonicotinoids are “any of a class of broad-spectrum insecticides having a chemical structure similar to that of nicotine and acting on the central nervous system of insects by selectively binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors” (“Merriam Webster” Neonicotinoids: merriam-webster.com, June 15, 2017) “In October of 2012, the Harvard team setup 18 hives at three different locations in