Green Bee Eaters live among grassland and open forests. These little birds’ main diet consists of Honey bees, Bees, and other flying insects. The Green Bee Eater has a bright green chest for one of its best features. Another feature is its long curved beak. The Green Bee Eaters have made a great job of surviving meaning, they are not close to becoming extinct. They are covered by coats of colored feathers.
These beautiful birds have outside colors of orange, green, blue, black, brown, white, and yellow. The Green Bee Eater’s predators are just larger birds. For example, Eagles, Raptors, and Storks. They live for a surprising 12-18 years! The only have about four eggs at a time. They have a large wing of 11.4-11.8 inches for such a tiny bird.
Greenpeace is an organization that investigates and exposes environmental abuse. In their article “Save the Bees” they say that one in three bites of food you eat is effected by bees. Seems as we aren’t giving this problem enough attention as you can see it needs. As referenced in the previous Discover Article one of the main reasons the bees are dying is the
The European honey bee interacts with a wide diversity of flora (over 200) and native Australian fauna, especially through the sharing of floral resources. These interactions can be harmful to threatened species if the resources are limited, and due to the degree of how much the honey bee consumes, relative to the other species.
Apis mellifera scutellata is cross between a European bee and an African bee, also known as the “Africanized Honey Bee”, or even the “Killer Bee.” It is very similar in appearance to a typical European bee, but is slightly smaller in size, though microscopically so. The differences between the European bee and the Africanized Honey Bee are exemplified primarily through behavior and biological patterns. Africanized Honey Bees are much more prolific than European bees, reproducing up to six times more yearly than European bees. The main difference between the Africanized Honey Bee and a European bee is that Africanized bees are far more aggressive than European bees, and are more protective of their nests. The willingness of Africanized bees to attack unprovoked has earned them the nickname “Killer Bees.”
Ah Christmas/Winter. The time of the year marked by the sound of joyous carols , cheerful talk of holiday plans, skating, candy canes, turkeys, family dinners, christmas sale signs plastered in front of almost every store, jesus coming down from the heavens, crappy nativity art and the general feeling of togetherness. But also as not being recognized by most people the one time of year when bee colonies are suppose to begin to healthily dwindle in numbers. As part of of an healthy ecological cycle, many wild & domesticated bee populations decline a bit in number during the winter season only to revive themselves later in the spring/summer, but that hasn’t been the case for many years. Ever since 1998 beekeepers have noticed significant drops in bee populations, throughout all seasons. In 2011, Canada saw
The Regent Honeyeater, or Xanthomyza phrygia, is a critically endangered tiny bird native to open forests and woodland areas of North Western Australia. They are similar to hummingbirds, except that they incorporate fruit into their diet. The Regent Honeyeater is also known as is “Embroidered Bee-Eater “or “Embroidered Honeyeater.” As can be seen in the picture below, the male honeyeater is predominantly black with yellow trimming on the tail and wings. Females share similar coloring patterns, but are slightly smaller in size. Prior to reaching adulthood, young honeyeaters have a mixture of brown feathers.
Bee decline is an increasing issue in the United states of America. An article written by the University of Vermont reveals a map of over 139 troubled zones for the population of bees and why they might be endangered. The University of Vermont is a well-respected establishment when it comes to research and Agriculture.
Since 2006, bee colony numbers have been declining at an alarming rate, about 30% per year. Scientist do not have a pin pointed reason this has been occurring, but it is likely due to a combination of poor nutrition, habitat loss, and pesticides. As the human population’s need for space and food has risen, bee population has decreased. It is imperative that we work to end this issue because without bees our food supply will collapse. Earlier in the month, The US Fish and Wildlife Service granted 7 species Hawaiian native yellow faced Bees endangered status.
Ellis, Jamie, and Amanda Ellis. "Africanized Honey Bee - Apis Mellifera Scutellata Lepeletier." UF IFAS. University of Florida, Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
Bees are kept for several reasons. Honey bees are mostly kept for commercial use or just a hobby. These bees are called Apis mellifera, or European honey bees. These bees have a presence all over the world. They produce honey as well as pollinate crops. The most popular subspecies are Italian bees, A. mellifera ligustica. These bees are usually orange or bright yellow and can amass a sizeable population in the spring. Their way of feeding is to rob other colonies of their honey. Another popular bee is named Apis mellifera scutellata, or the killer bee as most people know it, it is also known as the Africanized bees.
Monarchs do not have many predators expect for man. The monarch's trick to not being eating it two hold. First, the coloring of the monarch mimics that of a wasp or a bee which makes predators think twice before trying to eat them. Second, the milkweed plant in which the caterpillar eats has toxins which make the wings of the butterfly distasteful to predators. The monarch butterfly drinks nectar while the caterpillar eats the milkweed. The monarch favorite food here in Florida is Asclepias ssp. or milkweed (Wexler, 1994).
The green bee-eater is an easily distinguishable bird due to it's bright green plumage and attractive long tail-feathers. The green bee-eater also has a long, but sharp and narrow black beak which is perfectly designed for catching flying insects.
Global Research of CA has found that just within the last five years, “30% of the national bee population has disappeared and nearly a third of all bee colonies in the U.S. have perished.” (Statistic, Global Research Of California)
There are about 4000 different species of bees in the USA but I’m going to focus on the honey bee because it is the bee in the news (USDA).
Bees have existed for about 100 million years, and they have played an important role in the pollination of plants. A long time ago, pollination was crucial to the balance of the food chain. Without it there would have been no food for the herbivores and they would have become extinct; so no food for the meat eaters. They have been doing their job for millions of years, but recently scientists have observed problems within the colonies which could have negative effects with in our ecosystem.
There are several different species of insect pollinators, but the bees in general make up sixty-two percent of them. Honeybees make up thirty-nine percent of that number, and the other twenty-three is composed of several different species of bees. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one-third of the homo-sapiens diet is insect pollinated and honeybees are accountable for eighty percent of the pollination of that one-third. The population of the honeybees in the United States has been noticeably declining from the late 1990 's, so the threat to the majority of the world food supply is slowly increasing as our pollinators population decreases.