Robobee Research Paper

The small little insect, that some may swat away at, works tirelessly around us to pollinate and present the possibility of further human development on earth.

Bees are the reason we have jelly, fruit, nuts, coffee and so many other vegetation (Lecture 09/27). Without these creatures we would lose so much more of our biodiversity, which is already suffering from other anthropogenic actions. Our society has a habit of finding the most cost efficient methods to produce goods that please the consumers without considering all the consequences of these actions. More importantly, we do not recognize the harm that we have caused until the damage is outrageous and requires a solution. But, this problem cannot follow those footsteps because it is essential for our ecosystem to thrive. These solution would not only save millions of dollars by being proactive, but would allow us to sustain food sources, biodiversity, and the survival of

Bees are vital to farmers and ranchers because they’re necessary to keep their crops reproducing.

Seven years ago honeybee colonies were reported to be dying en masse. They were dying from multiple causes, and these bee disappearances reflect an infertile landscape and a dysfunctional food system. The problem is that in the last 50 years bees have been dying and we’re planting more crops that require bees pollination. Colony Collapse Disorder, Varroa mites, and our farming practices attribute to these disappearances of our most important pollinator, bees.

“Bees need food (nectar, pollen) provided by insect-pollinated plants in order to reproduce and produce more bees” (Corbet, Williams, & Osborne, 1991, p 2). By creating hives and environments that are conducive to bee sustainment, it is possible that strides can be to reverse the downward trend in populations. This is critical as one study showed. It stated that the loss of bees was a domino effect to other species. It stated, “If bee pollinated flowers

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 Dutch have figured out how to use bumblebee as pollinators because they share so many similarities with honeybees; both honeybees and bumblebees are social nesters, their colonies are headed by a single queen, who is the main egg-layer (The Silence of the Bees, 2009). The daughters of the queen, also known as the “worker bees” do almost all the work and the drones ( which are the males) are only produced during the mating season. Perhaps the biggest consideration is an economic one. Considering the fact that bumblebees only last about two months and cost two-hundred dollars to rent per colony, whereas honeybees can last up to several months with colony rentals running only one-hundred to one-hundred and forty dollars. As a depressing result, the use of bumblebee pollination is usually confined to high-value crops like tomatoes. Clearly, the use of bumblebees is a step in the right direction, but not a final

Although genetically modified foods do produce favorable effects on biodiversity, it can also harm it a great deal. The use of the genetically modified crops with herbicide properties, pose threats not only to the target pest but also to non pest insects and key pollinators. For instance, major pollinators and other harmless species are being poisoned by neonicotinoids, a chemical found in genetically modified seeds. However, according to Paul and Cummins, not only are bee populations declining, but also birds, butterflies and fish. The decline in these species raises quite the alarm due to the fact that without them, we may not be able to grow food. Bees are essential in growing crops due to the fact that crops need to be pollinated in order to germinate. For this reason, the high number of crops containing the neonicotinoids are causing the crucial pollinators to spontaneously perish.

Without pollinators, plants and life as we know it will cease to be. Unfortunately, honey bees, along with other pollinators, are perishing and vanishing at an alarming rate. There is a plethora of information on the topic; in libraries, online, and in scientific journals. However, both the cause and any solutions have continued to eluded experts for over a decade. This disastrous issue has plagued entomologists for years, and has the potential to affect agriculture on a global scale. If not remedied soon, agriculture, ecosystems, and eventually people, will suffer immensely.

While many enjoy the delicacy of fruits and vegetables, the bees that are given the responsibility for their pleasure have been threatened of extinction. It is without question that bees are an essential asset to Earth by delivering pollen to plants around different parts of the world. Most plant species can only survive with pollen due to the chain of evolution that created the dominance of angiosperms. Without pollination, plants will not be able to reproduce, therefore causing potential extinction. However, each plant responds differently to the lack of pollination. Some plants may die instantly, while others may still bear fruit with sterile seeds. Nevertheless, the lack of plant reproduction will cause much more devastation on a global

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)

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

Since 1992, the honeybee has been Oklahoma’s state insect, largely because honeybees carry out a significant task in agriculture. The honeybee and its contributions to the world dates back thousands of years ago and continues to be by far one of the most extraordinary animals ever. Honeybees are being used in research to detect drugs, bombs and cancer. Also in developing treatments for an array of infirmities in humans, but this is just a few among many things that honeybees have contributed to the human world. Honeybees and the products they emit have many diverse uses in cultures around the world. But above all the amazing and important things, plant pollination is by far the most essential to humans. Honeybees are responsible for 80%

As I see it, our main job as bee keepers - or bee guardians, or bee herders - is to be observant and to understand our bees to the best of our ability. We cannot fully enter into their world, but we have the opportunity to gain a greater appreciation of it. And once we begin to understand how deeply embedded they are within the natural world, and what sensitive indicators they are of disturbances in the natural world, we may find ourselves unable to image a functional planet without them.

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.