Although bees may seem like small and insignificant creatures, they play a much greater role than people may think. Bees not only offer honey to the world but also provide venom which can treat some ailments such as joint pain. These are incredible attributes of the bee population, however, it is not the only thing that makes these magnificent creatures so imperative to the environment. Bees pollinate flowers, plants and other wild life which results in helping to grow many different fruits and vegetables. To think an insect so small, if eliminated, could impact civilization in such a destructive way is astonishing. Individuals kill bees every day. Some ways that bees are killed by people are with pesticides such as ‘Round Up’ to protect crops. While Round Up specifies the product is safe and will not harm bees, there is chemical found within the containments called 4-dioxane. This chemical is revealed to cause tumors in vermin and exterminate insects. As insignificant as it may seem, every small decision such as using Round Up, helps contribute to mass extinction. The first …show more content…
While society has impacted this alteration, climate change has also made a significant imprint. This study “assesses the extinction risks to species within an important genus of pollinating bees by estimating the expected changes in the area and isolation of suitable habitat under predicted climatic condition for 2050.” (Roberts, S. P., Potts, S. G., Biesmeijer, K., Kuhlmann, M., Kunin, B., & Ohlemüller, R., 2011) Climate change has caused bees to migrate from their native environments. The loss of these bees have begun to effect various types of plants, some of which are beginning to perish. Therefore scientist are in pursuit of a suitable habitat. One in which expresses the origin of edible plants, as well as climatic suitability. (Roberts, S. P., Potts, S. G., Biesmeijer, K., Kuhlmann, M., Kunin, B., & Ohlemüller, R.,
There have been crestfallen decreases in the population of bees because of pests and of our pesticides. While you may hate bees because of their stingers, they are an enormous part of the pollination process. To be sure, one of the crops that depend on their pollination the most are the almond crops, these crops would go extinct without bees. Without bees, a lot of our prices would sky rocket. They help grow a lot of our food but all they get in response are the disastrous effects of our pesticides. In the interim, the sharp increase of bee-fatal pesticides isn’t getting any better. At the same time, the bees are subjects to the deadly varroa mites and colony collapse disorder. Simultaneously, bees are a huge help agriculture, without them we would be in a huge predicament. There would be as many of diverse crops because when bees pollinate , they cross breed plants at the same time. Then we would have to pollinate most of the crops. In effect, I believe that we should care about bees more. Like Albert Einstein said, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”
When we think of bees, we think of pesky, harmful insects. What we don’t know is everything they do for not just us, but the world. Bees influence our food supply greatly. Without bees, the would be absolutely no honey whatsoever and the amount of pollen could increase greatly without their presence. You might be thinking, “What does pollen have to do with anything?” but actually the amount of pollen not only influences our allergies, but also the plants. It is definitely possible plants we eat could become over pollinated and there would go another one of our food sources
In “Why Bees Are Disappearing,” Marla Spivak, an American entomologist, sheds light on the importance of bees in the pollination process as well as the decline in bee population. Spivak claims that “bees are the most important pollinators” because over one third of crop production across the world depends on bee pollination. However, bee populations have decreased since the end of World War II due to “multiple, interacting causes of death.” These causes are monocultures, pesticides, diseases, and flowerless landscapes, and they all pose a threat to plant diversity and food production. In order to prevent significant consequences and reverse impacts already made, Spivak encourages the audience to plant bee-friendly flowers without pesticide contamination so that bees, and therefore people, have access to better nutrition.
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:
Since the late 1990s, beekeepers around the world have observed the mysterious and sudden disappearance of bees, and report unusually high rates of decline in honeybee colonies. Bees do more than just make honey! Bee transfer pollen and seeds from one flower to another, fertilizing the plant so it can grow and produce food. Cross-pollination helps at least 30 percent of the world's crops and 90% affects our food. The sweet fruits humans eat such as, strawberries, mangoes, grapes, apples, and bananas would not be the same taste wise as they are now. We simply couldn’t live in the same world if it weren’t for the bees.
When I first read through Nathanael Johnson’s article discussing the fall of bee populations in relation to a catastrophic unearthly demise, I kept an open mind. With my personal opinion about the bee crisis stifled, I read on to see if Johnson could aptly convince me of his argument. Unsurprisingly, he failed.
Without bees, we would be struggling to find how to replace the major amount of food they helped produce.
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
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
The oldest known bee fossil is estimated to be over 135 million years old (The Xerces Society). Knowing this, one would certainly realize the importance of the relationship between plants and bees, as they have depended on each other for survival for such an immense period of time. The colossal variety of plant species are around today on behalf of the pollinators that evolved with them. However, this knowledge has not quite convinced society of the dangers the decline in bee populations pose to life as one knows it, as the loss of plants causes a dangerous chain reaction. At the curtains of every winter, a dwindling number of bees are making their debut in the thriving spring. The decrease can be seen in how United States beekeepers have lost 40 percent of their colonies since 2006 (Johnston,
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.
Have you ever thought about a world with little to no food? In a world without bees, this could be a possibility. Today, I’ll be talking about the decline in the bee population and how it will affect every single one of us if it continues. I’ve always been interested in bees. After joining my school’s Future Farmers of America group, I started working on entomology, which is the study of bugs. When my group went to the state competition for entomology, I became even more interested in bees and the cause of the decline in their populations. This speech should inform you of the decline in the bee population and how it will affect all of our lives.
In conclusion, without the bees that pollinate our crops it is not only the bees that will become extinct, it is the humans too! Without bees the human population will be dramatically
Bumblebee skilled at ‘buzz pollination’ may soon join the endangered species list by Jessica Roy with The Washington Post talks about the different reasons a very important pollinators’ population is heavily decreasing.This article is focused on the causes and effects of why the bees are dying, more specifically the rusty patched bumblebee. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formally proposed that the rusty patched bumblebee be placed on the endangered species list. “The bee’s decline can be attributed to habitat loss, climate change, disease, farming and pesticides,” says Roy. These human caused acts are what is killing the most important piece in the production of food. WIthout the bee’s food production and variety would decrease immensely. I was very interested in this article because of the simplicity of it. Although it was only two pages it was able to reach the audience and show them how the loss of something so small could change the entire world as we know it. This article is just another example of how humans make decisions without worrying about the long term consequences it could have. Without the bees, we suffer. When will humans learn to see the that the everyday actions we make are killing off millions of species and permanently harming the environment and start to get up and do something about it? This is the questions that this article is
Honey bees, feared by the misinformed and admired by the intelligent, are dying. The interest in bees from many environmentalists is not for a sudden cause, as this issue is not new to the world. Honey bees as a population have been in decline for years but have yet to reach the endangered species list anywhere in the United States except for Hawaii. Many people kill bees that buzz around joyfully, simply because they are afraid of being stung by them; however, a vast majority of bees do not sting and the others do not care. This unfortunate commonality is not even one of the top causes of the worldwide epidemic of honey bees. Although bees are jokingly idolized on the internet in pictures and videos as a result of a popular children’s movie, their population decline is in fact quite serious. Honey bees and other pollinators like birds and insects ensure the pollination of flowering plants and crops all around the globe. Not only do honey bees pollinate plants that produce the foods that humans eat, but they also pollinate trees that produce clean oxygen for Earth. Without honey bees, the world as we know it could soon end, due to carbon dioxide pollution and lack of farmable foods. The population of honeybees and other important pollinator-bee species is dwindling due to a dilemma known to scientists as colony collapse disorder (CCD) because of the use of bee-killing pesticides, known as neonicotinoids, the decrease of flower meadows in the world, and the general increase