Bees are major factor in our environment. But recent studies show that we are to blame for the decline in the Bee populations. The main reasons are industrial agriculture (pesticides), mites and climate change. And we should care about them because they provide us with honey and beeswax, and provide a major ecosystem service in the form of pollination. Bees pollinate a lot of crops like apple, citrus, strawberry, blueberry, tomato, melon, oilseed rape, carrot, etc. We may not be realizing, but long term monitoring of the changes in global crop production over the past 50 years shows we are becoming more reliant on pollinator-dependent crops. Without bees, there could be serious problems for agriculture productivity and even food security in some regions of the world might have problems. …show more content…
Mites have been responsible for the collapse of millions of honey bee colonies over the past decade. For example, the invasive parasitic mite Varroa destructor is the biggest problem for honey bees worldwide. Over the past few decades, is has been spread out of southeast Asia and reached almost a global presence. The mites have responsible for collapsing a colony of 50,000 – 60,000 honey bees can be completely wiped out by a Varroa infestation in as little as 2 years. Mites cause damage to developing honey bees. This prevents the bees from having nutrients, causing them to lose weight and reducing their lifespan. But the worst thing about them is that they transmit a host of viruses, which are transferred to bees when mites feed. One of the most terrible of these is deformed wing virus. Bees usually die shortly after reaching adulthood. Making matters worse, honeybees are spreading the virus through their saliva and feces to plants used by other pollinators, such as bumblebees and other bees. DWV has been detected in various insect groups that play different roles in ecosystem, including insect predators, pollinators and pest species that live inside the
This project was chosen to investigate the decline of the honeybee and the impact on Australian agriculture. The honeybee decline is interconnected with environmental sustainability with key environmental challenges threatening the future of the honeybee and the industry of beekeeping. Some of these factors such as land degradation, limited water availability, loss of plant biodiversity, climate change, pests and pesticides loss of public lands such as National Parks, State forests and reserves, all impact on the sustainability and ecosystems which the honeybee depends and likewise, the ecosystems depend on the honeybee. With the disappearance of land to urbanisation and government restrictions on access to public lands some 70% of Australian
In the novel, the conflict is caused because all the bees in the world die. If that were to happen, not only would a major pollinator disappear from the earth, thus destroying fauna throughout the world, but animals that rely on bees as part of the food chain would also suffer. In Stung, the absence of the bees leads to a pandemic, which scientists then try to solve with a vaccine. However, the vaccine turns children into beasts instead of curing them of the disease that threatens to engulf the entire human race. Finally, at the end of the book, a successful vaccine is discovered, allowing science to mitigate some of the damage it caused—but that does not change or excuse the fact that pesticides and vaccines nearly caused the extinction of humans as well as other
Without bees, there would not be as much food for humans to survive. Even though we need bees to survive many people go on with their day not ever thinking of what can save the bees. They use pesticides to grow their grass, never buy organic food or honey, and even kill bees that come near them. Scientist today started working on many different experiments to help save the
One of the big environmental issues here in Connecticut over the past few years is the high dying rate of bees. It has been reported by some of our local beekeepers that they are losing about 30% of all honeybee colonies each winter. This has adversely affected Connecticut’s almond, apple, strawberries and alfalfa productions, and costing millions annually. Scientists have identified several possible causative factors which include global warming, habitat loss, parasites and insecticides. Ethical extensionism, the argument that environmental ethics that moral standing should to be extended to things that traditionally are not thought to have moral standing, would argue that it is morally wrong to use insecticides that are killing local bee
Jurassic Bees The environmental risk that we chose was, the fact that bees are dying at an alarming rate, and only a few are trying to stop it. According to the article, “The Role of Bees”, “If wild pollinator declines continue, we run the risk of losing a substantial proportion of the world’s flora” This quote is important because one the pollinators die out, so do we, because they make most of our foods. And bees, are the best pollinators because in the process they also make honey.
These bees attack by the thousands, so there is a possibility that there is millions more than that. Thousands upon thousands of people have been effected by killer bees. over 100 people have been killed in the United States in the last 30 years because of killer bees. Thousands of people are effected by these bees because they build nests in virtually anything that they can find. Barns, houses, attics, walls, steel piping, wood, trees, and around branches are just a few of the places that they
Albert Einstein once said, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.” Without bees the world will have a devastating couple of years after losing the majority of crops and agriculture. Never could the world survive or function properly without the existence of bees. In an article by the BBC, they say, “Bees pollinate 70 of the around 100 crop species that feed 90% of the world. Honey bees are responsible for $30 billion a year in crops” (What would happen if bees went extinct).
10 May 2017. It's hard to imagine that an animal as small and inconspicuous as a bee, could be our greatest ally in providing food, but approximately one third of everything we eat is a direct result of their hard work. Khouri, Nabila. "Bees are dying -- what can we do about it?"CNN.
Bees in Decline Honey bees visit around 50-100 different flowers in one collection trip for honey; What would happen if millions of hives are declining in populations? The decline in bees is a serious problem that could cause the beautiful spring colors to turn dark and saturated without colors. This epidemic is worldwide, and could be a serious problem, more than one third of what goes on your plate is made with products that have been pollinated by bees (The Bees in). The bees have been declining in most of Europe because of the rough cold winters they have had the past years dropping their populations by almost 53%, as well as pesticides dropping the populations and killing of the entirety of a single hive ().
Every day bees are disappearing from their colonies at dangerously rapid rates. Everyone should become bee keepers and/or have bee gardens. It is the peoples’ duty to protect and save the bees. Bees play a major role in our everyday lives, and they go unnoticed. Without bees our food supply would quickly decrease.
Secondly, bees are important for our society . they are essential for our ecosystem, bees are vital for pollination , which include alot of fruits , vegetable and honey production . they are also important for our economy . for example in the U.S. , the benefit of pollination is of 15 billion dollars each year , and more than one million bee colonies are needed for pollination .
This again stops the bees from doing their job of pollinating and stops them from getting the food they need to survive. The community can help bees survive by employing a few tactics. One tactic alone will not cure the bee population degradation but it can help boost the bee population. One local and more personal tactic would be to have a “bee garden” that consists of flowering plants that bees like which include apples, oranges, lemons, limes, cucumbers, carrots, and cantaloupes. Another tactic would be do be more environmentally conscious.
Dear fellow students, and teacher, today I will talk to you about the importance of bees. Imagine a world without bees. They may seem irrelevant, however if that was the case, over 90% of our fresh foods would be gone. Over ⅓ of the world’s population is dependant on bees.
Michele Simon, a food health lawyer, clarifies that even small amounts can cause immense complications that result in worker bees not returning to their colonies. With damaged nervous systems, the pollinators develop problems that lead to Colony Collapse Disorder. Adding to the problem, most of the crops we consume are showered with neonicotinoids (2). Therefore, we are contributing to the
Imagine entering your local food store and seeing that items most people eat everyday have been discontinued. Items such as coffee, apples, cucumbers and honey are no longer available to consumers. This may not be possible in our generation, but one day it could very well happen. My name is Matt Shaw from the Millsap FFA, and I am here today to talk to you about a major issue that is facing agriculture, the honeybee population.