The Vanishing Bees free essay sample

The Vanishing Bees Kimberly McNeilus Jill Morstad College Writing II May 2, 2012 Bees are an intricate part of today’s society in the form helping to produce foods and also their contribution as insects play a valuable part in nature. There is a place, a southern village of Sichuan, China where bees no longer exist. Farmers meet every April with bamboo sticks and chicken feathers to begin pollination of their crops. This long and labor-intensive process the farmers endure is due to the lack of bees (Benjamin and McCallum, 11). Not only is this disappearance of the honeybees happening in China, but it is also being discovered all around the world. There are more than 20,000 bee species known around the world, with the honeybee being the most common. These important bees are disappearing rapidly (Lynn Hermann, 2011). Honeybees are the most important pollinator on the planet. In North American, a third of fruits, nuts, and vegetables require pollination of the honeybee (Seeley, 3). We will write a custom essay sample on The Vanishing Bees or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The loss of our black-and-yellow pollinators would mean the serious decline of agricultural products, which directly threatens civilization’s food supply. Research has linked several factors to the rapid decline in honeybees; these factors included over use of chemically treated crops, the Colony Collapse Disorder, and environmental factors. Albert Einstein is reputed to have said: â€Å"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left† (Benjamin and McCallum, 7). He was speaking in regard to the symbiotic relationship of all life on the planet, which consists of a huge intertwined ecosystem. Each element plays a certain role that is dependent on many other components that work closely together (Higgins, 2007). Society, unfortunately, knows a very small amount about the importance of the honeybee. Ninety percent of commercial crops worldwide owe their existence to the honeybee pollination. (Benjamin and McCallum, 4). Their understanding of the significance of the honeybee and its value to the world’s ecosystem is a tiny step in the right direction. When a honeybee visits a flower to forage for nectar, some of the flowers pollen rubs off the stamens on to the honeybees body. The bee then moves on to another flower to gather more pollen and further its mission in assisting the hive. The honeybee’s vital role of pollen collection on its body is complemented by the stigma of the flower. Pollination is fundamental because a plant will not develop seeds or fruit if the plant is not pollinated. If the crops are not pollinated, they will fail to produce a harvest. Commercial honeybees have become a recent phenomenon with farmers. Due to the rapid decrease in honeybees originating with pesticides, which kill them off, farmers cannot â€Å"naturally† pollinate their crops (Hubbel, 65). In the state of California, each year by the truckloads, honeybees are transported to various parts of the state for the pollination of the almond crops. Before the rapid decline, farmers would have a difficult time accepting the fact that they would have to hire in beehives. Often they also have to hire beekeepers to assist with the hives. This is also happening rapidly outside of North America. One key influence that contributes to the prompt deterioration of honeybee population is the overuse in chemicals. The use of pesticides, especially insecticides on crops, is known to kill or weaken thousands of honeybee colonies in the US each year. Local bees have been murdered sporadically for decades due to insecticides. However, the NAS report considered it unlikely that this has â€Å"contributed significantly† to the recent decline. The report stated, â€Å"Most pesticide-caused honeybee kills are the result of accidents, careless application, or failure to adhere to label recommendations and warnings (Status of Pollinators in North America, 2006). † It has obviously ignored sub-lethal effects, particularly of new pesticides that may turn out to be one of the most significant factors contributing to the current honeybee deterioration. In order for farmers to keep other â€Å"pests† from destroying their crops, they spray the fields with pesticides. These deadly chemicals are also key elements that reduce and kill insects. Not only are these potent chemicals killing insects, most importantly, they are killing the honeybees (Benjamin and McCallum, 126). A study conducted by Penn State found fungicides in the pollen samples, which became toxic to the bees causing thousands to die (Benjamin and McCallun, 126). Farmers noted that honeybees exposed to the pesticides no longer functioned as a normal bee. Strange behavior accrued. Honeybees can transfer these lethal fungicides, which are chemicals into their honey. This could later lead to these deadly chemicals being consumed by humans causing fatal reactions. The vicious cycle of chemicals continues to hurt not only the honeybee, but also the complex ecosystem of this world. Beekeepers blame the introduction of nicotine-based pesticides such as Imidacloprid (a product that is known to exterminate all pests) as a major contributing factor to the declining bee population (Renae Anderson, 2012). A team of scientists led by the National Institute of Beekeeping in Bologna, Italy, found that pollen obtained from seeds dressed with imidacloprid contains significant levels of the insecticide. These scientists suggested that the polluted pollen was one of the main causes of Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder (J. Agric Food Chem, 2005). HCCD occurs with the earth’s continual climate change, and overuse of industrial parks. Later, scientists defined this vanishing act as, Colony Collapse Disorder. For many years, these bees have suffered from this unusual disorder, which is a poorly understood syndrome where worker bees leave their hives and die. The bees simply vanish relatively suddenly. â€Å"They often have little or no dead adults in or near the colonies, leaving behind the queen bee. In cases where the colony appears to be actively collapsing, the workforce seems to be made up of young adult bees. They are often insufficient to feed the brood, but are reluctant to consume provided feed† (Penn State University, 2007). It is very evident, especially to today’s scientists, that harmful toxins are being pumped into this earth’s ecosystem. Fumes and gases are killing the bee population at a rapid rate and extreme measures must be taken to ensure the safety of the earth’s environment as well as the honeybee populations. The increased use of pesticides is a direct reaction to increased numbers of pathogens and diseases. Those factors lead to an even more specific result of monoculture agriculture (a central part of modern food production across the planet) has also been shown to have serious effects for bee populations. Research published in the Public Library of Science Journal found 121 different pesticides in 887 samples of bees. These are bee derivatives such as wax and honey (Rich Morgan, 2011). The pesticides are proven to be terrible for human consumption in food form; it should be no surprise that they are killing the bees. Society needs to rethink how they can better the planet and environment, and demolish the pesticides so that bees are able to naturally pollenate. A key factor of the bees’ decline is by the ingestion of genetically modified seeds, crops, and proteins. The genetic modification of the plant leads to the concurrent genetic modification of the flower pollen. When the flower pollen becomes genetically modified or sterile, the bees will potentially become malnourished and die of illness. This is due to the lack of nutrients and the interruption of the digestive capacity of what they feed on through the summer and over the winter hibernation process. Brittany Amos explains the genetically modified organisms. â€Å"They are (GMO) known as the â€Å"terminator seeds. Governments are presenting the GMOs to be nationwide, which will cause bees to abandon their hives. Frazzled farmers need bees in order to pollinate their crops so they can produce foods to help aid in the economy. â€Å"Economically this will cause inflation, scarcity of agricultural commodities, and ultimately the collapse of North American agriculture†(Lynn Hermann, 2011). â€Å"In 2000, the value of crops pollinated by bees was estimated at $14. 6 billion in the USA alone. Clearly, the existing evidence calls for much fuller investigations on the sub-lethal impacts of GMO crops on bees, such as learning and feeding behavior, and immunity to disease. The potential consequences of pollinator decline on food crops can be staggering, and the impact on biodiversity may be irreversible â€Å"(Conservation Biology, 1998). If there are no honeybees available to help with the process of pollination, the farmer’s crops will not reproduce. In order to aid in reproducing, the bee must be alive. Although it is normal behavior for a honeybee to leave the colony to die, recently, there has been unusual behavior from honeybees. This is happening and becoming an alarming factor for beekeepers across the world. The problem began more than four years ago and has intensified since being discovered. From the years 2006 and 2007, beekeepers noticed almost overnight that beehives were abandoned in 24 states throughout the country. â€Å"Bees have been disappearing inexplicably at an alarming rate, threatening not only their livelihoods but also the production of numerous crops, including California almonds, one of the nation’s most profitable profit â€Å"(Benjamin and McCallum, 10). â€Å"This â€Å"colony collapse disorder† (CCD) is particularly devastating for farmers of fruits and vegetables, as they depend on insect pollinators† (BBC News, 2007). Scientists say a virus is probably responsible for colony collapse disorder, but still the cause of colony collapse disorder (CCD) remains unclear to many researchers. Although scientists are trying to figure out a bee vaccination, medically there is nothing to fight the virus â€Å"(Benjamin and McCallum 250). Colony Collap se Disorder is rapidly killing the bee population. Even though the cause is still unanswered, this will result in a dip in our food economy associated with bees such as honey, nuts and various fruits. Researchers are working with beekeepers and farmers all over the world to try and reverse the damage that CCD has already caused to the honeybees and to crop production. There is still no clear cause(s) of the Colony Collapse Disorder. The CCD Debate Team collectively believes that time is running out for the honeybees and everyone in the bee business needs to diligently work at how to reverse the process before it’s too late. When honeybees disappear it will be a fatal dent in our economy. Another factor contributing to the declining population of the honeybee are environmental factors. Pollution is key in leading to pollinator decline. Pollutants affect plants’ abilities to produce chemicals that attract insects. They also destroy scent trails for bees to pollinate on. These scent trails that once traveled more than 2,000 feet in the 1800’s, now extend less than 600 feet from the plant. â€Å"This is creating complications for pollinators as they search for food â€Å"(Lynn Hermann, 2011). â€Å"There have been cases where these die-offs of bees have been before, but we have never seen it to this level,† said Maryann Frazier, a Pennsylvania State University entomologist. Instead of standing by while our bee population is dying, today’s society should take action and help make our world a healthier place for bees. There are many ways to helping them; building and starting a honeybee hive, using more eco friendly ways of transportation, planting a bee-friendly garden with organic flowers and using more organic products and foods which are free of pesticides. â€Å"The bees are immune-compromised, being stressed somehow†¦Some could be related to the severe weather swings we’ve seen over the past few years. says Diana Cox-Foster, a professor of entomology at Penn State University. Climate chaos and extreme weather is to be a major factor. Air pollution and global warming are also seen as major contributors to the growing issue of the bee colony collapse across the globe. If these bees don’t have flowers to pollinate on, this will cause major issues across the globe. The above factors show that the decline of the honeybee and ot her bees as well are on the rise. We as a society need to be more aware of our environment and our planet. The honeybee is highly underestimated and underappreciated. Humanity daily enjoys the fruits of the labors of the honeybee yet takes them for granted. A large number of people do not realize what bees contribute to our economy. A once natural process of pollination will now result to measures similar to the village of Sichuan in China. A world without bees could mean devastating results for the economy and humans alike across the globe. Cited References Allen-Wardell G, Bernhardt P, Bitner R, et al, The potential consequences of pollinator declines on the conservation of biodiversity and stability of food crop yields. Conservation Biology 1998, 12, 8-17.