Why are bees disappearing???
Hello my fellow readers!
It has been quite a while since my last post. I apologize for not posting more in the last few weeks. Graduation is quickly approaching and so are exams so you know, study study study.
But here is some research I did recently on bees and why they are disappearing. Enjoy!
Tell me what you think in the comments
Abstract
Colony collapse disorder is an ongoing issue in the world that needs to be addressed quickly. CCD is the process by which “occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen” this leaves little time for the remaining bees to survive since there are little to no working bees to maintain the hive (Colony Collapse Disorder. 2016). CCD is related to climate change in that with rising temperatures bees are slowly becoming out of synch with seasonal changes and when they are completely out of sync they will perish and so will the plant life that needs pollinating. Much of the food we eat on a daily basis is dependent upon pollination, and without bees the amount of pollination needed would not be done in a fast manner by other pollinating insects or birds.
Keywords: Neonics, neonicotinoids, climate change, lithosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, plants, pollination
Why are Bees Disappearing?
Bees play a vital role in the earth’s ecosystem, as pollinators they help maintain and increase biodiversity. Their role as pollinators aids in natural production of food growth, without bees much of the food that we eat on a daily basis would not be available to us. The process of pollination varies depending on the bee species but overall they complete the same task of moving pollen from one plant to another producing different food such as apples or tomatoes. Bees and other pollinating insects and animals like butterflies and birds “provide vital ecosystem services”, they move “Pollen…within or between flowers” (Survey, 2014). Movement of pollen “by pollinators leads to plant fertilization: fruit and seed production” (Survey, 2014). With increasing climate change plants and pollinators are slowly moving out of a synchronized system.
Colony Collapse Disorder
Colony Collapse Disorder also known as CCD “occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen” this leaves little time for the remaining bees to survive since there are little to no working bees to maintain the hive (Colony Collapse Disorder. 2016).
There is also a reason to believe that pesticides are a primary reason as to why so many bees are perishing in recent years. Pesticides are commonly used in the agricultural business in order to ensure that insect that hinder or kill the plants, or plants that are unwanted, like weeds are killed. Pesticides are used in large agricultural businesses to promote successful and large production. The pesticides are known as neonicotinoids or neonics, these pesticides penetrate the entire plant through their vascular systems and reach different areas that the bees consume or touch like the nectar and pollen. If large amounts of the neonics are consumed by the bee will perish, if small amounts of the neonics are consumed the bee may become discombobulated and lost making it unable to return to its hive.
Impacts
Colony collapse disorder is creating a weak link within our ecosystem, with a decrease in bee population there is a decrease in pollination causing a decrease in biodiversity. Because of the decrease in the bee population the production of CO2, from humans or industrial factories, is not being as efficiently combated by plant life through photosynthesis. This unstable change in CO2 within earth’s spheres is causing different processes like the Green House effect to occur causing climate change, increasing temperatures. The increase in CO2 levels is creating a weak ozone allowing ultra violet radiation from the sun to enter into our atmosphere at higher rates than normal increasing the overall surface temperature of earth. The increase in temperatures plus the overall temperature increase all effect the world’s ecosystem drastically, without key pollinators like bees there is not as an abundant food source for many animal lives.
Climate change is a negative effect that is primarily due to the high release and production of emissions into the atmosphere. It is causing a global shift in seasonal changes, if this global shift continues at the rate of half a day, like it has within the past decade, soon pollinators like bees will be out of a synchronized system with nature harming both nature and the bees therefore harming humans. If bees and natures seasons become drastically out of sync bees will not have nectar to feed on, as well as plants will not have pollination in order to produce more.
Bees effect food production therefore effecting humans in that bees are large contributors to food production throughout the world. Bees pollenate much of the food that we eat on a daily basis like fruit and vegetables. “Pollinators such as bees and butterflies pollinate [plants] by inadvertently transporting pollen from male to female flower parts. It is estimated that three-quarters of flowering plants require pollinators in order to produce fruit” nearly “1,000 plants [that are] grown for food, beverages, fibers, spices, and medicins on which we depend on” are produced through animal-mediated pollination (Honey bees, 2016) (Survey, 2014).
Some bee keepers, because of CCD, now transport their bees long distances in order to pollenate other plants; like almond trees which require pollination to survive. Many bees are being over worked because of the large decrease in bee population in the world. Bee’s contribution to human food sources is tremendous, without them much of our fresh food would not be available to us in large quantities or at all. The decrease in fresh food production largely effect the economy because of the bees large contribution to domestic agriculture. Domestic agriculture brings in large amounts of revenue for the United States.
Causes.
Colony Collapse disorder is due to manmade causes, such as neonicotinoids as well as a pest of specifically honey bees and diseases. The causes of CCD, in relation to pesticides, have accelerated over time primarily due to increasingly higher demands on agricultural products. Neonics were “developed a decade or so ago to replace organophosphates and carbamates, which are also highly toxic but dissipate far more quickly” (The Case of Vanishing Bees). The chemical within neonics travels through the plants leaves and makes the plant poisonous and lethal to pollinators. Another cause of CCD in honey bees specially is a type of blood sucker known as the invasive varroa mite it latches onto the honey bee and weakens and kills the bee. Another cause of CCD is disease like Israeli cute paralysis virus that affects honey bees, it can kill both larva and adult bees once it infects a bee it can easily spread through a hive killing off the entire hive.
Earths spheres
Colony Collapse Disorder is affecting all four of earth’s spheres, the lithosphere, atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere. Most of the effects of CCD go in two directions; they can either be contributors to a cause of CCD or can be an effect of CCD. The Lithosphere is being affected through climate change which is one of the contributing causes of CCD. The atmosphere is being affected through CO2 emissions and their production not being reduced through photosynthesis since bees are unable to pollinate making fewer plants reproduce therefore fewer plants to preform photosynthesis to change CO2. The biosphere is being affected in that life needs food to sustain life, and without bees to pollinate much of life’s food source, plants and vegetation, we will have to look to other food forms which are much scarcer. The hydrosphere is being affected through climate change which is a contributing factor to CCD. The hydrosphere is increasingly becoming warmer changing current patters as well as affecting different sea life; an example is shell fish which are affected by the salt levels changing due to climate change, their shells then become weaker.
Conclusion . The Atmosphere affects the biosphere and lithosphere through its hole in the ozone which allows ultra-violate radiation to heat up the earth, because of humans production of emissions like CO2. The heating of earth causes climate change which in turn changes the many of earth’s natural systems synchronizations. Since the earth is continuously getting warmer the lithosphere is getting smaller causing the hydrosphere to get larger and more acidic, this increase in heat also causes bees to no longer be in synch with seasonal shifts. If climate change continues bees will no longer be in synch with the seasons in which they instinctively go and pollinate causing them to die of starvation as well as plant life to die due to not being pollinated. Colonly Collapse Disorder although it is a new event it is still something that must be addressed in a speedy manner.
