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Honey Bee Essay

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Chapman, RE, AFG Bourke. 2001. The influence of sociality on the conservation biology of social insects. Ecology Letters. 4: 650-662.
Summary: Chapman and Bourke (2001) provide and excellent overview of social insects as a group and the challenges associated with their conservation. Social insects like the honeybee are known to be excellent "ecological engineers", good providers of "ecosystem services," and also act as good bioindicator species. The social aspect of these species makes them excellent invaders, explaining why the common honeybee has thrived even in its non-native habitat. The rates of terrestrial invertebrate extinction may exceed those of vertebrates. Of the approximately 882 species of social bee described, none are considered …show more content…

Furthermore, this study tracks the possible cascade effects on an area due to a loss of this mutualism as well as assessing current threats and management issues. Mutualisms between plants and pollinators date back to the Cretaceous period. To this day, about two thirds of flowering plants depend on insects for pollination, other depending on birds and mammals as well. Approximately 30% of human food is derived from bee pollinated crops. Pollinator loss affects a plant in multiple ways. A reduced or absent seed set is likely, along with decreasing heterozygosity, or increased inbreeding. Eventually, plant extinction may occur, often disrupting entire ecological processes. Apis mellifera is a European bee species that has been introduced around the world. Although it is considered to be an important pollinator of crops, native species are often ignored. This now common domesticated bee was chosen because it is relatively easy to transport and manage. Bee mites as well as competition from the aggressive African honey bee are a few of the problematic species hindering the domestic honey bee. They are also surprisingly ineffective pollinators when it comes to many species of plants.
Visscer, PK. 1989. A quantitative study of worker reproduction in honey bee colonies. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 25:

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“Like the rest of us, scientists gravitate toward the huggable” (Begley 257) says Sharon Begley as she refers to animals in her article “Praise the Humble Dung Beetle”. Begley, an accomplished and award-winning science journalist, informs people of the threat on the plants and animals going extinct. In this article published in Newsweek, she persuades her audience that this is harming the environment and humankind and why this is so detrimental. In “Praise the Humble Dung Beetle,” Begley’s use of rhetorical appeals, her organization and syntax, as well as her tone, help inform her audience about the importance of insects in our ecosystem. With her knowledge of journalism, Begley utilizes the resource she knows best, expert opinion.

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Meosha Robinson 　　　ISBL 　　　10/22/2015 　　　 Monarch Butterfly Decline 　　　 The monarch butterfly, scientifically referred to as danaus plexippus, is an extremely popular insect among North America. This insect is highly popular, not because it is beneficial to human existence but because it has the most distinctive migration pattern on top of its physical attributes that catch the human eye. The monarch butterfly has been recorded to travel over 2000 miles in order to get to their summer breeding ground (Oberhauser, 2004).

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Although they may be small in size, they have had a significant impact on human activities in terms of agricultural production and in the same way it can be observed that human activities have impacted this species in terms of optimal conditions for reproduction and growth. Globally, invasive insects cost an estimated $2. 1 billion in forest damage and $13 billion in loss of crop depending on how detrimental the species is but nonetheless, a species such as the love bug demonstrates that even nuisances can provides benefits amide the costly

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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

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Bee hives are disappearing daily, not only will this cause some food consumption to go down but also, economic decisions could be different because there will be no choice to have honey, shelter, and fiber, so we should focus more on measure to protect bees, that way they don 't become extinct. Bees also pollinate in the spring causing there to be enough plants and trees, and to maintain they are alive. Bees pollinate plants by landing on the flowers, picking up pollen and then transferring it to other plants of the same species while they collect nectar. Without bees the plants wouldn 't be able to be pollinated as easily and there wouldn 't be that many that would even get any pollen. It has often been said that bees are responsible for

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Spring is in the air. So we are swarms of bees, looking for new homes. Initially, we have to recognize what kind of “bee” you are handling with. Common “bee” sightings fall into various different groups of potential species, of which most are not really bees. Now we are concentrated on removing honey bees only.

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Shawn Gunnier English 109 2-5-16 Prospectus Bees are insects that are most notably known for pollinating plants and producing honey. But in 2016 bees are dying more than ever. In the past, a normal hive population of a colony declined between 5-10% each season. Now the average loss is around 30% of hives per year.

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An invasive species is defined as a species that is foreign to the ecosystem it is introduced too, and is likely to cause harm to the economy, environment or even to humans. Invasive species are a threat to their new ecosystems because they disrupt the normal food chain. These harmful pest species can cause wide spread habitat loss because they will most likely dominate over the native organisms who have not been adapting along with the introduced species. Some common names of the Africanized Honey Bee (AHB) are Africanized Bees, Killer Bees, and Brazilian Bees, and the scientific name/genus species is Apis Mellifera Scutella. The Africanized Honey Bee or the AHB is an animal species that is terrestrial, living on land, not aquatic.

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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.

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“Beekeepers across the United States lost 44 percent of their honey bee colonies during the year spanning from April 2015 to April 2016” (“Nation’s Beekeepers lost 44 percent of bees in 2015-2016”). Many famers today plant their cops in sections farther apart depending on the plant. When the bees go to collect nectar they cannot get as much food without getting tired. This has had an effect on bees because they die faster from having to fly so far. Many beekeepers think that this reason causes bees to fade away.

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Bees can provide a steady ecosystem that benefits both them and the peoples’ gardens and plants surrounding the bees’ pollination area. Maintaining bee gardens can also be a hassle and bees might become aggressive and harm people. Patricia E. Salkin states, “Bees can create a nuisance if they become aggressive or swarm on neighboring property.” The thing is, bees rarely hurt people. If they do, it is because they are being provoked or they feel threatened in some way.

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This all started when we changed our methods of farming. We started spraying various types of pesticides all over crops, using synthetic fertilizers, and removing small flowering plants. We started large farms for a single plant. The problem is that pesticides act like pollen and adhere to the bee. As a result, the bee larvae died or would take longer to develop.

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These levels were high enough to kill a bee instantly. In a study from 2016, 35 different pesticides and fungicides were collected from pollen that bees used to pollinate food crops in five U.S. states. Bees that came in contact with these combinations of chemicals were more likely to be infected with the Varroa Mite, a parasite that is associated with Colony Collapse Disorder. Colony Collapse Disorder is a phenomenon that occurs when all or the majority of worker bees suddenly disappear and leave their queen, plenty of food, and a few nurse bees behind. Without the worker bees, a hive cannot sustain itself and will eventually

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Due to pollution, air quality is already poor. The deficiency of all of these factors will inevitably affect humans negatively. In order to protect the pollinators, the environment, and mankind, we must reformulate pesticides or cease the use of them altogether. Dr. Fairbrother, a renowned scientist and former member of the Environmental Protection Agency, noted that commercial bee-keeping companies reported losses of up to ninety percent of their colonies in 2006 (719). Scientists are blaming the losses on Colony Collapse Disorder.

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