Basic Knowledge of the Situation: Honey bees, or Apis mellifera, are the world’s most economically valuable pollinators of the agricultural crop. They are the only bee species kept commercially in the United States, where bee pollination is said to account for the one-third of the U.S. diet. (Richards & Blaylock, 2009) Successful pollination of over 70 percent of the world’s most important plant species are done by bees for the huge variety of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, forage crops, and many other field crops grown today. However, the honey bee is experiencing a decline it’s populations by more than 30% from various assumed causes. (Richards & Blaylock, 2009; Neumann and Carreck 2010; vanEngelsdorp and Meixner 2010) Agricultural Importance: …show more content…
This is an estimate from additional value of production attributed to honey bees. This is calculated with the value of yield and quality achieved from the bee pollination. (Imhoof & Lieckfeld, 2015; Richards & Blaylock, 2009) In the United States, the commercial migratory beekeepers will travel throughout the states and proved pollination services to crop producers. These operations consist of large number of bee colonies to allow direct pollination to the critical phases of crop growth. (Imhoof & Lieckfeld, 2015) Recently, there were 2.4 million bee colonies in the United States, of those more than 2 million are reported to belong to the commercial migratory beekeepers. Nearly a third of the value of commercial honey bee pollination is within alfalfa production, mostly for alfalfa hay. Another 10% of the value of honey bee pollination is for apples, and 6%-7% of the value each for almonds, citrus, cotton, and soybeans. (Imhoof & Lieckfeld, …show more content…
The CCD concluded that there are two main agents for the decline in bee population. The first are large groups of pesticides currently in use in USA and Europe, called Neonicotinoids. These pesticides are used in support of multi-billion-dollar industries. (Imhoof & Lieckfeld, 2015; Neumann and Carreck 2010; vanEngelsdorp and Meixner 2010) They are applied directly to crops such as a seed treatment, and since these are water soluble chemicals they can cause exposure through various parts of a plant, including the pollen. The second big decline factor are mites. Pest and pathogens, but specifically the varroa mite, Nosema ceranae. Which is responsible for an overall colony losses of about 30% during the period 2000-2006. (Richards & Blaylock, 2009; Neumann and Carreck 2010; vanEngelsdorp and Meixner 2010) However, the characterization of the CCD is different from the previous collapses of honey bee colonies. The key symptom of CCD is the population of adult bees suddenly decreases without any account of bee carcasses. It appears as if the bees are not returning bac kto their hive and leave their broods, and even their own queen. This activity is out of the ordinary in the social aspect of honey bees. (Richards & Blaylock, 2009; Neumann and Carreck 2010; vanEngelsdorp and Meixner 2010) Especially since the insect is colony oriented with the complex and organized nesting system of