...More than honey The movie takes a good look at bee colonies in the USA, Australia, Switzerland and China. Throughout the movie, its creator Markus Imhoof repeats Einstein’s saying:“When the bee population dies out, humans will die out 4 years later.“ Seems ridiculous and phony, but when you take a moment to think about the fact that one third of our food is pollinated by bees, you start to think differently. One third may be pollinated by bees, but at least another third relies on the pollination of honeybees. Yet the bee colonies are starting to disappear. The movie tries to explain why and how while showing how they are being treated in different environments. The movie describes brilliantly how the bees live: how they work together in their hive from the moment they are born. They remain loyal to their family no matter what and work to create a queen and keep the colony running like clockwork. The movie shows the many reasons that together make the lethal combination for the bees: toxins, transportation and diseases. To say honestly, it is heartbreaking, even for the viewer, to see a beekeeper open a hive and see thousands of little dead bodies on the ground with no particular reason. I guess that is what the movie relies on - the compassion and heart of the viewer. In China, once Mao Zedung told to kill all the sparrow because they eat the seeds on the crops. As a result there were so many insects that they had to start destroying them too. Due to that in some districts...
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...strong aroma and color, that the animals like. They rub against the plants, collecting pollen in their fur, hair, or feathers, and carry it to new plants as they travel. Wind also pollinates plants by carrying pollen from plant to plant. Pollinators are essential for creating and improving our habitats and ecosystems. Recent studies show significant declines in pollinator populations. Hummingbirds, butterflies, bats, ants, and bees are the top 5 pollinators. However, bees are the real MVP when it comes to pollinating, they are the “bees knees”. Sadly, the dwindling number of bee communities, both wild and managed, pose a real threat to agriculture that could result in billions of dollars in economic losses, food shortages, and skyrocketing prices due to supply and demand. Culprits of the pollinator decline are pesticides, habitat destruction, and climate changes. Albert Einstein said, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man”. We must save our pollinators.. Reducing the use of pesticides, creating habitats by planting vegetation, and spreading the word about the vital contributions of our pollinators. Luckily, the fixes are all easy to implement, and everyone can play apart in saving our local...
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...Consumer: This will be all of our consumers that have either purchased our honey products or called for our beekeeping service. This entity will include the Consumers First Name, Last Name, and their Address in order to keep track of where they are ordering from. The location of the ConsumerCounty is important because it will determine from which county the honey they will receive is going to come from and also, which beekeeper to send out if they choose to hire our beekeeping service. This entity will also include the consumer’s Phone Number and Email Address in case we have to call them about their order or if we decide to send out newsletters and coupons by email. Finally, this entity will identify each consumer with a unique ConsumerID. Vendor: The attributes in this entity will compile a list of all the beekeepers we subcontract in order to supply our honey. These will include the beekeeper’s VendorName, VendorAddress, and Vendor PhoneNumber in case we have to contact them via mail or phone call. However, mainly we will need their VendorEmail and which VendorCounty they are operating in. Furthermore, we will identify these Vendors with their VendorID, and more importantly which ColonyID they are operating. Service: This entity will include only two attributes, which include ServiceID to identify which service (beekeeping) we have performed and in which ServiceCounty the service was located in. Equipment: Equipment entity will include a list of all the equipment used...
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...Dr. White English 1301 October 26, 2012 The Bee’s Knees are Crippled “The busy bee has no time for sorrow” – William Blake Pollen production has been a growing industry in America since 1865. Not only do bees provide honey for local and national citizens, but the pollen found in most male bees has been proven to help in curing and preventing diseases that have struck those who suffer from seasonal allergies, and the pollen has been most recently used as a vitamin to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Until recently, there has been no debate regarding the extraction of bee pollen for medical purposes. However, changes in Federal Drug Administration (FDA) regulations now threaten the experimental use of bee pollen. In his documentary entitled: Won’t You Please Help Us with the Bees? Jon Stewart argues for the continued extraction and production of bee pollen for medical purposes. Stewart uses many rhetorical strategies in his argumentative film. Stewart details the debate as this: local farmers and beekeepers have, historically, held all rights as owners of the pollen and honey produced by bees. Therefore, farmers and beekeepers who own the bees reserve all rights (and risks) that accompany managing bees and their pollen. However, in 2006, the FDA enacted the Please the Bees Act, which enabled corporations and contractors to “seize the bees” if any potential outbreak of bees threatened the safety of residents who lived near bees. Also, since the pollen has not been inherently...
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...Second, lack of diverse flowers and limited access to real nutrition are the reasons bee are vanishing. When weed grows on farmlands, cultivated plants do not get lots of nutrition, so farmers use herbicides to get rid of it. Farmers are decreasing the variety of flowers by using herbicides for their own profit. In her speech, Spivak said, “Many of these weeds are flowering plants that bees require for their survival”. In addition, the narrator said, “Like humans, bees do best when they eat a balanced diet from many different sources” (qtd. in It’s okay to be smart). When bees are starved of pollen, or receive from a single plant source, their lifespan and immune functions decrease. In addition, the monoculture of California almond tree leaves the bees few choices of flowers....
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...The Bumblebee Orchid (Ophrys bombyliflora) is native to the Mediterranean area. It is a very small plant, reaching up to 35 centimeters in height. It prefers to grow in calcareous soil in abandoned pastures and forest clearings mixed in with shrubs and brush. All members of the Ophrys genus are insect pollinated plants, but the Bumblebee Orchid also reproduces by root tubers, making it a very successful and dominant species among the group. Ophrys orchids are dormant underground bulbous tubers during the summer and develop leaves during the fall and a new tuber starts to grow until spring when the flowering stem grows. Each stem will grow 2 to 12 flowers that are unique from other orchids by their colors, shapes, and ingenuity the use to attract insects. Each Ophrys species has its own insect that it depends on for pollination. Bumblebee Orchids are completely dependent upon bumblebees (Eucera algira). Each flower has a lip that tricks the insect visually and by mimicking female pheromones that attract the males. The Bumblebee Orchid has 2 to 3 flowers that look and smell so much like female bumble bees, that the chemical signals stimulate the bees sexually. The smell, look, and feel of the lip of the flowers mimic female bumblebees so well, that the males attempt to copulate with the flower and pollen sacs stick to its head and abdomen. Bumblebee Orchid pollination is a precise process that requires the pollen sacs to shift into a position that allows it to stick to stigma...
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...Title: What kinds of food (leaves from different plants) prefer garden snails Introduction: The question is important because it deals with changes in the environment over short or long period of time. In other words, it deals with the preferable environment of food for garden snails. The answer to the question indicates the preferable plants that garden snails like to eat. Firstly, a few words will be said about garden snails, and then about the leaves that were given to the snails in this experiment. The independent variables are the types of leaves that are edible by human beings. (Chinese Broccoli ( Kai lan) , Beet root , English spinach, Bok Choy ( Chinese cabbage) and the control- Lettuce. ) The dependent variables are the quantity of leaves that the garden snails eat over 48 hours. The scientific name of the garden snails is Cornu aspersum or Helix aspersa. Although native in the Mediterranean area and Western Europe it got spread worldwide to Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Australia and New Zealand. It can live in almost every place in the world except extreme heat, cold and places without leaves at all. The lifespan of the garden snail in the wild is 2- 5 years at best and in captivity it can live 10-15 years) its predators are some birds, lizards, frogs, centipedes , predatory insects ( such as glowworms) and predatory terrestrial snails. The snails are herbivores and will eat a wide range of plants including fruit trees, vegetable...
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...a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.” This quote is especially apparent in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God as Hurston uses symbolism to express Janie’s life experiences. Multiple uses of symbols can be found in this story such as the pear tree to follow in Janie’s journey of self awakening. Many symbols focus on aspects of Janie’s identity including the pear tree which is brought to attention throughout the novel. The pair tree in her backyard starts out as representing safety and comfort to Janie. Once she is lying underneath the tree, “She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom” (Hurston 11). In Janie’s eyes, this interaction of the bees and the blossoms of the tree give a harmonistic moment in nature although the reader is able to interpret such as being a symbol of love given neither bee nor blossom hurt each other. Later in the novel, Janie says “Ah done lived Granma’s way, now I means to live mine” (Hurston 114); she makes it known she too sees the bees and blossoms representing love and marriage only after going through two failed marriages which do not have the same meaningful characteristics as the blossoms do. Throughout the rest of the story Janie not only searches for pure love, but she searches for herself. As she ventures more in her search of self-discovery, she becomes more independent and self aware as to what she wants: happiness and to be treated properly. Janie’s first couple husbands...
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...THE BRITISH ARE COMING Miss Wattle Have you ever watched the docs shown on the British screen? The views they are so pretty, the best you've ever seen But by golly, the British accent is so odd Altho' to be sure it was given by our God At times 'tis hard to follow from this side of the sea. You've heard the upper crust talk - it's full of lah-de-dahs. The Lords and Ladies undress and step into their 'barths' North American folks just go and have their baths We'll simply grab a chair and sit down on our ass But the Brits, you know, they sit upon their .... ooh-la-lahs! The British Gingah Rebecca Larkin I have this friend you see He lives across the Atlantic Sea Somewhere in England Over grass, and mountains, and sand He visits this country I call home At camp, with open land to roam We-my best friend and I-walk up to him to say hi And he jumps right into conversation, not the least bit shy For the next ten days we all hang together Other friends we hung with too, but mainly the British ginger So hilarious and animated, his “woo” sounding like a dying cat on crack Eventually we started pretending to be his claque Laughter rings about even though the end of the camp is near We all enjoyed the time that we’ve spent here We smile and say our goodbyes until the next year When we all meet up again, right here A Very British Summer Faiz Ali This year we grieve for the sunshine of old Instead we're given a pouring with a rainbow Still...
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...herself and then she makes a calm decision. Silvia Plath wrote this poem in seven five-line stanzas followed by a single line. On one level Plath is simply recalling a personal incident. The story of the poem concerns a task with a bee box. In the first stanza she states that it looks like ‘square’, like a midget’s coffin, heavy and noisy: ‘such a din in it’. The word ‘coffin’ suggests death. The overall description of the bee-box is strange and disturbing. In the second stanza, the bee box both frightens and attracts Plath. She stares in at the bees through a little wire grid. The box is ‘locked’ because its contents are ‘dangerous’. Yet Plath ‘can’t keep away from it’. She examines the box and considers opening it. But she is faced with the threat that what is inside may injure her. Yet, she feels she has to 'to live with it overnight'. In the third stanza, she regards the bees as angry slaves that seek release and revenge: ‘Black on black, angrily clambering’. Through the wire grid she sees darkness. She imagines the bees are like army divisions of blackness that she associates with ‘the swarmy feeling of African hands’. She is in a state of alarm. In the fourth stanza, the buzzing noise puts her off releasing the bees. She fears their bee language and now regards them as an aggressive Roman mob. She describes their language as ‘unintelligible syllables’. Her exclamation, 'small, taken one by one, but my god together!' reveals a fear of being attacked by these 'minute'...
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...Honey bee lost on agriculture & humans Introduction Most individuals consider all bees nuisance that are only needed during the spring and summer for floral abundance. But in reality they are an important part for proteins (nuts), fruits, and veggies that make it onto your table year around. They are our pollinators. A relatively new condition known as colony collapse disorder or CCD is causing bee inhabitants to plummet. In CCD honey bee colonies inexplicably lose their workers. This has resulted in a loss of 50% to 90% of colonies in beekeeping across the United States. Causes This is not only affecting the US with 40% loss in commercial honey bees since 2006, but also in the Europe with the loss of commercial honey bees by 25% since...
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...personal character traits is demonstrated by Akeelah’s perseverance in achieving her spelling bee championship. The movie Akeelah and the Bee, directed by Doug Atchison, tells of a young girl, Akeelah, who obtains the courage to win the national spelling bee contest by overcoming all the obstructions in her path and pushing herself to do her best. In the movie, Atchison shows that motivation, fearlessness, and persistence are three character traits that help people succeed. Motivation is the most important trait to help people to succeed. Motivation can be classified as a person’s passion to act upon his or her desired goal, which must be within that person’s reach. A strong passion for dreams can inspire people to do their best. For example, Akeelah is internally motivated to win the school bee. In the beginning of the film, Akeelah has exhibited her capability to remember and spell words that are far too complicated for her age. However, Akeelah’s life is plagued with difficulties, as her father isn’t there for her and her mother is too busy to pay attention to her needs. As a result, Akeelah doesn’t wish to enter the spelling bee in the beginning, because her fellow classmates would mock her. Yet, Akeelah later decides to attend the spelling bee as she realizes that her father would have wished that she did, as her brother Devon inspires her to “do it for Dad” (Akeelah and the Bee). Her love for her dead father has fueled Akeelah’s desires to win the spelling contests, and...
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...decreasing. But it is time we start to worry about the bees population because it is on the low side. Worldwide one million colonies of bees die every year. That is a lot of bees my friends. When an animal gets placed on the endangered list the next step is complete extinction of that species. Although the size of bees may not seem like the bees in the U.S are not important, they are. In America the bee population used to be five million colonies, that is a lot of bees. In recent studies that population has decreased to about half of that size. If you have ever seen the BEE movie you will know that without bees no plants or crops in the region that has a lack of bees will survive. A world without bees is also a world without us. If bees go extinct so do we. Since bees are on the low side of extinction anything will help, start your own bee hive and then get your friends to start one. Bees will benefit everything within a several miles of where the hive is located. You just have to pay attention to your surroundings to see the difference. Go outside more, plant more trees, and start your own bee hive. Oh how the world would be so much better if all did this. So what are you going to do about the lack of bees in our community?...
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...Kansas is a state that is shaped like a rectangle and is full of plains, grasses, flowers and people who sing the cheerful state song. The story of how Kansas became a free state is very interesting. Home on the Range is the state song and the state bird is the western meadowlark. The big hairy buffalo is the state animal and the state insect is the small stinging honey bee. Also interesting is the worlds biggest recorded pallasite was found in Kansas. Kansas was named after the Native American word Kanza, meaning “people of the south wind.” The people of Kansas were considering whether or not Kansas should become a slave state. There was such a balance of opinion that it took four attempts at writing a constitution by congress. The battle raged on often needing the help of federal troops. In 1850 the people of Kansas approved a constitution prohibiting slavery. The senate’s refusal to admit Kansas as a state, the issue exploded into a national political problem. In order to be admitted there had to be a big shift in power in the senate and the presidency. It wasn’t until January 29, 1861 that the constitution making Kansas the 34th state reached President James Buchanan’s desk and was signed. This January we will celebrate the 150th birthday of Kansas. Home on the range, the state song of Kansas, was originally a poem called My Western Home by Dr. Brewster M. Higley near 1872. The music was written by a friend of Higleys named Daniel E. Kelly. It was officially...
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...the passage. Choose the best answer for each question. THE BEE Bees live in a house that is called a hive. There are three kinds of bees: workers, drones, and queens. Only one queen bee can live in each hive. If she is lost or dead, the other bees will stop their work. Bees are very wise and busy little creatures. They all join together to build cells of wax for their honey. Each bee takes its proper place and does its own work. Some go out and gather honey from the flowers; others stay at home and work inside the hive. The cells which they build are all of one shape and size, and no room is left between them. The cells are not round. They have six sides. Did you ever look into a glass hive to see the bees while at work? It is pleasant to see how busy they always are. But the drones do not work. Before winter comes, all the drones are driven from the hive so that they don’t eat the honey which they did not gather. It is not safe for children to handle bees. Bees have a painful sting that they use in their defense. Try our online reading & math program. 14 day free trial. www.k5learning.com Reading & Math at www.k5learning.com Questions 1. How many sides does a cell in the hive have? a. Three b. Four c. Six d. Seven 2. What happens to the drones in the winter? a. They sleep. b. They find a new hive. c. They are driven out. d. They repair the hive. 3. Which is not a kind of bee? a. Workers b. Kings c. Queens d. Drones 4. Which word...
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