Life without Bees

By: Aisha Walker

The Current situation: Life without Bees Colony collapse disorder, as situation in which adult bees become crucial to the colony’s survival by abandonment of the hive by either dying or flying off. The disorder was uncannily reminiscent of the mysterious disappearance of the Mayans centuries ago, and as the crisis continued, researches scrambled to learn why our bees were declining and determine what to do. Colony collapse disorders has wiped out over 10 million bee hives percent annually in recent years and there are now about $2 billion over the past six years. The death rate for colonies has hit 30 the U.S; down from 6 million in 1947 and 3 million in 1990. That downward spiral leaves”virtually no cushion of bees for pollination’” the report authors write.
In recent years, agricultural pesticides have become a leading suspect in bee deaths. Attention has focused on a class of chemicals called neonicotinoids as global concern grows over the bee population crash, which has affected several European countries too.But scientist increasingly believe several interacting factors from diseases carrying parasites to poor nutrition to pesticides and is responsible for the mass die off. For instance, the report says studies have shown that exposure to even non-fatal levels of neonicotinoids may make bees more susceptible to disease; and as agriculture becomes more industrial and natural habitats that formerly bordered farmland are destroyed, bees are being starved of the food they need to help produce food for humans. “ undernourished or malnourished bees appear to be more susceptible to pathogens, parasites, and other stressors, including toxins.

Theory: No BEES, No Crops In 2013, some bad news had been brought to people’s attention. Each year honeybees from across the country make their way to California, which grows 80 percent of the world’s almonds, to pollinate the almond crop. But bees have been dying in usually large numbers for several years now, and this year appear worse than ever.
The problem we face, if we don’t have healthy populations of pollinators particularly honeybees, extend beyond almonds. Three fourths of top crops grown in the world require animals mostly insects for pollination. Odds are that most of your favorite fruits, nut and melons are pollinated by honeybees.
Real Application Theory:
In most of recent years, colony collapse disorders, which is mysterious and devastating loss of bee colonies in United States, Canada, and Europe is the main reason for why bees are disappearing. The first reports of these colony collapse disorders affected 23 percent of commercial U.S beekeepers and some beekeepers lost 90 percent of their hives. Since then, colony collapse disorders had no signs of slowing. Substantial yearly losses of bees, 30 percent or higher have become the norm.
Conclusion:
A world without bees would mean a world without majority of our most common fruits and vegetables. No, that doesn’t mean the human race would become extinct; but with the lack of bees; production, it would make life tougher. Our food source will be limited because over 90 percent of the fruits and vegetables that we de0end are from the bees’ pollination.

Reference:
Fuhrman, Joel. Disease Proof. (2013). Devastating Bee Losses Threaten the Food Supply. Retrieved from Http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/news-devastaing-bee0losses-threaten-the-food-supply.html.
Jolly, David. The New York Times. (2013). Europe Bans Pesticides Thought Harmful to Bees. Retrieved from
Http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/business/global/30iht-eubees30.html?_r=1&
Spector, Dina. Business Insider. (2013). What Our World Look Like Without Honeybees. Retrieved from: Http://www.businessinsider.com/the-world-without-honeybees-2013-6