Busy Bee

No more bees? What’s the big issue? I recently have been hearing a lot of rumors about bees being added to the endangered species list. This is the first time in U.S. history that bees have been placed on the endangered species list. My initial thought when I heard this news was that bees are a pest and half of my family is deathly allergic, so this is good news, not bad news! After research on this specific topic, I sadly realized I had been mistaken. Bees being placed onto the endangered species list is far from good news.

environmentalist-sues-to-get-bumble-bee-listed-as-endangered-2

Just like I questioned, you may be wondering what the actual purpose of bees is. Have you ever heard the phrase “busy bee”? This phrase is not inaccurate and is commonly said because bees are indeed really busy and work very hard. The main task of a bee is to help the relocation of pollen or seeds, which occurs when bees travel from flower to flower. When a bee partakes in the pollination process, it is allowing fertilization to occur so plants can grow. More importantly, they are catalysts to producing food that humans can eat. Essential fruits and vegetables that we consume on a daily basis, such as apples, blueberries, oranges, cherries and cucumbers, as well as nuts, would not be able to thrive. Locations all over the United States that grow produce will start to experience issues with their farming and overall production with the decline in bees.

fruits-and-vegetables

The decline of bees was first realized at the turn of the new decade, between late 2009 and early 2010. Many types of bees have been observed and studied from 2009 until now, 2016. Since the observations and findings were projected over many years, this could be considered an observational longitudinal study. Karl Magnacca, a professor at the University of Hawaii, is a man who devoted nearly twenty years of his life to studying bees and their decline. Karl Magnacca is also the co author of the book Insects of Hawaii: Hawaiian Hylaeus (Nesoprosopis) Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), which talks about his findings. An example of Karl Magnacca’s findings would include that bees usually favor powerful plants, but also are crucial to the whole forest and ecosystem as a whole.

Bees being added to the endangered species list is huge problem, but this actually the first step in their revival. Because bees have been added to the endangered species list, their decline is at least being acknowledged as an issue. More importantly, bees are now protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which conserves these species to the greatest ability possible.

bee-on-flower

Bees are crucial for a stable eco system, which is why their decline is urgent to our society. Without bees, we will lose some of our favorite foods that we eat every single day. If you were like me, I hope you gained knowledge on bees that you did not know before. Through all this research I realized how important bees are. Even though my family is allergic to bees, I now understand their importance to the global ecosystem. In conclusion, next time you see a bee, don’t swat it or view it as a pest, because we need them!


 

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5 thoughts on “Busy Bee

  1. Matthew Hogan

    This is a very important topic because if bees were to go extinct, it would be very bad for us and the environment. I used to hate bees a lot but after bee movie I realized that we need them. This is a website (http://www.beesfree.biz/The%20Buzz/Bees-Dying) that wants to help save bees and it also speaks about why they are dying and how we can help to stop killing them. One way we can help them is to not disturb their habitats by destroying hives. We need to try and preserve the bee population because they play an important role in the environment.

  2. Rachel Marie Aul

    I’m glad you’re addressing such an important issue that many people are overlooking. BBC produced a great short clip on the implications a bee extinction would bring ( http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140502-what-if-bees-went-extinct ). Bees are such an important part of our ecosystem, and much of the food we eat today would not grow properly without bees.

    I think adding a study to your post would strengthen your argument. The National Honey Board ( http://www.honey.com/honey-industry/honey-and-bee-research/honey-bee-research/c/2015-research-projects ) conducts numerous projects, both observational and experimental. These studies prove what you stated in your post – bees do a lot of good in our society.

    Overall, great post, and great job informing us on the importance of bees!

  3. Raegan S Pechar

    This post immediately caught my eye because I’ve been following the endangered bees lately! I think people often forget that they are an essential part to our ecosystem. Don’t get me wrong, I’m terrified of bees. I’ve never been stung by one (knock on wood), and I run the opposite way if one ever begins flying near me. I appreciate that you acknowledge the decline of the bee population, and how imperative it is for us to act while we still can. I saw this awesome video the other day that demonstrated that bees can be taught how to retrieve food, like how we teach mice or rats. It’s amazing to think that insects can learn like mice. Heres the link: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-bees-idUSKCN124233

  4. Dante Labricciosa

    Love the blog is about bees, huge fan of honey. But yes, bees do seem drastically dying out, you should look into Penn State class called “Honey Bees and Humans” as they go over all sorts of ways to help and get to know the species that we actually drastically need. But your blog confuses me, for I do not know what you are trying to answer. You could go more in-depth of what experiments could be done to the forestation and wildlife that could protect these bees, or what gene can be manipulated within the bee that gives them resistance to pesticides or make them prone to flowers they do not typically go to. You could explain further on what is killing the bees, as this article/study shows how pesticides are a main killer: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-study-on-bees-and-pesticides-neonicotinoids-2016-8. But overall your blog is very interesting, I love the subject of species biology.

    1. Casey Andrew Schaum

      I also heard about bees being put on the endangered species list. Bees are definitely not one of my favorite insects but they play a big part in our ecosystem. Your post got me wondering what else is going on to save bees. I found a good article on CNN that has 5 ways that you can help save the bees. http://sites.psu.edu/siowfa16/2016/10/20/busy-bee/#comments . Dante has some interesting points though I never thought about manipulating the bee’s genes. Would that even be possible? And if so, how would you go about doing that? It seems that pesticides are playing a big part in killing the bees so maybe we should look into reducing pesticides. Finding an alternative to harmful pesticides would also be another option. All in all, it is obvious that something needs to be done to help the bees. Hopefully something will happen before it is too late.

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