Are Bees Going Extinct? – Will We Lose Bees?
The subject of many animals going extinct in the last couple of years has been prevalent. This is not without cause. Many animals were endangered a long time ago, due to our industrial expansion. We need resources, mainly wood and various other plants and materials which means that we will disturb the ecosystems of various animals, leading to their deaths, in one way or another.
Our world is changing, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. The honey bee is next on the list. There have been talks about the honey bee going extinct. Is this the truth? Let’s look at the details.
Why Would Bees Be Endangered?
Bees were somewhat okay before major industrialization after the Second World War. The need for mass producing food became a problem for bees. Why is that? Horses were primarily used to plough the soil and horses fed on clovers. Clovers used to grow in meadows, which were filled with flowers, which bees and bumblebees, even, love (as do we, because they create honey which most of us enjoy). After World War II, mechanization started taking place and the world turned to machines to create food. Meadows were no longer necessary, nor horses, therefore tall grass started growing in those places, which didn’t help the bumblebees or bees. Pesticides are another major issue. Throughout Asia, Europe and North America, bees and bumblebees have started to become endangered. Pesticides basically destroy pests, but they also affect insects. Insecticides are even worse, because they specifically affect insects. Climate change is also a major factor in decimating the bee population, or rather confusing it to a serious extent.
What Does the Bee Mean for Us?
Bees and bumblebees do something very important, pollinate our flowers. This is important because it means that those flowers will get to live. Many sub-species of bees are very closely tied to some flowers. There being so many sub-species of bees and bumblebees, losing a single species would mean losing the means to study some flowers and their relationship with bees. It could also mean losing the very flowers.
The most popular of the bees, apis mellifera, or the western honey bee, is present on every single continent, and bred, for that matter. They are used to produce honey, pollinate plants and are almost essential in every village which is related to agriculture. People take care of bees, yet these bees have suffered from something called the colony collapse disorder. It is characterized by the disappearance of worker bees, leaving nurse bees and a queen in the colony. Plenty of species of bees have been stressed by anything from climate change, pesticide use, fungi, diseases and many other factors. Can this be fixed?
Possible Solutions
The bees are in danger, some of them more than others, meaning specific species. Combating climate change would be the first of many things which could be done to help the insects. A stable climate is something which everyone benefits from, humans and animals alike. Developing specific pesticides and insecticides which wouldn’t affect bees and other beneficial insects would be another possible solution.
Bees are somewhat endangered, but so is everyone, with constant climate change and a major usage of pesticides and various other potentially dangerous repellants, synthetic or natural. Going forward, cleaner ways of living and producing are the way to a better life, for us and the bees.