THE HUMBLE BEEby Yvonne Wabai | 07-12-2016 02:11 |
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 Bees. A lot of people know about them but few really grasp how important these insects are. To most people, bees are only important for honey, which is why most people are not concerned that the bee population on earth is close to extinction because they figure that with all the sugar and artificial sweeteners, the world could probably do without honey (even though honey is medicinal while sugar and artificial sweeteners are not). But would the world really survive without bees?  ROLE OF BEES IN THE ECO-SYSTEM So why are bees so important? Well, bees account for around 71% of pollination. Pollination is the process by which flowering plants create offspring i.e. it is reproduction in plants (how plants have their own baby plants). Pollen is transferred from the anther of the plant to the stigma of the same plant (self pollination) or the stigma of a different plant but of the same species (cross pollination).  Fertilization in these plants is enabled by pollination so if pollination does not occur, then fertilization does not occur. What this means is that without pollination, these plant species will simply not reproduce and therefore go extinct. A simple way to look at it is if humans were unable to have babies due to infertility in all males and and in all females. The result would be the human race going extinct. Majority of flowering plants are cross-pollinated i.e. pollen (in humans, this would be the sperm) from the flower of plant 1 cannot fertilize the ovules (in humans, this would be the egg) in the flowers of the same plant (plant 1) but will fertilize the ovules in the flowers from plant 2 which is of the same species as plant 1. One example of this is apples. Pollen from apple tree 1 cannot fertilize ovules from the same apple tree but will fertilize the ovules from other apple trees. The pollen therefore needs a way to get to the other plant i.e. a vector and this vector can be an insect or wind or water. Fruit is formed as a result of fertilization in flowering plants. EFFECTS OF THE EXTINCTION OF BEES. Most of the plants we eat as food undergo cross pollination. Therefore, a decline in the bee population will lead to a decline in pollination leading to a decline in the population of these plant species leading to a food crisis leading to a sharp decline in the human population, as will be for the animal population too. This information can be interpreted from a food chain or a food web because plants are at the very bottom of the food chain meaning that every other living organism is dependent upon them i.e. plants are the producers and other living organisms are the consumers.   Humans are heterotrophs. Therefore, our survival depends on the survival of the plant species. Out of the 100 crop species that provide us with over 90% of our food, 70% of them are pollinated largely by bees. With this in mind, imagine a world without bees.  Maybe you're thinking, "Well, too bad for the vegans and vegetarians, bet they'll eat meat now!" Well, the joke is on you, because herbivores eat plants and if there are no more plants for the herbivores to eat, there will be no more herbivores i.e. no more cows or goats or camels or gazelles or zebras which means no more carnivores such as lions and no more omnivores such as humans. Simply put, every consumer on the food chain is going to suffer. Additionally, the bio-fuels we are looking to to save us from fossil fuels will also be affected because they too are gotten from plants, with examples being palm oil and canola oil. Furthermore, cotton plants are also cross pollinated so the clothing and textile industry will take a huge hit too. And because most grasses are cross pollinated too, grasslands will disappear as a result of the disappearance of bees leading to large-scale desertification. REASONS AS TO WHY THE POPULATION OF BEES IS DECLINING.  The major reason why bees are disappearing is the intense usage of pesticides. Pesticides are chemicals used to kill pests such as ticks and fleas on animals and aphids and mites in plants. While pesticides are important, and without them we'd probably also not have enough food, but their usage needs to be done in a controlled area or else they will affect other organisms they are not meant to affect, like bees. In the recent years, big companies such as Monsanto have invested in chemtrails whereby airplanes fly across the sky and dump trails of chemicals. This is meant to be an easier method to spray pesticides on a large area of crops. Without even going into whether or not these chemicals are pesticides, one can already see a big problem with the chemtrails. It is essentially air pollution. It's hurting all living organisms, plants and animals alike. There is also a new class of pesticides called neonicotinoids that indiscriminately affect the central nervous system of insects and result in paralysis and death of the insects. While these are great for killing insect pests such as mites, they also affect non-pest insects such as bees and this is definitely not good for the eco-system. Additionally, the Varrao mites, blood-sucking parasites that can only reproduce in a bee colony, and the recent extreme winters have been key causes of the death of bees.  SOLUTIONS Looking at the major causes of the disappearance of bees, the solutions are quite clear. The solutions include: i) putting an end to chemtrails and do away with Varrao mites. ii) dealing with climate change and global warming. iii) supporting local beekeepers in the area and paying them a visit to learn about bees. iv) supporting locally-grown organic fruits and vegetables. v) creating/building bee highways. One such highway was created in Oslo, Norway. vi) creating bee sanctuaries. FUN FACTS 1. Bees only sting when they perceive a threat. They are generally very peaceful creatures. In honey bees, only females have stingers. 2. Wasps are basically 'bees on steroids' and hornets are basically 'wasps on steroids'. For your own safety, stay away from wasps and hornets they are NOT peaceful creatures. REFERENCES 1. Wikipedia. 2. Science ABC 3. Animal Pictures. N.B. Specific texts that require sources are hyperlinked to their source. Images are also hyperlinked to their sources. |
