A World Without Bees
It is very hard to comprehend what a world would be like without Bees and insects. We tend to view insects with some irrelevance and sometimes as a nuisance and pests. Life on the planet Earth is a finely tuned balance of all types of animal species, including insects, plants & trees. Once Humans upset this finely tuned balance the Ecosystem over time reacts. There are many reason how Humans can upset this balance, from excess fishing and hunting of wild animals, to the mass production and aggressive farming and agriculture for food production and the use of pesticides. The Industrial production of plastics and the release of harmful pollutants into the atmosphere, the use of fossil fuels releasing CO2 into the atmosphere the deforestation (of trees and plants). All the evidence is there the melting of the Ice in Antarctica etc.. Humans are changing the ecosystem and the planet we have serious issues to resolve and we look to the World’s Leaders to provide the leadership and solution to feed the 7 Billion people without upsetting the balance of the ecosystem, and destroying the Earth’s natural resources to feed the globe population. This is without waging nuclear wars which would just tip the fragile ecosystem to the limits destroying the majority of animal, plants and human life which has taken millions of years of evolution.
The Extinction of Bees
Bees are top of the Extinction species list, as far as pollinators they account for 70 out of 100 crop species that feed 90% of the world population of 7 billion. If the Honey Bee went extinct it would affect all the plants that it pollinates, and the animals that feed on these plants and so on up the food chain. The availability of some plant based fuels and eventually Human life. Bees face threats from the loss of flower meadows, the varroa mite, Asian Hornet, climate change, and use of pesticides worldwide. The world is losing Bees at a alarming rate.
Extinction of Bees would have serious impact and decline in the production of crops. Rice and wheat do not require insect pollination, but can the human race survive just eating rice and bread all their life?
Bee populations have been in dramatic decline in recent years. The following Bee species have been added to the endangeded species list in 2017 (seven species of Hawaiian yellow-faced bees), also added in 2018 (The rusty-patched bumblebee, Bombus affinis), by adding these Bees to the endangerd list so as to protect and revive their numbers for them to survive.
Since 2006 there has been a notable decline in Bee population world-wide. The major role in this worrying decline has been attributed to pesticides, disease, parasites, and poor weather due to global warming. Beekeepers have reported the sudden reduction in the numbers of Bees. The adult Bees disappeared suddenly and mostly together. The hives were left with just the queen and immature bees.
Effect on Animals
Herbivores (animal that gets its energy from eating plants), who are totally dependant upon certain plant species, will be the first to be affected. They would go extinct if plants ceased to exist. Cattle used for milk & meat depend upon alfalfa and lupins, which in turn depend upon insect pollination. If the cow’s food supply declines, so will meat and milk production. This decrease will have an inpact upon the Human diet.
Why are Bees Endangered
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