Since the movie’s arrival in 2007, society has seen many issues with bees and their colonies. According to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), bee colonies have recently been subjected to a disease called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD [5]. This disorder has been ravaging bee colonies and we have still not seen a scientific discovery of the causes of CCD 5.
Beekeepers saw the initial signs of CCD in 2006, when they started experiencing losses of 30% to 90% of their colonies [5]. In 2007, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) devised a plan in which a group of scientist would investigate and research a developed list of potential causes of CCD. These scientist have narrowed down the possibilities to pathogens, parasites, management stressors, and environmental stressors, but the absolute root cause of this disease still remains to be unknown. This is still a major issue to the human population and the agriculture sector. According to Tennille Tracy, from The Wall Street Journal, 40% of the United States’ honeybee colonies have died in between the months of April 2014 and April 2015 [6]. This trend is very unhealthy for bees and the other organisms that heavily benefit from their existence.
Why should mankind be worried about the existence of bees and the rapid decline of their colonies? The answer is because of the huge connection that they have with our society.
Not only do we get goods, like honey, nectar, and wax, from bee colonies, but other services, such as pollination, play a vital role in our diets and economics.
Bee pollination contributes to $15 billion in increased crop value every single year [5]. To get a better picture of this, one of every three mouthfuls of ALL food can be sourced and thanked to bee pollination. Without bee pollination, it would be difficult and expensive to find nuts, berries, fruits, and vegetables.
Bees frequently frighten human beings because of their ability to 'sting' us. In all reality, we heavily rely on bees for their products and services and without them, our life's and diets would be a drastic change of what we have today. Bees have a very, very important connection to society and CCD is beginning to threaten us and our way of living.
Beekeepers saw the initial signs of CCD in 2006, when they started experiencing losses of 30% to 90% of their colonies [5]. In 2007, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) devised a plan in which a group of scientist would investigate and research a developed list of potential causes of CCD. These scientist have narrowed down the possibilities to pathogens, parasites, management stressors, and environmental stressors, but the absolute root cause of this disease still remains to be unknown. This is still a major issue to the human population and the agriculture sector. According to Tennille Tracy, from The Wall Street Journal, 40% of the United States’ honeybee colonies have died in between the months of April 2014 and April 2015 [6]. This trend is very unhealthy for bees and the other organisms that heavily benefit from their existence.
Why should mankind be worried about the existence of bees and the rapid decline of their colonies? The answer is because of the huge connection that they have with our society.
Not only do we get goods, like honey, nectar, and wax, from bee colonies, but other services, such as pollination, play a vital role in our diets and economics.
Bee pollination contributes to $15 billion in increased crop value every single year [5]. To get a better picture of this, one of every three mouthfuls of ALL food can be sourced and thanked to bee pollination. Without bee pollination, it would be difficult and expensive to find nuts, berries, fruits, and vegetables.
Bees frequently frighten human beings because of their ability to 'sting' us. In all reality, we heavily rely on bees for their products and services and without them, our life's and diets would be a drastic change of what we have today. Bees have a very, very important connection to society and CCD is beginning to threaten us and our way of living.