Lourenso 1
Cristina Lourenso
May 19th 2016
English 621A
Mrs. Becker
Are the Bees Worth Saving?
Bees are often thought of as annoying yellow and black flying insects that make honey and attack with a painful sting. However that is far from the truth as bees are some of the most crucial organisms to live on this Earth. Bees are flying insects that are found on every continent except Antarctica and live in enormous colonies consisting of worker bees, drones, and the queen. Of the Order Hymenoptera there are honey bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, and stingless bees. Carpenter bees are the only members of these four bee groups that aren’t social. Honeybees are responsible for cross-pollination, which is the transfer of pollen from one plant …show more content…
. If we did not have bees to cross pollinate for us the job would need to be done by hand which would result in a potential cost of €265 billion annually worldwide (Leonard). Since the cost to make these crops would become so expensive the produce costs would raise significantly. The worldwide economic cost of bee desolation has been projected at a devastating $5.7 billion per year which will only continue to grow (Leonard). United States honey bees also produce 150 million dollars’ worth of honey a year, so in turn beekeepers would be out of a job and honey based companies would be out of produce if bees were to disappear. In North America approximately 30% of the food consumed by humans is produced from the pollination of bees (Zissu). Considering the fact that bees also pollinate clover and alfalfa our cattle and dairy production would suffer severely. In 2007 nearly 2.44 million bee colonies totaled almost 148.5 million pounds of honey production (Woody). At 103 cents per pound of honey the production in 2007 was worth well over 150 million dollars (Woody). Many companies rely on bees to produce products to …show more content…
The number of hives in the United States is at the lowest point in the last 50 years and will only continue to diminish if nothing is done. Awareness must be raised to save these insects that contribute so much to our daily lives. There are many ways to help save the bees such as; plant bee friendly flowers and shrubs, stop the use of pesticides, and buy only local honey. Think about the
Lourenso 6 sheer amount of plants and animals that rely on these under-appreciated insect, and you 'll start to realize what the all buzz is about.
Lourenso 7
Work Cited
"About Honeybees." - Honeybee Centre. 2013. Web. 24 May 2016.
Amadeo, Kimberly. "Will We Save the Bees in Time?" About.com Money. 15 Feb. 2015. Web. 24 May 2016.
"Bee Sting Facts." BuzzAboutBees.net. Web. 24 May 2016.
"Colony Collapse Disorder." - Entomologists ' Glossary. Web. 24 May 2016.
Herrington, Diana. "10 Health Benefits of Honey." Real Food For Life. 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 May 2016.
Leonard, Jayne. "Why We Need To Save The Bees 10 Things You Can Do To Help." Natural Living Ideas. 12 June 2015. Web. 24 May 2016.
Woody, Todd. "Scientists Discover What’s Killing the Bees and It’s Worse than You Thought." Quartz. 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 24 May 2016.
Zissu, Alexandra. "The Buzz About Colony Collapse Disorder." NRDC. 31 Dec. 2015. Web. 24 May
Cristina Lourenso
May 19th 2016
English 621A
Mrs. Becker
Are the Bees Worth Saving?
Bees are often thought of as annoying yellow and black flying insects that make honey and attack with a painful sting. However that is far from the truth as bees are some of the most crucial organisms to live on this Earth. Bees are flying insects that are found on every continent except Antarctica and live in enormous colonies consisting of worker bees, drones, and the queen. Of the Order Hymenoptera there are honey bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, and stingless bees. Carpenter bees are the only members of these four bee groups that aren’t social. Honeybees are responsible for cross-pollination, which is the transfer of pollen from one plant …show more content…
. If we did not have bees to cross pollinate for us the job would need to be done by hand which would result in a potential cost of €265 billion annually worldwide (Leonard). Since the cost to make these crops would become so expensive the produce costs would raise significantly. The worldwide economic cost of bee desolation has been projected at a devastating $5.7 billion per year which will only continue to grow (Leonard). United States honey bees also produce 150 million dollars’ worth of honey a year, so in turn beekeepers would be out of a job and honey based companies would be out of produce if bees were to disappear. In North America approximately 30% of the food consumed by humans is produced from the pollination of bees (Zissu). Considering the fact that bees also pollinate clover and alfalfa our cattle and dairy production would suffer severely. In 2007 nearly 2.44 million bee colonies totaled almost 148.5 million pounds of honey production (Woody). At 103 cents per pound of honey the production in 2007 was worth well over 150 million dollars (Woody). Many companies rely on bees to produce products to …show more content…
The number of hives in the United States is at the lowest point in the last 50 years and will only continue to diminish if nothing is done. Awareness must be raised to save these insects that contribute so much to our daily lives. There are many ways to help save the bees such as; plant bee friendly flowers and shrubs, stop the use of pesticides, and buy only local honey. Think about the
Lourenso 6 sheer amount of plants and animals that rely on these under-appreciated insect, and you 'll start to realize what the all buzz is about.
Lourenso 7
Work Cited
"About Honeybees." - Honeybee Centre. 2013. Web. 24 May 2016.
Amadeo, Kimberly. "Will We Save the Bees in Time?" About.com Money. 15 Feb. 2015. Web. 24 May 2016.
"Bee Sting Facts." BuzzAboutBees.net. Web. 24 May 2016.
"Colony Collapse Disorder." - Entomologists ' Glossary. Web. 24 May 2016.
Herrington, Diana. "10 Health Benefits of Honey." Real Food For Life. 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 May 2016.
Leonard, Jayne. "Why We Need To Save The Bees 10 Things You Can Do To Help." Natural Living Ideas. 12 June 2015. Web. 24 May 2016.
Woody, Todd. "Scientists Discover What’s Killing the Bees and It’s Worse than You Thought." Quartz. 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 24 May 2016.
Zissu, Alexandra. "The Buzz About Colony Collapse Disorder." NRDC. 31 Dec. 2015. Web. 24 May