MLA Template “The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others.” (Schaff 420) The honeybee is an insect that has provided humans with sustenance, medicine and sweetener. In some early cultures the only sweetener available was honey. The importance of honey in America is more than just its saccharine properties. Honeybees are crucial to the current functioning of agriculture in America. We need to find out what is causing bees to be destro
((What is a Honeybee?))
The Honeybee is classified as an insect. It has 6 legs so it is called a hexapod. The other insects that are closely related to honeybees are ants,bees and wasps in Order hymenoptera. The honeybee has several similarities to its …show more content…
Nosema is one of the most prominent bee diseases in the US. It affects around 60% of bee hives in the US. (Shimanuki 4) The Nosema is caused by a microorganism called a protozoan. This organism is spread through spores and is transmitted by bees that drift between colonies or raid weak colonies for honey. Nosema affects the digestive system of the bee and is spread through the fecal matter. The protozoan lives in the midgut of the bee and it lives off of the honey and pollen that the bee eats. Nosema affects many types of insects including grasshoppers, moths and ants. This disease cannot be spread between the species though. The strain that affects bees can only be passed though other bees. This has big implications for commercial bee farmers. They have many hives in close proximity when they raise bees. This makes it easy for all of the hives in the vicinity to become affected by nosema. This disease causes workers to live a 50% shorter life and reduces honey yeilds by 40%.(Sammataro 191) When the queen is affected by this disease she lays less eggs and as a result the numbers of workers dwindle. This has huge implications with the growth of honeybees in the …show more content…
Not all scientists agree that colony collapse is a big deal. Most honeybee advocates report that approximately one third of all crops in the United States rely on bees. (Holden 2006) This may be true that one third of the crops rely on pollinators to some extent, but they do not rely on bees completely. Only 6% of the crops in the developed world rely completely on bees and other pollinators to produce a product. (Aizen 5) Most crops that take advantage of pollinators do not require them to produce a product. Crops in this category will produce more and or better products in the presence of pollination, but it is not required to produce a product. There is a spectrum of pollinator dependence of crops in the world. Pollinator dependence ranges from no pollinator dependence to essential dependence. There are four ranges of crops dependent on pollinators: little, modest, high and essential. These categories show that not all plants are completely dependent on pollination. Among these plants very little compensation of land would be required if the pollinators
((What is a Honeybee?))
The Honeybee is classified as an insect. It has 6 legs so it is called a hexapod. The other insects that are closely related to honeybees are ants,bees and wasps in Order hymenoptera. The honeybee has several similarities to its …show more content…
Nosema is one of the most prominent bee diseases in the US. It affects around 60% of bee hives in the US. (Shimanuki 4) The Nosema is caused by a microorganism called a protozoan. This organism is spread through spores and is transmitted by bees that drift between colonies or raid weak colonies for honey. Nosema affects the digestive system of the bee and is spread through the fecal matter. The protozoan lives in the midgut of the bee and it lives off of the honey and pollen that the bee eats. Nosema affects many types of insects including grasshoppers, moths and ants. This disease cannot be spread between the species though. The strain that affects bees can only be passed though other bees. This has big implications for commercial bee farmers. They have many hives in close proximity when they raise bees. This makes it easy for all of the hives in the vicinity to become affected by nosema. This disease causes workers to live a 50% shorter life and reduces honey yeilds by 40%.(Sammataro 191) When the queen is affected by this disease she lays less eggs and as a result the numbers of workers dwindle. This has huge implications with the growth of honeybees in the …show more content…
Not all scientists agree that colony collapse is a big deal. Most honeybee advocates report that approximately one third of all crops in the United States rely on bees. (Holden 2006) This may be true that one third of the crops rely on pollinators to some extent, but they do not rely on bees completely. Only 6% of the crops in the developed world rely completely on bees and other pollinators to produce a product. (Aizen 5) Most crops that take advantage of pollinators do not require them to produce a product. Crops in this category will produce more and or better products in the presence of pollination, but it is not required to produce a product. There is a spectrum of pollinator dependence of crops in the world. Pollinator dependence ranges from no pollinator dependence to essential dependence. There are four ranges of crops dependent on pollinators: little, modest, high and essential. These categories show that not all plants are completely dependent on pollination. Among these plants very little compensation of land would be required if the pollinators