Honey Bees: A Case Study

It’s no question that the honey bees are an important species. They are by far the most well-known pollinators, and if they ever were to go extinct, we would say good-bye to crops such as almonds, apples, avocados, and oranges (Good). Beekeepers in North America have noticed a rapid decline in their honey bee populations since 2006 (Hagopian). I spoke with two beekeepers, Tommy McCaffrey and Roy Clingon in Purvis, Mississippi, who gave me their insight on why the honey bee population has been declining in recent years. For my field research, I went to the homes of both Mr. McCaffrey and Mr. Clingon. At Mr. McCaffrey’s house, I was able to look inside several beehives. I saw thriving bee hives with a strong population and weaker bee hives with a low population. I got to taste the honey right from the …show more content…
Both Mr. McCaffrey and Mr. Clingon were quick to answer when they said that more people need to become more educated and get involved in beekeeping. They even tried to jokingly persuade me into it by telling me that beekeepers with a large number of hives, who sell the honey along with the bees, can make up to $200,000 annually. Because of the new pests and problems that arise with beekeeping, the costs to upkeep the hives and treat these problems has also grown substantially, and it takes much more time now to take care of the beehives than it did before these problems arose. This is a reason that the number of beekeepers in the country has been estimated to have dropped over half in the past two decades (Tracy). It seems as though we shouldn’t be worried about the bees themselves going extinct, we should be worried about the beekeepers going extinct. As long as we have good, educated beekeepers, we will never have to worry about the honey bee population. Perhaps, instead of shouting “Save the bees!” we should be shouting “Save the