Why are Bees Vanishing? (Article project by Lara Boyle)
Many dilemmas have occurred in the last one hundred years. Most of them have to do with our crisis with the problem of global warming. Unlike most problems, some of the issues like why bees are vanishing can cause a great disruption in our economy and way of life. The bee population in the United States and in Europe have decreased majorly, leading bees to soon become endangered. In the United States alone, up to one-third of commercial honeybee colonies vanish mysteriously each year. Pesticides, pollution, parasites, infections and other threats continue to threaten colonies of honeybees worldwide. As these still take place and the population of bees fall, it harms farmers, who rely on …show more content…
It leaves the insect too weak to survive any disease or pest that would otherwise kill them. Breed notes that Earth’s climate change worsens things for the creature. Droughts or flooding can happen during a changing climate, thus resulting in an affect taken place on flowers, which bees rely on. On account of this, bees are more vulnerable than ever. Connolly starts the study by selecting three of the most common pesticides. One of them was used to kill Varroa mites and two known as neonicotinoids. These are often use by farmers as well as gardeners as they are less toxic to people than other pesticides. Connolly then removes the brains of the honeybees and bumblebees and places them in a watery bath. Following this, he inserts a tiny, needlelike probe into a cell in the mushroom body of each brain. The mushroom body is the part of a bee’s brain that is responsible for learning and keeping memory. The cells receive information, for example the location of a flower, they “talk” to other cells. It’s through these chemical conversations in its brain that a bee learns stuff. Scientist refer to these chemical messengers as neurotransmitters. This is when one nerve cell in the brain talks to a neighbor. Once the message is received, an enzyme between the nerve cells gather up all the information from the neurotransmitters. That way the cells wont have to listen to an old message. Connolly inserts an
Many dilemmas have occurred in the last one hundred years. Most of them have to do with our crisis with the problem of global warming. Unlike most problems, some of the issues like why bees are vanishing can cause a great disruption in our economy and way of life. The bee population in the United States and in Europe have decreased majorly, leading bees to soon become endangered. In the United States alone, up to one-third of commercial honeybee colonies vanish mysteriously each year. Pesticides, pollution, parasites, infections and other threats continue to threaten colonies of honeybees worldwide. As these still take place and the population of bees fall, it harms farmers, who rely on …show more content…
It leaves the insect too weak to survive any disease or pest that would otherwise kill them. Breed notes that Earth’s climate change worsens things for the creature. Droughts or flooding can happen during a changing climate, thus resulting in an affect taken place on flowers, which bees rely on. On account of this, bees are more vulnerable than ever. Connolly starts the study by selecting three of the most common pesticides. One of them was used to kill Varroa mites and two known as neonicotinoids. These are often use by farmers as well as gardeners as they are less toxic to people than other pesticides. Connolly then removes the brains of the honeybees and bumblebees and places them in a watery bath. Following this, he inserts a tiny, needlelike probe into a cell in the mushroom body of each brain. The mushroom body is the part of a bee’s brain that is responsible for learning and keeping memory. The cells receive information, for example the location of a flower, they “talk” to other cells. It’s through these chemical conversations in its brain that a bee learns stuff. Scientist refer to these chemical messengers as neurotransmitters. This is when one nerve cell in the brain talks to a neighbor. Once the message is received, an enzyme between the nerve cells gather up all the information from the neurotransmitters. That way the cells wont have to listen to an old message. Connolly inserts an