Pollinator

misinforming society on the real status of the bees? On the Cheerios’ website, two specifically bee-related facts are mentioned before they state “more than two thirds of the world’s crop species rely on pollinators” (Cheerios). Brands are confusing readers by implying that bees are the only pollinators, which is untrue. While the loss of bees would have a great impact on the way humans live, humanity would not be doomed without them. The decline in bee populations should not be seen as the end…

complete the reproduction cycle of these plants and without them some plants would not have a successful pollination. Besides beekeepers, and other jobs where work relates to bees, these important creatures go unnoticed. Including bees “insect pollinators merit our preservation efforts because some 67 percent of extant flowering plants depend, to varying extents, upon them for reproduction,” (Tepedino 139) yet more and more people are discovering hives of bees are dying out with reasons unknown.…

Leafcutter bees are members of the genus Megachile. Along with resin and mason bees, they make up the Megachilidae family (Serrano). There are 131 different species of leafcutter bees native to North America although most of the species are too poorly known to have common names. Of those, 28 species are found in Kansas (Young et al.). They are moderately-sized, varying from 5 to 24 millimeters in length (Serrano). Their appearance is mostly black with several whitish hair bands across the…

beehives. Since these early pioneers of apiculture, beekeeping has progressed to an essential aspect of modern agriculture. In America, the production of specialty foods such as berries, nuts, fruit, and vegetables have become reliant on not only wild pollinators as a whole, but domesticated bee’s specifically. Beekeeping has become a reputable business, one that entails beekeepers traveling across states with their colonies to pollinate farms all over the country. Unfortunately in the recent…

Pollinators don’t get much credit in our society especially due to them being insects, still when we think in terms of our food and even food security we tend to think differently about these cross-pollinators. It’s the humble honeybee out of the pollinators that have caught the attention of many scientific reporters attempting to publicize the situation to the public to adopt…

conditions. Climate change appears to be a major concern for agriculture in general and may also have worrying implications for beekeeping. In particular, it has been listed as a possible contributor to the decline in pollinators, including honeybees, and a loss of synchronization between pollinator activity and flowering. The warming aspect of climate change may have a substantial impact on the production of honey. Surprisingly, few data are available on the relationship between climate change…

modified crops and the application of engineering principles to aid the conservation of pollinators. While I work in industry, I hope to continue to grow my small business. I am hoping that the growth of my business will eventually allow me to retire early. My business currently sells plants and produce at local farmer’s markets. I am hoping to eventually start my own berry farm and native prairie restoration and pollinator landscape company. Regardless of my career, I want to work on things…

are the worker bees. These fuzzy creatures are making 1 in every 3 bites taken, possible. So before calling them a nuisance that goes around stinging people, consider that they are feeding majority of the world and are the biggest, most relied on pollinators. Unfortunately, our fuzzy friends are on decline, this can cause major damage to the worlds health and many farmers income,it is due to several factors such as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), pesticides, parasites, and lack of floral…

The fields of science, technology, engineering, and math are paramount in understanding the world around us. I am passionate about science because it involves the pursuit of discovery and pushing the boundaries of the unknown. Science is composed of tested hypotheses that explain how and why our environment works as it does. However, under the scientific method, it is not assumed that what was previously believed to be true cannot be proven otherwise with additional research. This provides an…

the garden or backyard? Yes, I thought so. But that’s not how everybody may see monarchs. Farmers, gardeners, and even you depend on butterflies! Whether we know it or not. The Process of Pollinating Take farmers, for instance. They depend on pollinators, including this insect, or insecta, for their plants to blossom and develop. Do you often see a monarch resting on a flower’s anther? Only to fly away again to the next nectar-bearing plant? Well, that’s how the system begins. The…