Bees – Without Them, No Food!
Angiosperms Flowers and Pollinators
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Angiosperms: Greek anthos for flower
 Seed plants with reproductive structures called Flowers and Fruits
 Pollinators: animals (insects that feed on pollen) move pollen grains from male parts of
one flower to female parts of another
 Coevolution: over time, plants and animal pollinators jointly evolved; changes in one
exerts selection pressure on the other
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Pollinators:
 Living pollination vectors (insects, birds, or other animals)
 Flower shape, pattern, color and fragrance are adaptations that attract sanimal pollinators
 Often rewarded for visiting a flower by obtaining nutritious Pollen or sweet Nectar
 Selective advantage of Pollinators visiting flowers - bring the pollen to the next plant
 90% of the 295,000 have Co-Evolved with Pollinators and do not depend on the Wind
Bees as Pollinators!
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Bees (Apis mellifera):
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65% of all flowering plants require Insects for
Pollination
% is even higher for Major Crop Plants
Bees are the most important Pollinators! Great
concern in North America and Europe as their
populations have dropped!
Bees depend on nectar and pollen for food
Bees are attracted to bright color flowers – yellow and
blue; red appears dull but can be seen in UV light
Bee pollinated flowers such as the dandelion have UV
markings “nectar lines” that help the bees locate the
nectar producing glands
Bee’s Pollination Statistics
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According to the USDA, the % of crop
plants pollinated by bees::
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100%
90%
90%
90%
90%
80%
80%
65%
2%
1%
Almond
Apple
Broccoli
Blueberry
Onion
Cherry
Celery
Onion
Peanut
Grape
Our Pollen Covered Bee!
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Bees are an ideal Pollinator! Covered with pollen and their flight creates static electricity which
helps to attract more pollen! And sacs in their legs allow them to store more to bring home to the
hive and food!
Importance of Bees and Their Loss
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According to a 2006 National Academy Science
Report:
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Pollination vectors, including bees, have been
declining across the US for over 2 decades
Continued decreases in the wild (and commercial)
populations could disrupt food production and
ecosystems
Specific warning on decline of the Honeybee
Honeybee pollinates more than 110 commercially
grown crops vital to the US agriculture, including
33% of agricultural groups
Globally, 33% of the human diet comes from
insect pollinated plants and the honey bee is
responsible for 80% of that pollination!
Honeybees live on the honey they make from the
nectar and pollen collected – they also use it to feed
their young!
Importance of Bees and Their Loss
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According to a 2006 National Academy Science
Report:
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In the US, honeybee colonies are managed by
beekeepers who rent their services out for
pollination for crops including almonds, apples
and blueberries
By 1994, these colonies had replaced an est.
98% of the free range (native) honeybees
Since the 1980s, there has been a 30% drop in
the managed honeybee population
>25% of the 2.4 million honey bee colonies
(each with 30,000-100,000 individual bees) have
been lost since 1994 (in 2006)
Bee keepers inspect once healthy colonies,
find adult worker bees gone and an
abandoned queen bee often overnight!
“Bee Colony Collapse Disorder” origins is not
known but there are several thoughts
Importance of Bees and Their Loss
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Importance of the Honeybee (Time (8/19/13)):
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Bees were imported into North America in the 17th
century and thrived unto recently
Western honey bee is responsible for 33% of the food
we eat
From the blueberry bogs of Maine to the almond
orchards of California, they are responsible for a $15
billion value to farming each year
In June, a Whole Foods store in Rhode Island,
temporary removed products of bees – 237 of 534
items were removed! Including apples, lemons and
zucchini! And honey!
75% of Beekeepers are no longer caring for hives in
the past 15 years, many after 40 years in business; we
are losing our beekeepers also!
“Honeybees are the glue that holds our agricultural
systems together“ reported in The Beekeeper’s Lament
Importance of Bees and Their Loss
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Colony Collapse Disorder: (Time (8/19/13)):
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Since 2006, bee colonies are continuing to die
In this past winter, 33% of the honeybee
colonies have died or disappeared
42% increase over last year and well above the
10-15% yearly average lose in normal winters
Colonies can be replenished over time but not
quickly
There were just enough beehives for the California
almond crop this spring – a $4 billion a year
industry – worth 2x as much as its wine grapes
Pollination is the only chance for maximum
yield, eliminate the honeybee and agriculture
would be permanently diminished!
Causes?
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Causes of the Colony Collapse Disorder:
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Agricultural Pesticides: Neornicotinoids
Varroa, an introduced parasite from Australia in the 1980s
Bacterial, Fungal and Virus diseases
Beekeepers and their practices
Combination of all!!!!
Are we looking at a 2nd “Silent Spring” referring to Rachael Carson or Albert Einstein stating
“If the bee disappears from the surface of the Earth, man would have no more than four
years to live.” Did Al say it? But without bees, the planet would definitely be hungrier!
Time (8/19/13)
Neonicotinoids:
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Neonicotinoid Pesticides:
Used on more than 140 crops and home gardens
 In hives, pollen samples have found dozens of pesticides including the Neonicotinoid
 However, bees have been exposed to toxins , including DDT, for decades
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Neonicotinoids are Systematic – seeds soaked in them are passed into the plant, flower,
nectar and seed and can be passed to the bees
 These chemicals are safer for humans but not bees, which can affect their nervous
system and flight but not kill immediately
 Cumulative effect may explain why they keep dying off yearly
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European Union has placed a 2 year ban on them
 Beekeepers have petitioned Congress to prevent their use
 EPA has it under review but unlikely as there is no clear evidence
 Pesticide makers say levels are too low to be the “culprit”
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Neonicotinoids –
Home Garden Use
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Neonicotinoid Pesticides:
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Used in everyday in home gardens which may expose bees to far higher doses than those
found on farms, where neonicotinoids used in seed coatings
Few researchers, however, doubt that high doses are harmful to bees but research on the use
by gardeners, nurseries and urban landscapers has proceeded slowly, a troubling picture has
emerged of products found on the shelves of most any garden center.
For homeowner use products, for backyard plants, the amount of neonicotinoids used
is 40 times greater than anything allowable in agricultural systems
Environmental Protection Agency states dose of just 20 ppb destroyed honeybee colonies;
however, much greater amounts have been measured in neonicotinoid-treated gardens
In an official company statement from Bayer CropScience, the company said that its
“neonicotinoid-based insecticides — both for lawn and garden and crop applications —
are safe for honey bees and other pollinators when used according to label directions.”
Neoicotinoids – Banning?
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Neonicotinoid Pesticides:
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Vast majority of attention has focused on their agricultural uses and possible effects
but evidence suggests that, even at non-lethal doses, the pesticides can disrupt bee
navigation making them vulnerable to disease and stress
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Question? They spread through a plant’s vascular system and remain active for
extended periods of time and accumulate from year to year, especially in perennial
plants. If we treat once, it stays below lethal levels, but over the years?
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Use commonly used in nurseries. People may purchase plants with the intent of providing
habitat for bees, but are we poisoning them?
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Banning on neonicotinoids would be a mistake. They’re popular in large part because
they’re far less toxic to people than earlier pesticides. In certain situations, such as in-home
termite control, they may be appropriate. The key, he said, is determining what those
situations are
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> 1.25 million people have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to review its
stance on neonicotinoids
Request for EPA to Ban Neonicotinoids
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Neonicotinoid Pesticides:
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Newer class of chemicals that are applied to seeds before planting. This allows the pesticide
to be taken up through the plant’s vascular system as it grows, where it is expressed in the
pollen and nectar.
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Insecticides are highly toxic to bees because they are systemic, water soluble, and
pervasive. They get into the soil and groundwater where they can accumulate and
remain for many years and present long-term toxicity to the hive as well as to other
species, such as songbirds
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Affect insects’ central nervous systems in ways that are cumulative and irreversible.
Even minute amounts can have profound effects over time
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Disappearance of bee colonies began accelerating in the United States shortly after the
EPA allowed these new insecticides on the market in the mid-2000s
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EPA allowed the neonicotinoids to remain on the market despite warning signs of a problem
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Alleges the EPA acted outside of the law by allowing conditional registration of the pesticides,
a measure that allows a product to enter the market despite the absence of certain data.
European Food Safety Authority
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European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a report ruling Neonicotinoid Insecticides
are essentially “unacceptable” for many crops:
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Asked the European Commission asked EFSA to assess the risks associated with the use of
neonicotinoids – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – with particular focus on:
Their acute and chronic effects on bee colony survival and development
Their effects on bee larvae and bee behavior
Risks posed by sub-lethal doses of the three chemicals
Glaring issues was a widespread lack of information, with scientists noting that in some cases
gaps in data made it impossible to conduct an accurate risk assessment.
Authority found that when it comes to neonicotinoid exposure from residues in nectar and
pollen in the flowers of treated plants:2
Only uses on crops not attractive to honeybees were considered acceptable
The Authority ruled “a risk to honeybees was indicated or could not be excluded…”
Unfortunately, Neonicotinoids have become the fastest growing insecticides in the world. In
the US, virtually all genetically engineered crops are treated with Neonicotinoids.
Cumulative Effects May Result in Failure
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Social bee colonies depend on the collective performance of many individual workers.
Although field-level pesticide concentrations can have subtle or sublethal effects at the
individual ”bee” level, it is not known whether it results in a severe cumulative effect at the
colony level.
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In a study by Nature Communications on bees and neonicotinoid and pyrethroid pesticides:
 Fewer adult worker bees emerged from larvae
 Higher proportion of foragers failed to return to the nest H
 Higher death rate among worker bees
 Increased likelihood of colony failure
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Concluded:
 Chronic exposure of bumble bees to neonicotinoid and pyrethroid at concentrations that could
approximate field-level exposure impairs natural foraging behavior and increases worker
mortality leading to significant reductions in brood development and colony success
 Worker foraging performance, particularly pollen collecting efficiency, was significantly
reduced with observed knock-off effects for forager recruitment, worker losses and overall
worker productivity.
 The report provided evidence that cumulative exposure to pesticides increases the risk
of colony failure
Other Culprits – Nosema ceranae
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Nosema ceranae:
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Unicellular fungus which resides in the gut
of the bees
Disease may be associated with Colony
Collapse Disorder
Widespread and causes serious damage
to adult honey bees thus reducing the life
span of individual bees and weakening or
killing colonies.
Infected nurse bees do not fully develop
and infected queens die off prematurely
Most problematic in the winter and spring
when the bees expel waste in the hive and
on the outside
Treatable with a fungicide
Other Culprits – Varroa Mites
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Varroa – Mite:
 Varroa destructor is the world's most devastating pest of
Western bees
 Surfaced in the US in 1987 – likely from South America
and has killed billions on bees
 Mites have killed hundreds of thousands of colonies
worldwide, resulting in billions of dollars of economic loss
 Colonies not managed or left unprotected, caused the
mites to spread
 Mites have affected the feral (wild) population of bees in
many areas causing their loss
 But those native colonies that survived have slowly
developed resistance mechanisms that have allowed
them to persist in the presence of the mite
 This did not happen with managed colonies because
beekeepers started treating chemically (miticide) almost
instantly, thus keeping alive susceptible populations of
bees alive
Other Culprits – Varroa Mites
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Varroa – Mite:
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Weaken and ultimately kill colonies by out-reproducing
their host
Bee populations peak in late spring/mid summer with a
steady decline occurring in mid-late summer.
Mite population increase is similar to that of the bees
but is offset by a number of weeks
Varroa mite populations are just beginning to peak
when bee colony populations typically begin to decline.
Usually the start of significant varroa mite problems
Mite burrows into brood cells that hosts baby bees
Equipped with a sharp, 2 prong fork that pieces the
baby’s exoskeleton and sucks its hemolymph – fluid
that serves as blood in bees
Can also spread other diseases, including viruses
Miticides are only partly effective
Other Culprits – American Foulbrood
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American Foulbrood:
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One of the most widespread and the most
destructive of the honey bee brood diseases
May not develop until it weakens the colony until
the following year, or it may advance rapidly and
seriously weaken or kill the colony the first season
Spores are fed to young larvae by the nurse bees;
germinate in the gut of the larva and multiply
rapidly, causing the larva to die soon after it has
been sealed in its cell; by the time of death of the
larva, the new spores have formed
Honey in an infected colony can become
contaminated with spores and can be a source
of infection for any bee that gains access to it
Beekeepers also may inadvertently spread the
disease by exposing contaminated honey to other
bees or by the interchange of infected equipment
Other Culprits – Beekeepers!
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Beekeepers:
Diseases remains a serious threat, with 33% all bee colonies affected
 Beekeepers with the other two-thirds of colonies think that they have it under control because
their hives are doing well
 They claim they take better care of their bees, feed them better, and use various medicines
and techniques to keep the hives healthy
 Technique some beekeepers swear by is splitting the hives every year, or more frequently;
That means taking half the bees out, getting a new queen (you can buy queens!), and making
two hives out of one.
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Other Beekeeping Reasons?
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Other Reasons:
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Killing the native Queen bee:
 Common practice to kill the native queen bee and replace it with an artificially inseminated
one with select sperm to increase the production of honey
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Supplemental Food:
 Replaces honey with sugar or sugar which may leave bees less capable of fighting infection
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Beehive Transport:
 While bees are kept in hives for long periods of time they are fed high fructose corn syrup to
simulate nectar
 Lacks all the nutrition found in flowers
Although Pesticides may play a role, other factors are involved!
Conservation Research Program! Gone!
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Conservation Research Program:
Rents land from farmers, taking it out of production to conserve soil and perserve wildlife
 But as the sale of commodity crops like corn or soybeans have increased, farmers can make
more by returning their soil to farming
 This year, 25.3 million acres are held by the CDC, down 33% from its peak in 2007 the
smallest area in reserve since 1988
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Conservation Research Program:
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Crop Monoculture:
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While decades ago, farms had numerous crops, today they specialized in a single crop
When crops are not blooming, bees have no food
Flowers and wild spaces – transformed countryside into cities! Monocultures of crops –
fields of corn or soybeans that are a desert for honeybees starved of nectar and pollen
Reason for all Pollinators to be in decline!
Good News and Bad News
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Good News
Even with the high rates of annual losses, the number of managed honeybee colonies
in the US has stayed stable over the past 15 years at 2.5 million
 This is significantly lower than 5.8 million in 1946
 Honeybees have the ability to regenerate and beekeepers that stay with the business
can recoup their loses
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Backbone of the world’s diet – corn, wheat and rice are self-pollinating
 In China, where pesticides have killed their bees, farmers hand pollinate their plants – robots
are being designed but this does not seem feasible
 We need to plant “bee-friendly” flowers (or veggies) and keep them pesticide free
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Bad News
Since 2006, 10 million beehives have been lost at the cost of $2 billion but the lost of
the beekeepers with experience cannot be – many are leaving their hives!
 Bees may and up being managed like huge farms – put into confinement and the food brought
to them
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Our Native Bees?
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Our Wild Bees? :
 They are in worse shape!
 In Oregon, a landscaping company
sprayed insecticide killing 50,000
bumblebees – the largest mass
poisoning on record!
 Unlike the honeybee, the bumblebee
has no human caretakers
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“Natural Deficient Disorder” – we need to
return our homes back to nature
What We Can Do
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What Can We Do?
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Stricter regulation of pesticides
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Plant a garden in your backyard – even in an apartment on a balcony you can!
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Support organic farmers and shop at local farmer’s markets as often as possible
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Cut the use of toxic chemicals in your house and on your lawn, and use only organic,
all-natural forms of pest control.
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Get rid of your lawn altogether and plant a garden or other natural habitat. Lawns offer
very little benefit for the environment. Both flower and vegetable gardens provide
excellent natural honeybee habitats.
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Become an amateur beekeeper. Having a hive in your garden requires only about an hour of
your time per week, benefits your local ecosystem, and you can enjoy your own honey!
Plant for Bees and Other Pollinators!
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General Gardening Advice for Attracting Bees and Other Pollinators
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Don’t use pesticides. If you do, follow the label instructions to the letter!
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Use local native plants. 4x more attractive to native bees than exotic flowers.
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Chose several colors of flowers. Blue, purple, violet, white, and yellow.
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Plant flowers in clumps. Attract more pollinators than individual plants.
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Include flowers of different shapes. 4000 species of bees in North America, and they are of
different sizes, have different tongue lengths, and will feed on different shaped flowers.
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Have a diversity of plants flowering all season. By having several plant species flowering
at once, and a sequence of plants flowering through spring, summer, and fall, you can support
a range of bee species that fly at different times of the season.
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Plant where bees will visit. Bees favor sunny spots over shade and shelter from winds.
Plants that Attract Bees
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Native Plants:
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Others
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Aster Aster
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Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia
Caltrop Kallstroemia
Creosote bush Larrea
Currant Ribes
Elder Sambucus
Goldenrod Solidago
Huckleberry Vaccinium
Joe-pye weed Eupatorium
Lupine Lupinus
Oregon grape Berberis
Penstemon Penstemon
Purple coneflower Echinacea
Rabbit-brush Chrysothamnus
Rhododendron Rhododendron
Sage Salvia
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Basil Ocimum
Cotoneaster Cotoneaster
English lavender Lavandula
Giant hyssop Agastache
Globe thistle Echinops
Hyssop Hyssopus
Marjoram Origanum
Rosemary Rosmarinus
Wallflower Erysimum
Zinnia Zinnia
Check with your local gardening store for the
best varieties to grow in your area
Butterfly Decline
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Monarch Butterfly Decline:
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Report published by the World Wildlife documented a 59 percent decline in monarch
populations
It’s well known that almost the entire eastern population of monarch butterflies overwinter
ins a few clustered forests in Mexico making the butterflies vulnerable
Many US residents believe that the population decline is, in fact, due to logging in
Mexican forests but the Mexican government has done an excellent job stopping illegal
logging.
But is the butterfly “collateral damage” from the use of genetically engineered crops,
namely Roundup-ready corn and soybeans; these crops have resulted in significantly higher
pesticide use, wiping out the milkweeds that monarchs need to survive.
Additionally, due to biofuel and high crop prices, there are more acres in corn and soybean
production than any year since just after World War II
This has meant that a lot of land has been taken out of the Conservation Reserve
Program (CRP) and a lot of marginal land–where milkweeds once grew– has been tilled
That’s a lot of lost habitat for wildlife, including monarch butterflies.
Monarch Watch is urging people to plant milkweeds in their backyard gardens this spring.
Science
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Science:
 “To know”; approach to understanding our natural world
 Systematic study of nature, helps us to be objective about nature; but limited to that observed
 Concerned with the understanding the nature of the world by observation and reasoning
 Helps minimize bias in judgments by focusing on testable ideas about observable aspects
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Inquiry:
 Search for information and explanation
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Scientific Process or Method:
 Deductions usually take the form of Predictions of the results to determine if the Hypothesis
is correct; takes the form of “If …Then” logic
Biologists Means of Explaining Data
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Biologists:
 Describe natural structures and processes based on observation and the careful analysis of
data both Qualitative and Quantitative
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Data: recorded observations or items of information
 Qualitative or Descriptions: recorded observations; not numerical observations
 Observations of chimpanzee behavior
 Quantitative or Recorded Measurements:
 Organized into tables and graphs
Scientific Process or Method
Scientific Process or Method: includes observations, forming logical hypotheses, and testing them
Scientific Process or Method: trying to find an explanation for something you know to be true
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Fact of Observation: known to be true
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Hypothesis: tentative answer to a well-framed question; may or may not be true; may have to
modified or changed with new data “Iterative”
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Predictions: can be tested by observation or experimentation; tells us what we will use to accept
or reject the hypothesis
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Test: experiments (data) that test the hypothesis, repeatable; prove or disprove the hypothesis
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Conclusion: after review, do we accept or reject the hypothesis
Theory: broader in scope than a hypothesis; supported by a large body of evidence in comparison to
a hypothesis; later, may proved to be not true
Scientific Process or Method
In Hypothesis-Based Science, there is often 2 or more alternative hypotheses
 Failure to falsify a Hypothesis does not prove that Hypothesis:
 You replace your flashlight bulb, and it now works; this supports the hypothesis
that your bulb was burnt out, but does not prove it (perhaps the first bulb was
inserted incorrectly)
 Hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable:
 Hypothesis that ghosts fooled with the flashlight cannot be tested
 Supernatural and religious explanations are outside bounds of science
 Scientific Process or Method is an idealized process of inquiry:
 Hypothesis-based science is based on the “textbook” scientific method but rarely
follows all the ordered steps
Field Journals and Discussions
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Field Journals:
 Each student picks a spot and weekly over the semester they observe and record animals,
plants, insects, weather, etc
 If keep yearly, you would see the changes – I noticed bees on the Rose of Sharon
 Quanititate it by counting the number of bees or rabbits
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Discussion:
 Discuss the situation – Loss of Bees!
 Often there are different views – listen to them
 Hopefully, you will come to a conclusion
 Students write a paper on their views
Our Pollen Laden Bee!