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Kayla Reever
Mrs. Dengler
English CP 9
13 December 2010
Environmental Project
Kirk Johnson said, “Almost 50 billion bees have died from colonies being
demolished.” The bee population has decreased extremely but beekeepers and
scientists don’t know as to why. A way to reduce the amount of bees dying is to find a
solution for this situation. Honeybees need protection before they become extinct so
people can plant wildflowers, use organic fertilizers, or reduce the amount of pesticides
used on plants and crops.
To begin with, honeybees have a lot of history on them because they have been
around forever. They have disappeared in the 1880s, 1920s, and 1970s but nobody can
figure out why this occurred when it did. Honeybee colonies are collapsing and have
been for quite some time (Johnson). The honeybee colonies that have been collapsed
and survived can be rebuilt in a month or two month time period (Johnson). Beekeepers
and researchers believe the surviving bees may be infected with diseases, which could
make this extinction more dangerous and damaging than it already is (Johnson). There
is definitely a reason why these colonies are collapsing and researchers need to know
why.
One option for saving the honeybees population is to plant wildflowers in
communities, wooded areas, open fields, and gardens around homes and buildings.
This would allow bees to have access to natural pollen to bring them out more. It would
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also provide different areas for bees to live and make more colonies. Bee population is
steadily declining in many parts of the world (Huff). The U.S. Department of Agriculture
entomologist, James H. Cane, said planting wildflower “bee pastures” may be just the
right prescription for curing the bee population (Huff). To plant pesticide-free flower
fields on various pasture lands would help to multiply the bees’ population rapidly (Huff).
These fields would be stable and safe for agriculture efforts to grow stronger. Certain
types of flowers attract certain types of bees; also the color can impact a lot (Huff). A
specific type of bee is the blue orchard bee which is useful to European honey bees
with performing pollination tasks (Huff). According to Cane, a well managed bee field…
could increase the population of blue orchard bees by as much as 500 percent within
just a year of time (Huff). “In fact, bees are necessary to grow practically all food” (Huff).
If the U.S. Department of Agriculture plan on planting wild flowers it will take time,
money, and land resources.
Another way for saving the honeybees is to use organic fertilizers instead of
pesticides. The chemicals in pesticides weaken the bees’ immune systems (Howard).
With weakened immune systems, parasites and diseases may occur. Organic fertilizers
are made with only natural products and don’t contain toxic chemicals (Daksh
Industries). They are safe to use on any food products because they don’t leave
undesirable residues (Daksh Industries). There are organic bee lures that particularly
attract honeybees which increases the pollination. Although, organic fertilizers would
help attract bees, to get these products it would be more expensive. Also, putting these
fertilizers on food products and flowers has to be during a rain free period (Daksh
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Industries). The use of organic fertilizers has many pros and cons, but it would be more
useful for different parts of the world.
The final option researched for the honeybees’ extinction is to reduce the amount
of pesticide use. Pesticides do help to kill insects on plants when they are not wanted,
but the use of pesticides also kills bees that pollinate these plants. The use of pesticides
has really affected the population of bees (House). Chemicals used in hives to kill
parasite mites could be the reason bees have been dying out at such an extremely
rapid rate (House). Many people have opinions on this topic of whether or not to use
them, but there are acts discussing the use of pesticides (House). Different states have
their own views and schedules for pesticide use (House). The hives that have colony
collapse disorder (CCD) are hives that have been infected and aren’t healthy for bees
(Chivian). Honeybees that are being exposed to these toxic levels may be the reason
bees are getting infections and why the population has decreased so much (Chivian).
The best solution to save the honeybees’ population is to plant wildflowers in as
many places as possible. Blue, purple, and yellow flowers specifically seem to attract
bees (Howard). Research shows that houses with 10 or more bee friendly plants
support more bee pollination (Howard). Planting wildflowers will take time, money, and
land resources but if that is what it takes for the honeybees population to stay alive and
pollinate for crops, people everywhere in the world should try to support this decision for
the future.
Finally, honeybees need protection before they become extinct so people can
plant wildflowers, use organic fertilizers, or reduce the amount of pesticides used on
plants and crops. To plant wildflowers is the best solution in saving honeybees. People
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should reduce the use of pesticides to help save this species on the new plants that are
planted. If people around the world take these steps, this problem shouldn’t occur
anymore. It may not seem like the world needs honeybees but in reality they help out a
lot in pollinating and helping to provide food supplies.
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Works Cited
Chivian. Eric. “What Is Killing the Bees? Look to the Environment.” New York Times 21
Oct. 2010. Grzimek’s Animal Life. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
Daksh Industries. “Organic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.” Webspawner. N.d.
Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
House, Dawn. “Bee shortage is a bitter problem.” Salt Lake Tribune, The (UT). 24 Oct.
2006. EBSCOhost. Web. 23 Nov. 2010.
Howard, Brian C. “5 Ways to Save the Bees.” The Daily Green. N.d. 23 Nov. 2010.
Huff, Ethan A. “USDA says wildflower pastures may help bees to thrive.” National News.
7 Aug. 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
Johnson, Kirk. “Trouble in the Hive.” New York Times 10 Oct. 2010: 5(L). Grzimek’s
Animal Life. Web. 22 Nov. 2010.