The Disappearance Of Honey Bees Critical Thinkings Example

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Introduction

Not that many people in this world care about certain or any insects at all, because we tend to think that they are so creepy or they look such ugly. But we tend to forget that every insect or living organism has a role to play. So, have you ever stopped and wondered what would happen, if anyone of them goes extinct? How badly it will affect all of us? Honeybees in this case, are one of those insects. There has been a serious decline in their colonies. Honey bees play a big role in how our flowers are doing, which matters a good deal to all of us. When we hear about bees we automatically think about honey. That is not all, actually. The crops that rely on bees are soya beans, alfalfa, cotton, almonds, apples, oranges, peaches, cherries, grapefruit and tangerines. Bees are hard workers, yet their role in pollination is underestimated. And when people start to notice, they will know the real importance of bees. Honey bees are vital to our agriculture, meaning they pollinate more than just flowers. Various studies tell us that without these hard workers, humans would not be able to survive. It sounds crazy, but that is true. There are many other pollinators such as butterflies, humming birds, and bats. The most important however, are bees, ‘If we lose bees, we lose the plants, and if we lose the plants, well.’ (David Suzuki). Dating back into the 1990s, French beekeepers started to record large losses. As time went on they continued their search to get to the bottom of that. They have come up with many ideas and theories of why they might be going extinct but, none could pinpoint the main cause. They affirmed that, if we lose our bees the aftermath sure would not be appealing.
2. Bees. Pollination. If Bees Go Extinct
Like many other insects, bees are also contributing a lot to our planet wellbeing by working hard. Bees are definitely very important, mainly, because without them not that many food sources would be available for us. For example, broccoli, asparagus, cantaloupes, cucumbers, pumpkins, blueberries, watermelons, almonds, apples, cranberries, and cherries would not fructify. Bees are responsible for about thirty billion US dollars a year in crops. So, if bees go extinct, we may lose all the plants that bees pollinate, and all the animals that eat those plants. Researchers, who have been looking into this matter, claim that, if scientists fail to get this under control it can get out of hand. Not only that, if bees do go extinct, we have no chance of surviving. In his article “Death and Extinction of bees”, Joachim Hogopian tells us about how scientists have been reporting extinctions of marine animals. The reason for that is caused by pollution, rising water temperatures, as well as loss of habitat. Like I have mentioned earlier, every living organism has its own role on this planet. One particular type of species takes care of one thing, while the others take care of another thing. Out of all, if bees vanish, we humans will be facing huge danger; and there’s no doubt about that. Researches as well as beekeepers are doing everything they can to get this tendency under their control. ‘If they fail, the consequences of dying bee’s population will produce a huge impact on the mankind at the highest levels of our food chain’. (Joachim Hogopian)
3. First Notice that Bees Lose Colonies 
Researchers actually have been noticing the collapse of bee’s colonies for quite a time up now. They keep saying that they are not able to pinpoint the exact cause due to many other factors. Beekeepers started to record losses from 30 to 90 percent of their hives in October 2006. As a matter of fact, that was not the first recorded case of such population decline. There are reports that are dated back to the 1880s, 1920s, as well as 1960s. They have been detecting such losses due to their observation of honey production, which has been falling by nearly half of what they had been making initially.
So, why these hard working creatures are disappearing? Well, according to the research made at Harvard University, the fall in number can be directly linked to the use of insecticides. “Honey bees abandoning their hives and dying due to insecticide use”, says Damian Carrington in his research. He mentions a type of insecticide called neonicotinoide. Neonicotinoide, as mentioned in the article, is the world’s most used class of insecticide. The reason why they are unable to get a direct cause of bee’s dying out, is because there are many theories of why it happens so. Some, however, are linked to the pesticides use, others to the loss of habitat and diseases. Scientists suggest that the use of neonicotinoide can lead to the colonies’ collapse by damaging bee’s immune system. This makes bees not only vulnerable to the diseases, but susceptible to parasites. According to a study done by researchers, pesticides damage the ability of bees to gather food; and can kill them too. Loss in production of honey and contamination of bee’s origin products are just some of the affects of pesticides. Some bees are killed by direct contact with certain pesticides. They have actually prohibited the use of pesticides in some places around the world. There are other studies that consider that cell communication base stations are another cause for diminishing bees’ population.
4. Why Bees are Dying

In conclusion, bees are being killed due to many factors, including pesticides use.

‘Causes of honeybee deaths are more complicated. Colony collapse disorder has wiped out millions of hives over the past decade, with pesticide use, parasites and poor nutrition eyed as likely culprits. Scientists from the University of Maryland and U.S. Department of Agriculture recently found pollen collected by honeybees was contaminated with a toxic mix of pesticides and fungicides. It appears the toxins make the bees more vulnerable to a parasite called Nosema ceranae, which is believed to cause colony collapse disorder. Pollen samples contained an average of nine different agricultural pesticides and fungicides, and as many as 21 in one case’. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/what-s-killing-canadian-honeybees-1.1312511).
Everyone has to contribute their share to the saving of bees, because after all, they are responsible for 30 to 40 billion dollars worth of crops. That is equal to many tons of food. Researchers are doing their best to find an answer to this mystery. We might even have to cut down our pesticide use, if we really want to save our pollinators. Cell communication base towers and cold winters are the other factors that are contributing to the dying out of bees. CCD is on a rise at increased rates. The extinction of bees can also mean the last days of the whole mankind. Plants all over the world rely on pollinators and animals rely on plants. So, shall we find answers to that? Will bees be gone for good? What would our world face, once bees vanish? Just remember it won’t be a healthy future for us, humans.

Works Cited

Barrionuevo, Alexei. Bees vanish, and scientists race for reasons.
Benjamin, Alison. “Why bees matter”. The Guardian.
Carrington, Damian. “Honeybees abandoning gives and dying due to insecticide use”. The Guardian.
Dwyer, Devin; Coolidge, Richard; and Phelps, Jordyn. “What's all the buzz about? Inside the mysterious mass disappearance of honey bees”. Power Players.
Hagopian, Joachim. “Death and extinction of bees”. Global Research.
Suzuki, David. The David Suzuki Foundation, 2014, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/what-s-killing-canadian-honeybees-1.1312511.
Tucker, Jessica. “Why bees are important to our planet”. One Green Planet.