Why are honeybees now considered endangered?

Honey bees are considered endangered because lately the production of honey and the bees have been decreasing rapidly. No one really knows what is causing this. We believe it's something to do with products used while farming.

Bees are highly specialised feeders, there are about twenty thousand species, and with the exception of the three Vulture Bees they all get their food from plants. The vast majority collect nectar and pollen and in doing so pollinate the flowers. Without bees many flowering plants would become extinct – and that includes most agricultural crops.

Bees in Crisis Many species are endangered (see my previous articles on; Bumblebees, Stingless Bees, Honeybees and Bees in General). Most well-known species are suffering from a variety of man-made problems, including habitat destruction and the misuse of pesticides. The vast majority of species are not at all well known or studied, and nobody knows what is happening to them.

Honeybees to the Rescue? In a strange way the recent phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder in Honeybees might ultimately turn out to be the salvation of bees (the other 19,999 species! ).

Because the Western Honeybee is so important for the pollination of agricultural crops the problem has aroused concern at the highest levels. This species is well-known and well studied by specialists, and in addition is kept by a vast number of beekeepers around the world. If the problems that the honeybee is facing can be identified (and remedied) we might incidentally save many other species.

Biodiversity It is important to understand how little we really know about the way complex ecosystems work. Protecting endangered species is not an altruistic venture – we are attempting to safeguard our own future. The links in the ‘web of life’ are incredibly complex, and the loss of a species can have far-reaching consequences – far beyond those predicted or anticipated.

We get some idea of the complexities when we see what happens when something like the Cane Toad gets to Australia (see Cane Beetles). Information The internet provides a powerful way to pass and gather information. There is a ‘discussion’ on Suite101 where beekeepers and other interested parties can exchange observations and experiences relevant to the current Honeybee crisis.

This is not a simple problem – it is not thought to be a new disease of Honeybees nor the result of any one new pesticide. It might be due to a combination of known factors, or the result of something no-one has yet considered. In this climate the gathering of information from people who regularly observe bees might well throw up some clues.

According to PBS. Org: pbs.org/wnet/wildtv/endangered.html Honeybees are endangered? Fantastic, you think.

You'll never have to worry about getting stung at a family barbecue again! What you might not realize is that bees play a vital role in producing that perfectly shaped, delicious apple you're eating while basking in the summer sun. Originally selected solely for their honey, today honeybees in the U.S.Are as much valued for their crucial role in pollinating 90 different kinds of crops.

Indeed, one-third of the total U.S. Diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants, so their survival, which is threatened by parasites, pesticides, habitat loss, and grazing practices, is incredibly important to maintain high levels of food production. Parasites are the primary reason honeybees are endangered. The "one-two punch" of the tracheal and varroa mites poses an ominous and ongoing threat.

Introduced in North America in 1982 and 1987, respectively, these two mites spread quickly via pollination and commercial bee industry migration. The tracheal mites live inside the trachea of honeybees and suck bees' blood from the inside, whereas varroa are relatively large external parasites that reproduce inside of hive cells where young bees are being raised. If a hive is severely infected, when you peel back the wax, you might see 8 or 9 varroa mites coming out of every cell.

The infestation of the brood is a significant problem, for the mites bring various harmful diseases to a colony. For example, one disease causing wing damage might result in newly raised bees that emerge malformed and unable to fly. From 1987 to 1995, the mite population increased and feral honeybee colonies were reduced to almost nothing.

Domesticated bees, on the other hand, were not greatly affected until the summers of 1995 and 1996, in which some beekeepers lost up to 85% of their colonies (though many of these were replaced the next year by packages of bees from the south). To prevent bees from the disastrous effects of parasites, farmers and beekeepers have used miticides that have proved effective. From 2000 to the present, a growing problem is that mites are building up resistance to the early, more benign miticides.In turn, as WILD TV entomologist Mace Vaughan says, "Scientists and farmers alike hope bees will respond to parasites by becoming more resistant to their harmful effects.

" To this end, Cornell University has established the Honeybee Genetics and Integrated Pest Management Center, a breeding program that emphasizes the development of mite-resistant stocks of honeybees. Newer pesticides help protect bees but are more toxic to humans, and therefore require more careful use by beekeepers to prevent contamination of honey and wax.So while it has become harder for beekeepers to do their work, managed colonies are surviving. Another factor contributing to the decline of feral colonies is the loss of native plant habitats to shopping malls, business corridors, parking lots and housing developments.

Ideally, honeybees need a big cavity (usually in the middle of a big tree) that contains about 40 liters or 10 gallons in volume, to make their home in the wild. These kinds of cavities are usually found in the middle of big trees, but with deforestation, there are not nearly as many suitable trees left standing as there used to be. Finally, agriculture and grazing practices have had a negative effect on wild bee populations, and not just of honeybees but of native, solitary, semi-social bees, and bumble bees.

Native vegetation and prairies filled with flowering plants have been replaced with pasture grasses for cattle ranching and vast plantings of single-species crops. One study of grazing practices found evidence of sheep removing pollinator food resources, destroying underground nests, and direct trampling of bees. Introduced by Europeans to the U.S. Hundreds of years ago, honeybees have since been performing the seemingly simple and random act of carrying pollen from the anthers (boy parts) of one plant to the stigma (girl parts) of another.

Perhaps only now, when feral honeybees are endangered, might we recognize how important they really are.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.