Negative Influence Of Honey Bees

Most people, when they see a bee of any kind, tend to swat at it in an attempt to get it to go away from them. But what many do not know is that honey bees are for the most part harmless. The chances of being stung by a honey bee are very low because they will not sting you. People tend to look at only the negatives of honey bees. But what about the positives? Honey bees help to pollinate many plants found in nature and they also help to pollinate most of the food that humans eat. So what is happening to them? Honey bees are dying off at an alarming rate. The cause of this can be one of multiple things such as pesticides, humans, and breeding patterns. If humans want things to stay how they are and do not want to give up about sixty percent of what they know, things need to change and quickly. In the eyes of many, the risk perception of losing the honey bees is extremely high.

Honey bees are essential in pollinating much of nature. Many plants that are found in nature are one hundred percent dependent on the bees to help pollinate them. As we saw in the movie “More Than Honey”, there was a scene in which honey bees are used to help pollinate the almond trees in California. Another scene from that movie that shows the importance of honey bees was when workers in China had to pollinate the trees
because there were no bees to do it. What would have taken the bees minutes to hours took the workers days. Honey bees are also essential in the production of most of the food that humans consume, such as apples, almonds, carrots, broccoli, and most importantly honey. According to bbc.co.uk, one-third of food consumed by humans is pollination-dependent. The pollination of plants by bees contributes roughly 400 million dollars to the economy. Along with feeding much of the world’s population, bees also help to feed other animals. They help to pollinate plants and crops that are then used as feed for other animals.

But the real problem here is that bees are dying off at an alarming rate. There are multiple causes for their death, but the main three that are seen the most are pesticides, humans, and breeding. The use of pesticides in agriculture is nothing new. What is new is the dangers that these pesticides bring, and honey bees are bearing the brunt of the effects. In the article “The Day the Bees Died” Grossman discusses the most known pesticide. It is called neonicotinoids and can be found in home gardening products, as well as commercial products. Neonicotinoids work by attacking the nervous system of the insect, they are also applied directly to the seen so the pesticide comes out in the pollen and the nectar. This is how it gets into the systems of the honey bees and cause damage. Another major problem with pesticides and neonicotinoids is that even when they are used according to the directions they are still causing harm. The levels of the pesticide in the plants are at levels that can do more than just harm bees, it can kill them. Along with pesticides, humans are also a cause for the death of honey bees. One big problem is that bees are overworked because of humans. Since bees are used in the pollination of plants and crops, they can be packed up and shipped off to anywhere in the United States where they are needed. The only food that they are given for the journey is sugar water, and while they can survive off of this, they really need nectar and pollen to be healthy. This puts a major strain on the bees and can lead them to become ill. According to The Washington Post, humans have also been spreading a virus that causes a deformity in the wings of honey bees. The virus is known as DMV. This deformity causes problems because if the bees cannot fly, then they cannot get food for both themselves and for the colony. This has become a major problem because the “honey bees are spreading the virus through their saliva and feces to plants used by other pollinators” (Fears). The article in the Washington Post claims that it is easy to counteract this, all beekeepers have to do is keep their bees healthy, but is it fair to place all of the responsibility onto the beekeepers when it is not solely their fault?
A final point as to why bees are dying off is from their breeding.
It was seen in the documentary “More Than Honey” the German beekeeper takes his bees breeding very seriously. He had seen that his black bees had been breeding with bees with yellow stripes. This was a problem for him because the black bees had become accustomed to the weather in the mountains of Germany. They knew when to hibernate in order to stay warm and alive and they knew when they could go out in search of pollen and nectar. They also created some of the purest honey. It becomes a problem for many beekeepers such as the one in the film when their strong honey bees begin breeding with weaker
bees.

So what needs to change? The biggest thing that needs to change is the use of pesticides in farming. If humans want to continue having bees do the hard work of pollinating the crops that are being grown, then pesticides need to go, more specifically the use of neonicotinoids needs to be discontinued. While the pesticides are helping to protect the crops from the harmful insects it is also hurting the insects who are vital to its growth. The second thing that needs to change is the over interaction between humans and bees. Too much interaction is what is causing the problem of the DMV virus. Shipping bees is also a problem that does not necessarily need to be stopped but it needs to be changed to be better suitable for the bees. The human race needs the honey bees more than many people realize. As a collective group, humans need to be finding ways to help the bees become strong and healthy again. A major revival is needed for the bees or else humans will have to say goodbye to a lot of food that they love. The risk perception of life without bees is very high for many people. Scientists are looking for ways to help lower that risk perception but everybody has to pitch in to help. The more bees on the planet, the lower the risk perception will be, so let us BEE active.