The Pros And Cons Of Honey Bees

Honeybees are vital to the argricultural security of the United States as well as the entire world. Without their pollination process, many crops around the world would fail. “Of the 100 crops that provide 90% of the world’s food, 71 are bee pollinated, and honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are the managed pollinator conscripted to provide the necessary pollination services for most of these crops” (Frazier et al 2015). It is important for the Honeybee population to remain stable, but pesticides used by farmers that grow these crops are depleting them. Without honeybees, we as a society get our food would have to change drastically to keep up with current demand for food. (Figure 1)

Honeybees have been domesticated in the U.S. for nearly 400 years and their populations have been sustained until only recently. The use of new pesticides, as well as the sheer amount of pesticides in use, has led to a decline in bee population and has corrupted the farmer-bee relationship, famers provide the plants for bees to pollinate and the bees in return pollinate the plants. The bees “Farmers expect bees to function like yet another farm machine—like shakers, sweepers, tillers and combines.” (Rosner 2013). But the problem is that honeybees are not
not only survives, but also thrives. Organic farming can help maintain the food supply without the use of harmful pesticides that kill honeybees. More diverse pest management needs to be implemented instead of famers going to harsh chemicals in order to reduce the use of pesticides. Innovation in this are needs to be focused on to reduce the amount of pesticides used and eventually wean them out altogether. The effects of pesticides are often not fully understood before being implemented in the field. More research needs to be conducted before they can be used to further decide their impact on areas such as Honeybee population and health (Harvey