One of nature’s biggest assets, the honey bees, are slowly disappearing from the face of Earth, results of this dilemma will vary.
Bees include about 30,000 species. Commonly known as the “social bee,” the honey bee is one of four distinct species in the genus Apis. A honey bee is any bee member of the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests from wax. For years now, the bee population has been declining due to actions such as the use of pesticides. People are unaware of how much we rely on these insects for simple things that we take for granted everyday. However, despite their few benefits, is a world with no bees really all that bad at all?
In my opinion, I feel that people take for granted what the bees do for us and are completely unaware of the endless benefits that they supply us with. The continuation of declining honey bee population will result in nothing good.
Bees are incredibly useful for our ecosystem. Honey bees are important to the world because of their two main contributions: Pollination and bee products. Pollination is the process by which the transfer of pollen to a stigma, ovule, flower, or plant to allow fertilization. Bees are responsible for a wide variety of wild flowers and many crops depend on them. Some people may not be aware about just how desperately we depend on these insects. For instance, according to the Conservation Ecology, it is estimated that one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination mainly by bees. The use of bees products also enhances the health of humans as well. The following are examples of products humans use daily that contain bee products in them: honey, beeswax, jelly and venom.
However, despite the pros that come with the bees, there are also numerous cons. If honey bees continue to pollinate, there is a possibility that new diseases could be introduced. As a matter of fact, this issue has already occurred, where the honey bees have introduced a new illness. And although they may also help the environment a lot, they also hurt it as well. In 1638 Europe had brought these bees to North America, leading people to believe that they are an invasive species. These bees have taken much of the habitat from native bees, thus straining and altering the function of the ecosystem.
All in all, the honey bee population is slowly falling and it’s up to those who inhabit Earth to make a difference. Although not everyone may be in favor of this insect, we depend on it a lot more than it appears. So this leaves people with the question: if the bees don’t last, how long will we last afterwards?
