Nearly one third of all honeybees in the country have reportedly perished in just a few years, which is matter of concern as honey bees pollinate one third of all the food we eat.
Public Opinion
We’re losing billions of bees each year to many complicated causes, including viruses, climate change, decreasing crop diversity and habitat loss. One of the major causes of death of bees is use of pesticides in agriculture sector.
A study by American Environment Protection Agency says that while pesticides are designed to kill pests and insects that harm crops, they also have unintended consequences. “Pesticides can wipe out entire species, even ones not targeted. This includes bees, insects which are essential to many crop yields,” the report says.
The people just think of bees as favorite buzzing pollinators and honey-producers, but in fact they do much more than making honey. Losing bees can cause big problems for ecosystem and economy of the world.
“Bees pollinate about three-quarters of fruits, vegetables and nuts in the U.S. only”, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Bees not only pollinate foods we eat, they also pollinate food eaten by birds and other mammals. Bees pollinate wild berries and nuts, as well as food eaten by domesticated livestock. “Take bees out of the equation and the effects can be felt all the way up,” says Earth Day Organization.
Besides pollinating heavy-hitting crops like fruits, vegetables and nuts, bees pollinate crops like cotton and other foods we don’t instantly think of when we think of bees (like coffee, tea and chocolate). Entire industries produce various beeswax- and honey-based goods. Together, bees affect multibillion-dollar industries that, if they collapse, could put tens of thousands out of work and send shockwaves through the economy.
Honey is the only insect-created food with therapeutic, medicinal, nutritional and cosmetic value.
Most bees leave the hive and spend their days collecting nectar and pollen from flowering plants, trees, and crops. All day, the worker bee flies from flower to flower, using its long hairy longue to suck liquid nectar from plants. The bees transfer the pollen between blossoms enabling many plants to reproduce. The bee stores nectar in its honey-stomach which brings nectar back to the hive and deposits it onto the honeycomb made of bees wax.
Bees flit their wings to dry up liquid nectar, transforming it into their food store for the year – gooey honey. Humans are lucky to get the leftovers.
Nearly one third of all honeybees in the country have reportedly perished in just a few years, which is matter of concern as honey bees pollinate one third of all the food we eat.
If the honeybees died, the process of trees and plants’ pollination would not only be fully affected but they would greatly affect the ability of the fruit and vegetable to grow.
Therefore it is pertinent to ensure taking measures that can help prevent death of bees. Saving honeybees would be saving the agriculture, saving the planet.
Farhana Kaleem Channa
Karachi Sindh
