Honeybees- these tiny little insects are found all over the world- in every continent besides Antarctica. Admittedly, they can be somewhat irritating and painful! I mean, how many of you have been stung by a bee? However much pain a bee sting might bring you, it would certainly be a lot worse without them. Pollinators, like honeybees, are vital to our world and to our survival, and unfortunately, their numbers are dwindling. Without them dispersing pollen between plants, we would have no almonds, no blueberries, no apples or oranges, just to name a few. In short, bees, honeybees especially, are the most influential pollinators of our vegetables, fruits, and crops, in addition to the delicious golden honey they produce. Their survival or their extinction impacts the entire ecosystem, and in order to stifle their recent decline in population, more protective measures and laws should be enacted to protect them.

Since the late 1990s, American honeybee farmers and experts have recognized an unusual decline in the population of these crucial pollinators. According to an article in the New York Times, in 2006, David Hackenberg, a beekeeper for over four decades, reported a devastating collapse of 90% of his beehives. Though situations similar to that had been recorded in the past, none had ever matched the magnitude. That same year, a global crisis, labeled “colony collapse disorder”, emerged. Colony collapse disorder is the unexplained phenomena of when a majority of worker bees, part of a certain colony, abandon their hive and queen, even when they live under ideal conditions. Furthermore, honeybees, over a normal winter season, would typically lose around five-ten percent of their colony, with the ability to compensate for their losses. Nowadays, it is common for beekeepers in the United States to report the death of 30-50 percent of their hives, according to that same article. However, scientists believe the declining bee population may have something to do with a variety of interwoven and complex factors. One of these factors is the effect of industrial agriculture on the honeybee’s natural habitat—the replacement of fields of diverse wildflowers and fruitful native plants with monocultures. Monocultures are artificial landscapes used to cultivate a single type of plant or crop, and bees in this industrialized agriculture system are often worked to death because of it’s exploiting nature. Monocultures are an ecology totally dependent on humans, lacking biodiversity that honeybees and pollinators need. A prominent example of a monoculture would be the Central Valley of California which according to the documentary, Mystery of the Disappearing Bees, produces 80% of the world's almonds. 36 billion bees are needed to pollinate a monoculture of such a large expanse. However, these bees are derived of micronutrients, since the artificial landscapes generate only one type of crop, thus one type of pollen. The farmers of these monocultures must supply the bees with diet supplements, due to the utter lack of nutrients. The issue of habitat loss for honeybees extends farther than just monocultures. Around the world, insects, especially pollinators, are suffering from diminishing biodiversity, as fields of wildflowers and native plants are uprooted for urban development. Another factor of shrinking bee numbers is the varroa mite, a parasite plaguing bees all over the world. According to an article published by the website Bee Care, the parasite was first introduced into the United States in the 1980s and is a vast threat to the honeybee population. Varroa mites fasten themselves onto bees and can transmit deadly viruses and bacteria. The bug is disastrous for the American and European honeybees and is responsible for the collapse of many colonies. Now I can go on and on with more factors of the deteriorating bee population, but I’ll go over one last one- pesticides. Insecticides and chemicals are commonly used to keep away harmful bugs from crops, but the issue is they are effective against good insects too, like honeybees. According to a report written by Green Peace, an organization raising awareness for bees, neonicotinoids are a particularly detrimental type of pesticide. When sprayed on plants, these chemicals systematically contaminate the pollen and nectar. The insecticides will cause dramatic repercussions, even in small doses, and if a bee comes in contact with a large enough amount, it can die immediately. Pesticide use is a common practice throughout America and the rest of the world, but its negative effects far outweigh any positive ones.

While it’s true honeybees aren’t the most friendly creatures, the world is progressively moving to grow more crops dependent on their pollination. According to Mystery of the Disappearing Bees, a documentary, one-third of our food crops are solely pollinated by honeybees. Without pollinators, everyday staples such as avocados, carrots, coconuts, strawberries, and even coffee will vanish from grocery stores. The fruits and vegetables that aren’t completely wiped out, would soar in prices. The cost of beef and dairy would also go through the roof since honeybees are responsible for most of the crops used as livestock feed. Not to mention honey, which is commonly used as a sweetener for foods and also contained in many recipes and cosmetics. Perhaps, you’re thinking ‘a world without vegetables? That doesn’t sound too terrible!’ But I’m sure many of us and our teachers would be grumpy without a morning cup of coffee or a hamburger now and then. Malnutrition, iron deficiency, and other ailments caused by lack of vitamins would become even larger problems in our world with the disappearance of bees. Another massive issue potential honeybee extinction might cause is the lack of cotton. I am almost positive everyone in this room right now is wearing something made of cotton, whether it’s your uniform shirt, skirt, or pants. Clothing will rise in price if there are not enough bees to pollinate the crops that make up the material, and since hand pollination is slow, laborious, and nowhere near as efficient as honeybees, industries relying on crops that were once prosperous, would crash. Think of all the people who would lose their jobs if coffee, cotton, and other major crop production vanished, so from an economic standpoint, it pays to protect the bees. If we do not do anything to help the honeybee and colony collapse disorder continues, foods will disappear, prices will skyrocket, and the economy will cave-in. Do you really want to live in a world without coffee, chocolate, cheese, and comfy cotton t-shirts?

Every small step makes a difference when it comes to saving the bees. Look at Amsterdam- as stated in an article published by NBC News, while the rest of the world’s bee population is dropping, the honeybee population of Amsterdam, a city in the Netherlands, has risen a whopping 45% since 2000. Well, how have they achieved this? The community turned overgrown shrubby areas into a bee-friendly rest stop, and public green spaces were converted into places for flowering native plants. A ban on chemical pesticides was also put in effect, and businesses and private land-owners were provided with information on alternatives to insecticides. To help honeybees in your community, plant many different diverse wildflowers in your backyard or along sidewalks, without using any harmful chemicals or pesticides. Not only is this a great way to provide bees and butterflies with nectar and pollen, but it beautifies your neighborhood. When you purchase vegetables and fruits at the grocery store, try to opt for organic and locally grown crops, instead of genetically modified and chemically treated foods. Organic farmers have typically been better advocators of funding for better research and ecological health. Don't stop there, get your voice heard- write a letter to a congressman, representative, politician, or public figure asking them to advocate for honeybee and honeybee wild habitat protection and conservation laws, more funding for agricultural research, the banning of the seven most dangerous pesticides and the enhancement of biodiversity in farming landscapes.

It’s due to human’s exploiting nature that honeybee numbers are on the decline, and now it’s up to us to ensure those numbers don’t reach zero. These insects play a direct role in the pollination of crops worldwide. So next time you’re enjoying a juicy slice of watermelon on a hot summer day or rather a nice piece of apple pie on Thanksgiving, remember that without the honeybees, the succulent fruits and vegetables you enjoy every day, might not exist. Take measures and advocate for conservation laws to make your community a more bee-friendly and pollinator-welcome environment because our lives and our world go hand in hand with that of the bees.