Pesticides Affecting Bees

559 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impacts of pesticides on agriculture

Pesticides affecting bees is a large problem in our world, and scientists believe it is one of the leading causes of death for bees. Insecticides are a specific type of pesticide used to target insects that may be negatively affecting crops. Sadly, Bees can also be affected by these very dangerous and fatal chemicals. Bees that are poisoned by pesticides can either die right when the pesticide is introduced into their body, or even worse, they can bring it back to the colony and it can infect the rest of the hive. Multiple lab studies have confirmed that the main reason for colony collapse is the introduction of pesticides into the bees’ living environment. Poisoning can occur when bees are doing their jobs and pollinating crops, although when they come in contact with any surface containing a trace of pesticide will immediately kill or hinder the rest of their most likely, short life. Bees can also pick up traces of pesticides or insecticides just from drinking of wading in a water source like a puddle, or dew droplets on a crop. If a bee picks up any pesticide at all, and it doesn’t kill them, they won't even be aware that they are bringing it back to their hive, making everyone else vulnerable to the sickness. Bees aren't …show more content…

If pesticides don't end up proving fatal, they can slowly and painfully kill the bee over a long period of time, with can also lead to a long exposure time to other bees, this will dramatically increase their risk of contracting the pesticide too. Other effects of pesticides on bees are shortening their lives, destroying their natural defense systems, starving them, and ending their reproductive cycle altogether. When a Queen Bee contracts a pesticide from a worker bee, or a drone bee contracts a pesticide, this can be the end of that hive. The Queen bee reproduces with drone bees, and if either of them is affected, they could die, or their reproductive system could just shut

Show More
Related

  • Pesticides In The Movie Food Inc

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many issues regarding the raising and producing of various livestock animals, and the use of pesticides on various types of crops. The movie Food.Inc does a good job explaining these issues, but in a very biased way. It makes agriculturists look like terrible people, when this is not the case.

    Read More

  • Applications for Spinosad Insecticides

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    Spinosad insecticide is an organic compound, produced by some bacteria microbes present in the soil that were first discovered surviving in rotting sugarcane rums (Thomas, 2001). It is made of two complex compounds spinosyn A and D. The compounds are very toxic to a variety of insects and less toxic to humans and some important insects beneficial in the farm such as bees. This insecticide was first discovered by Lacey and Goodfellow, in 1975.

    Read More

  • Insecticides And Pesticides In Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever thought about how your fruits and vegetables are grown? How about which ingredients are put into bug sprays and insecticides to ward off those pesky insects? Look no further because author Rachel Carson looks deep into the many environmental issues caused by pesticides and herbicides in her New York Times best-selling novel, “Silent Spring.” “Silent Spring” is a collection of studies which were performed in an effort to educate others about the harmful things occurring everyday to their foods and every-day environment in hopes of giving them a wake up call. This novel is thought by many to be a revolutionary novel that forced people to take notice of the harm being caused in their world, many of which people were unaware of. After discovering the results of these chemicals, it really makes one wonder, is the luxury of being insect free really worth all of the consequences?

    Read More

  • Colony Collapse Disorder of the Honeybee

    1951 Words  | 4 Pages

    To most, the honeybee can be an annoying insect that has a powerful sting. Yet, the honeybee is so much more than just another insect. The honeybee is arguably the most vital component in the development of our food crops. With roughly 90 percent of our food crops dependent on the pollination of our honeybees, our food system, agricultural development, and diet rest on the work and well being of these buzzing insects. Unfortunately, since 2006 there has been a major decline in the population of honeybees, and has gotten progressively worse because of colony collapse disorder. The first reported increase of CCD was documented in November 2006 in Florida. By February 2007, several states began reporting major losses associated with CCD, ranging from 30% to 90%. A little over a half decade later in 2012 the attention paid towards CCD has grown substantially with more research being done as CCD continues to get worse. The main culprit for CCD, as research has suggested, is the use of pesticides on our food crops. With major corporations such as Bayer making millions and millions of dollars in profit each year in the distribution of pesticides, it is no wonder that nothing is being done to stop this practice despite evidence linking the use of pesticides and the drastic deterioration of the health of honeybees. With the continuation of the use of deadly pesticides and the vital role bees play in the pollination and development of our food crops, both the environment and our economy will be effected directly and face the potential for catastrophic results.

    Read More

  • Insecticides In Long Island: The Gypsy Moth

    610 Words  | 2 Pages

    The use of planes for the spraying of insecticides has increased. The gypsy moth came in to the United States unplanned and the first thing that was done was that they tried to spray insecticides. The result was that more moths came back after the spraying. The alternate used to kill off the moths was to bring in parasites and it worked. Another incident in Long Island occurred with the same type of moths and they sprayed the insecticides that killed livestock and affected bodies of water. People became outraged since companies kept using these chemicals to try and get rid of the moths. Many animals were harmed throughout the entire process.

    Read More

  • Colony Collapse Disorder ( Ccd )

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    The best action the public can take to improve honey bee survival is not to use pesticides indiscriminately. In particular, the public should avoid applying pesticides during mid-day hours, when honey bees are most likely to be out foraging for nectar and pollen on flowering plants. In addition, the public can plant pollinator-friendly plants—plants that are good sources of nectar and pollen such as red clover, foxglove, bee balm, joe-pye weed, and other native plants.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Honey Bees

    1837 Words  | 4 Pages

    The initial reactions to a swarm of honey bees are fear and distress. Honey bees are frowned upon because of the annoying noise they emit and the pointy stinger on their abdomen. To the mainstream population, honey bees are just pesky insects whose primary goals are to sting random individuals and make honey. Honey bees are not another species of pesky creatures that deserve to be fumigated into extinction; they are insects with fascinating lives. The honey bees that buzz noisily around an office have a much more complicated life than annoying people for petty amusement. The honey bee’s meticulous lifestyle inside of their colonies, their vital need for communication with each other, and their species-dependent form of fertilization makes them

    Read More

  • Honey Bees Case Study

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    The worldwide eradication of honey bees may not be too far away. The reasons the honey bees are dying are linked to a number of things. The most common causes are linked to industrial agriculture, parasites/pathogens, and climate change, according to the article entitled “The Bees in Decline” on GreenPeace’s website, SOS-bees.org. However, bee-killing pesticides pose the highest risk to the pollinators (the Bees). Honey bees are not the only form of pollinators.

    Read More

  • The Plight of Bees

    1687 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lawrence, Timothy, and Walter S. Sheppard. "Neonicotinoid Pesticides and Honey Bees." Cru.cahe.wsu.edu. Washington State University, Nov. 2013. Web.

    Read More

  • Pesticides Essay

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pesticides are frequently used in this community. Almost all farmers use pesticides every day to help keep malicious, hungry animals away from their crops, most of which have been linked to illnesses further down the road by consumers, or even pregnant mothers in some cases, involving those responsible for applying the chemicals. All in all, it is no secret that these chemicals are nothing to toy with. As a matter of fact, they themselves have the potential to severely affect the health or kill unsuspecting, or perhaps impair workers.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Bees to the Environment

    1389 Words  | 3 Pages

    LaJeunesse, S.. Common crop pesticides kill honeybee larvae in the hive. Penn State | News. 27 January 2014.

    Read More

  • Honeybees Impact On Society

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today’s honeybee population; is rapidly decreasing and disappearing by the bulk because of habitat loss, pesticide exposure and other parasites. This rapid

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Pesticides

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    As time has progressed, there has always been an overarching need for high amounts of crop production throughout the world. With the rapid rate of population growth, the need for crops and other sources of nutrients is only increasing. In order to meet these high demands and increase yields, farmers and other agriculturalists have started implementing the use of pesticides. These chemical mixtures are being used in order to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pests from destroying growing crops. However, using pesticides on crops can create massive amounts of pollution, negatively affect an individual’s health, and can spark biodiversity loss within an ecosystem. According to Michael C.R. Alavanja, “Over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used within the United States (US) each year and approximately 5.6 billion pounds are used worldwide”. With all this in mind, it is clear that pesticides should not be made available to farmers and agriculturalists, and should

    Read More

  • Essay On Importance Of Bees

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the past decade bee populations have been dropping drastically. A 40% loss of honeybees happened in the U.S. and U.K. lose 45% of its commercial honeybee since 2010. This is a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in which worker bees from a beehive abruptly disappear in a short time. These data are definitely not meaningless since bees are a crucial part of the reproductive cycle of many foods. The impact bees have on the agriculture and the environment is far more crucial than we may think. Crops rely on bees to assist their reproduction and bring them life. Bees are renowned in facilitating pollination for most plant life, including over 100 different vegetable and fruit crops. Without bees, there would be a huge decrease in pollination, which later result in reduce in plant growth and food supplies. On the other hand, without the pollination progressed with the assistance from bees, the types of flowers According to Dr. Albert Einstein, “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination…no more men”. That’s why bees’ extinction affects people more than we ever think, and could even forebode the doom day of human race.

    Read More

  • Pesticides

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are 2.5 billion pounds of pesticides being applied to agricultural products each year in the United States. This is ten times more than was applied forty years ago. It is still unknown as to what type of exact effects these chemicals may have on individuals. Some farmers that have been using pesticides in their fields and developed leukemia are finding that the cause of their disease is from inhaling pesticides. These chemicals are still in use today and most of them have never been tested for the short or long-term effects that they may have on humans.

    Read More

More about Pesticides Affecting Bees

Open Document