Notes
- bees dying without trace is described by scientist as colony collapse disorder
- they thought varroa mites were the cause of the decline of bees
- more than 30% of all colonies died
- without the bees many plants and fruits reduced in population
- no beekeeping method can be blamed for the death of bees
- people thought that bees died because of poisons
- parasites were responsible for 45% of death of bees
- another idea of the decline of bees is farmers getting rid of other plants leaving bees with a limited amount of plants to eat
- Reduction of bees can be due to poor nutrition and being exposed to pesticides
- many beekeepers have had success of loosing colonies by preventing any parasites from going near them
- sterilizing old beehives with gamma rays before reusing them can help prevent colony collapse
- scientist are working in a way to block a virus from reproducing inside it's cell
- identifying the specific virus is a good way but that can take years
Summary
Over time the honeybee has been reducing in population because of harmful parasites such as the varroa mites and pesticides used. scientist have now called this event as colony collapse disorder since the honey bee is disappearing without a trace. Already more that 30% of colonies have disappeared and 45% of these deaths were due to parasites. Parasites aren't the only reason the honeybee is decreasing in population, farmers are planting less stuff that the bees use leading them to have a limited amount of food to eat and to pollinate. This then leads to a decline any other plants and crops that we might need. Many people are unaware of what is going on and don't attempt to do anything to help, even when this help that can be given is really necessary.
I think that more should be done to help out the bees. They are an important resource for the production to a lot of our food. Beekeepers should be more aware of the different types of parasites that can harm bee colonies so that they can prevent them from dying. I think scientist should be able to find a way to protect the bees from these deadly parasites and pesticides. Since a vaccine isn't safe for the bees I think it's a good idea to interfere with their RNA so that they can block a virus from reproducing in their cells. From the article I can see that many beekeepers have had success in not loosing colonies by preventing parasite from going anywhere near them, I believe more beekeepers should do the same so that the honeybee will grow in population
I think that more should be done to help out the bees. They are an important resource for the production to a lot of our food. Beekeepers should be more aware of the different types of parasites that can harm bee colonies so that they can prevent them from dying. I think scientist should be able to find a way to protect the bees from these deadly parasites and pesticides. Since a vaccine isn't safe for the bees I think it's a good idea to interfere with their RNA so that they can block a virus from reproducing in their cells. From the article I can see that many beekeepers have had success in not loosing colonies by preventing parasite from going anywhere near them, I believe more beekeepers should do the same so that the honeybee will grow in population