The importance of the honeybee, Apis mellifera capensis in the Cape Flora region of the Western Cape, South Africa, is that they contribute to many things within this region such as the pollination of Fynbos and Eucalyptus plants, increased honey yield and fruit production. The Cape honeybees are endemic to the Cape Flora and Fynbos region in South Africa. These bees help increase the volume of honey which is being produced in that region which indirectly contributes to the local economy as it increases the value of honey on the trade market. Thus the honeybees are also being used in fruit farming as this is largely dependent on their services as R1.2 billion in turnover of fruit farming in the Western Cape, South Africa is attributed to …show more content…
These bees also function as bio- indicators as they are used to monitor the environmental stressors brought on by chemical and physical factors. These bees are useful in sampling of the environment as they assess the atmospheric and other forms of pollination.
The environmental stressors are the factors that affect the ecological functioning of honeybees which were brought on by grazing practices, habitat loss and agricultural farming practices. Habitat loss cause a negative impact on the decline of honeybees as vegetation is vital to providing nectar and food for the bee to produce pollen and honey. When vegetation is removed, bees are forced to migrate to environments that accommodate their needs to survive. Habitat loss, such as deforestation and the loss of the natural environment due to the building of cities and towns, where wild bee species are found, are at risk. Bees tend to
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Beeswax is used to manufacture products such as wood polish and candles and honey is used in food, wine and cosmetic products, therefore making beeswax and honey valuable economic sources. South Africa has a shortage of honey and so relies on the importing of honey (Cape Times, 2014). If more beekeepers are trained and more bee farms are started, this could increase job opportunities and unemployment will decrease in South Africa. In addition to the people of South Africa benefitting, the economy will grow as more honey will be produced and
This project was chosen to investigate the decline of the honeybee and the impact on Australian agriculture. The honeybee decline is interconnected with environmental sustainability with key environmental challenges threatening the future of the honeybee and the industry of beekeeping. Some of these factors such as land degradation, limited water availability, loss of plant biodiversity, climate change, pests and pesticides loss of public lands such as National Parks, State forests and reserves, all impact on the sustainability and ecosystems which the honeybee depends and likewise, the ecosystems depend on the honeybee. With the disappearance of land to urbanisation and government restrictions on access to public lands some 70% of Australian
Every day millions of honey bees fly back and forth from their hives. They pollinate a plethora of flowers and produce great amounts of honey. Many people do not realize what bees do for them and their communities. Without bees, people would not have any fresh flowers or produce. The bee population helps provide growth to one-third of the food in the world (Haltiwanger).
Bee hives are disappearing daily, not only will this cause some food consumption to go down but also, economic decisions could be different because there will be no choice to have honey, shelter, and fiber, so we should focus more on measure to protect bees, that way they don 't become extinct. Bees also pollinate in the spring causing there to be enough plants and trees, and to maintain they are alive. Bees pollinate plants by landing on the flowers, picking up pollen and then transferring it to other plants of the same species while they collect nectar. Without bees the plants wouldn 't be able to be pollinated as easily and there wouldn 't be that many that would even get any pollen. It has often been said that bees are responsible for
Pollination is required by the bees and a pesticide that is less harmful to bees, but is also effective at protecting other fruit and vegetable, needs to be created. Secondly, there needs to be a reduction in the human activities that cause stress to honey bees. One way to solve the stress of human activities is to create bee habitats that are located in isolated areas from human activity. These should still be privately- owned and operated, but function so that the bees are removed from harmful activities. Finally, the third cause for the Bee Colony Collapse Disorder is the small beetle that is invading the bee colonies and killing the bees.
If bees were to become completely extinct, the world would be facing a major food epidemic. In Figure 2 below, it shows a Whole Foods market campaign that shows what the world of produce looks like without the bees contribution. Industries relying on bees are starting to be more aware of the growing issue, in an article from Business Insider it discusses, “Whole Foods recently imagined what our grocery store would like in a world without Bees by removing more than half of the market 's produce” (What Our World Would Look Like Without Honeybees, Dina Spector). It is said to imagine that the world of food could look so empty, the contribution that Bees have are irreplaceable. Here’s one for the groups of people that believe the world will be okay without our sweet little stripped friends, we won’t be.
Bees in Decline Honey bees visit around 50-100 different flowers in one collection trip for honey; What would happen if millions of hives are declining in populations? The decline in bees is a serious problem that could cause the beautiful spring colors to turn dark and saturated without colors. This epidemic is worldwide, and could be a serious problem, more than one third of what goes on your plate is made with products that have been pollinated by bees (The Bees in). The bees have been declining in most of Europe because of the rough cold winters they have had the past years dropping their populations by almost 53%, as well as pesticides dropping the populations and killing of the entirety of a single hive ().
Bees do not go far, so they pollinate local areas rather than an extended amount of land. Patricia E. Salkin says, “Small-scale beekeeping has proven to be especially popular among people looking to obtain more of their food from local resources.” Not only does it help the people and the wildlife in their surrounding area, it supports producers who raise and sell their crops there. Patricia E. Salkin states, “Urban bees provide important pollination services to community gardens, home vegetable gardens, and fruit trees.” Not only will it help neighbors’ goods and plants, but it will help others’ gardens and plants as well.
This is why we need to start raising bees, not just for the bees, but for plants and the environment.
A more legislative route would be to help pass bills that limit the use of pesticides that kill or repel bees. This may worry some, but bees are crucial in crops growing because of their
Best of all, you are guaranteed that all bees can be successfully removed from your places once they are made. So be smart, let the experts take care of the work for you and you are glad you did
Dear fellow students, and teacher, today I will talk to you about the importance of bees. Imagine a world without bees. They may seem irrelevant, however if that was the case, over 90% of our fresh foods would be gone. Over ⅓ of the world’s population is dependant on bees.
They are responsible for about 70% of the different nuts, vegetables and fruits that we consume (1). That is a really high percentage, so with our bees decreasing, that means our daily fruits, vegetables and nuts that we have will become more expensive to get because it will be harder for them to grow, which means they will be harder to buy. “Recent harsh winters that stay freezing cold well into spring have been instrumental in decimating the honeybee population”, “The recent severe drought in California has become an additional factor driving both its honey yield and bee numbers down as less rain means less flowers available to pollinate” (2). This shows that our environment may be the leading cause for our diminishing population, because it is affecting the living environment of the bees and they aren 't able to adapt. Some issues are also industrialization, which is killing our natural habitats.
Bees allow plants to reproduce through pollination. These plants contribute to the food system by feeding animals,“Bee’s pollinate the vast majority of our food crops, and the current devastation of hives in North America and Europe is causing real anxiety”(20-23).If the bees were to become extinct it would be a catastrophe for the humans because our main food supply comes from the environments. She uses the keyword vast in that word phrase “Bees pollinate the vast majority of our food crops”(25-27).The vast has a strong connotative meaning moreover than huge. From the form to use well-rounded words to give the reader the impact that the author wants as in, the bees have a major role in the ecosystem and without them, our society will not be able to function.
Bees are major factor in our environment. But recent studies show that we are to blame for the decline in the Bee populations. The main reasons are industrial agriculture (pesticides), mites and climate change. And we should care about them because they provide us with honey and beeswax, and provide a major ecosystem service in the form of pollination. Bees pollinate a lot of crops like apple, citrus, strawberry, blueberry, tomato, melon, oilseed rape, carrot, etc.
Imagine entering your local food store and seeing that items most people eat everyday have been discontinued. Items such as coffee, apples, cucumbers and honey are no longer available to consumers. This may not be possible in our generation, but one day it could very well happen. My name is Matt Shaw from the Millsap FFA, and I am here today to talk to you about a major issue that is facing agriculture, the honeybee population.