Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Insecticides Harming Bee Populations
Recent studies led by Professor Daniel Nicodemo at the Universidad Estadual Paulista in Dracena, Brazil, have discovered how much insecticides have had an effect on honeybee populations. Insecticides like pirazoles and neonicotinoids have had negative impacts on the bees’ nervous systems. This leads to what is known as Colony Collapse Disorder, where the bees are unable to return to their hives. This is a problem considering that 80 percent of all flowering plants need to be cross-pollinated by honeybees, and one-third of agricultural food products need pollination as well. Until these pesticides become less harmful to bees, it would be beneficial to support more organic products that are either grown without the use of pesticides or with pesticides that come from natural sources. However, this may be difficult because organic farming is more expensive and less efficient. I believe that since honeybees have such an important role in nature, it is very important for us to find a solution to this problem.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140806154013.htm
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Great read! Bees are extremely important to an ecosystem. Their cross-pollination of plants allows for plant species to spread and grow. Without bees in an ecosystem it is immediately strained. Once plants stop to reproduce the whole ecosystem will begin to shutdown. Insecticides have been a problem since day one. The issue is they don’t only kill the unwanted pests. They kill almost all insects that come in contact with them. I agree completely that using more organic compounds would be a much better way to go. This will not only help save bees, but also create less pollution wherever the insecticides end up. This is an easy fix compared to some other environmental issues. All it requires is for users of insecticides to be willing and aware.
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