Jacky Guan
Mr.Bursch
Honors Bio p.5
29 November 2013
Bee Persuasive Essay
Bees have been accepted as one of the most sacred organisms throughout many cultures. They have been around when King Tutankhamun (King Tut) was in charge of the ancient Egyptian empire or when Ancient Rome and Greece was around. Since then, it has been a major hobby or occupation around the modern world. However, a large number of bees have been dying in massive numbers. It remains unnoticed by many people. The best way of solving this crisis is getting more people to know about how bees have helped the human race, how it will affect the modern world and the solutions to stop this problem before the population of bees become extinct
Bees have been collecting and making honey since ancient times. Ever since then humans have been collecting the honey for their benefit. The first ever evidence of human interaction with bees were found in 3,000 years ago when it showed humans taking honey from wild bees. Ancient Egyptians have been practicing beekeeping when their civilization was around. They utilized many resources the bee provides, like honey for nutritional uses, medical uses or for rituals or the beeswax used to make candles. Many of these methods are still used today. The Greeks used many examples of bees in Greek Mythology like Honey was the food for the Gods or rewards to the noble. The effects of ancient beekeeping have influenced many modern beekeepers such as using smoke to help calm the bees. Without that much bees, the beekeepers could no longer continue the tradition of harvesting the honey the bee produces.
The decreasing amount of bees causes many problems. Pesticides are used to kill off any insects that try to harm plants. Unfortunately, insects that benefit plants (ie.bees) are also killed in the process. Genetically modified plants also kill bees because the genetically modified pollen gets consumed in their
food stream. Parasites like the bee mite may also harm the colonies of bees. If we do not realize that the amount of bees decrease, then the overall food supply will decrease too. Since this is a density independent limiting factor, every organism will have to try harder to find food, as well as humans. In turn, the impact will affect humans.
Before humans know it, the bee population will decrease dramatically. They will potentially start worrying when the food prices rise because of food shortages. Humans will find out the cause of the crisis. Then they will find out about the colony collapse disorder and what it has done to the worker bees. They will maybe be many movements to stop pesticide spraying and to prevent anymore of the colony collapse disorder. If humans don’t realize the severity of this problem, the bee population will eventually become endangered. Many organisms could become extinct because of this problem. However, critics may argue that some humans don’t like the effect of bees in the environment. They believe humans and other species could survive off of synthetic or man-made food products. Sure, humans may get the occasional sting, but we should realize that they are at the base of all the life. Without the bees, the food supply would have massly decreased. The humans would have been endangered long before synthetically engineered foods ever came to be.
In conclusion, a majority of humans will not notice the decline of bees until when they start learning the how the bees have helped humans, problems it might cause, and the solutions to the problem. Since bees are precious to all life on Earth, we should realize how important they are to us. Humans should take advantage of the time before the population of bees and all other organisms become endangered or even extinct.
Bibliography
“Honey Bees and Colony Collapse Disorder” Agricultural Research Service. United States Department
of Agriculture, September 2013. Web. 29 November 2013
“The Honeybee in the Ancient World.” Roxana Illuminated Perfume. Blue Terracotta. 2013. Web. 29 November 2013
“Why are Honeybees Disappearing?” Earthtalk Magazine. About Environmental Issues. Web. 29
November 2013
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