Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pollinators:
Living pollination vectors (insects, birds, or other animals)
Flower shape, pattern, color and fragrance are adaptations that attract sanimal pollinators
Often rewarded for visiting a flower by obtaining nutritious Pollen or sweet Nectar
Selective advantage of Pollinators visiting flowers - bring the pollen to the next plant
90% of the 295,000 have Co-Evolved with Pollinators and do not depend on the Wind
Bees as Pollinators!
Bees (Apis mellifera):
100% Almond
90% Apple
90% Broccoli
90% Blueberry
90% Onion
80% Cherry
80% Celery
65% Onion
2% Peanut
1% Grape
Our Pollen Covered Bee!
Bees are an ideal Pollinator! Covered with pollen and their flight creates static electricity which
helps to attract more pollen! And sacs in their legs allow them to store more to bring home to the
hive and food!
Importance of Bees and Their Loss
According to a 2006 National Academy Science
Report:
Are we looking at a 2nd “Silent Spring” referring to Rachael Carson or Albert Einstein
stating “If the bee disappears from the surface of the Earth, man would have no more than
four years to live.” Did Al say it? But without bees, the planet would definitely be
hungrier! Time (8/19/13)
Neonicotinoids:
Neonicotinoid Pesticides:
Neonicotinoids are Systematic – seeds soaked in them are passed into the plant, flower,
nectar and seed and can be passed to the bees
These chemicals are safer for humans but not bees, which can affect their nervous
system and flight but not kill immediately
Cumulative effect may explain why they keep dying off yearly
Used in everyday in home gardens which may expose bees to far higher doses than those
found on farms, where neonicotinoids used in seed coatings
Few researchers, however, doubt that high doses are harmful to bees but research on the
use by gardeners, nurseries and urban landscapers has proceeded slowly, a troubling picture
has emerged of products found on the shelves of most any garden center.
For homeowner use products, for backyard plants, the amount of neonicotinoids used
is 40 times greater than anything allowable in agricultural systems
Environmental Protection Agency states dose of just 20 ppb destroyed honeybee colonies;
however, much greater amounts have been measured in neonicotinoid-treated gardens
In an official company statement from Bayer CropScience, the company said that its
“neonicotinoid-based insecticides — both for lawn and garden and crop applications —
are safe for honey bees and other pollinators when used according to label directions.”
Neoicotinoids – Banning?
Neonicotinoid Pesticides:
Vast majority of attention has focused on their agricultural uses and possible effects
but evidence suggests that, even at non-lethal doses, the pesticides can disrupt bee
navigation making them vulnerable to disease and stress
Question? They spread through a plant’s vascular system and remain active for
extended periods of time and accumulate from year to year, especially in perennial
plants. If we treat once, it stays below lethal levels, but over the years?
Use commonly used in nurseries. People may purchase plants with the intent of providing
habitat for bees, but are we poisoning them?
> 1.25 million people have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to review
its stance on neonicotinoids
Request for EPA to Ban Neonicotinoids
Neonicotinoid Pesticides:
Newer class of chemicals that are applied to seeds before planting. This allows the pesticide
to be taken up through the plant’s vascular system as it grows, where it is expressed in the
pollen and nectar.
Insecticides are highly toxic to bees because they are systemic, water soluble, and
pervasive. They get into the soil and groundwater where they can accumulate and
remain for many years and present long-term toxicity to the hive as well as to other
species, such as songbirds
Affect insects’ central nervous systems in ways that are cumulative and irreversible.
Even minute amounts can have profound effects over time
Disappearance of bee colonies began accelerating in the United States shortly after the
EPA allowed these new insecticides on the market in the mid-2000s
EPA allowed the neonicotinoids to remain on the market despite warning signs of a problem
Alleges the EPA acted outside of the law by allowing conditional registration of the pesticides,
a measure that allows a product to enter the market despite the absence of certain data.
European Food Safety Authority
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a report ruling Neonicotinoid Insecticides
are essentially “unacceptable” for many crops:
Asked the European Commission asked EFSA to assess the risks associated with the use of
neonicotinoids – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – with particular focus on:
Their acute and chronic effects on bee colony survival and development
Their effects on bee larvae and bee behavior
Risks posed by sub-lethal doses of the three chemicals
Glaring issues was a widespread lack of information, with scientists noting that in some cases
gaps in data made it impossible to conduct an accurate risk assessment.
Authority found that when it comes to neonicotinoid exposure from residues in nectar and
pollen in the flowers of treated plants: 2
Only uses on crops not attractive to honeybees were considered acceptable
The Authority ruled “a risk to honeybees was indicated or could not be excluded…”
Unfortunately, Neonicotinoids have become the fastest growing insecticides in the world.
In the US, virtually all genetically engineered crops are treated with Neonicotinoids.
Cumulative Effects May Result in Failure
Social bee colonies depend on the collective performance of many individual workers.
Although field-level pesticide concentrations can have subtle or sublethal effects at the
individual ”bee” level, it is not known whether it results in a severe cumulative effect at the
colony level.
Concluded:
Chronic exposure of bumble bees to neonicotinoid and pyrethroid at concentrations that could
approximate field-level exposure impairs natural foraging behavior and increases worker
mortality leading to significant reductions in brood development and colony success
Worker foraging performance, particularly pollen collecting efficiency, was significantly reduced
with observed knock-off effects for forager recruitment, worker losses and overall worker
productivity.
The report provided evidence that cumulative exposure to pesticides increases the risk
of colony failure
Other Culprits – Nosema ceranae
Nosema ceranae:
Beekeepers:
Diseases remains a serious threat, with 33% all bee colonies affected
Beekeepers with the other two-thirds of colonies think that they have it under control because
their hives are doing well
They claim they take better care of their bees, feed them better, and use various medicines
and techniques to keep the hives healthy
Technique some beekeepers swear by is splitting the hives every year, or more frequently;
That means taking half the bees out, getting a new queen (you can buy queens!), and making
two hives out of one.
Other Beekeeping Reasons?
Other Reasons:
Supplemental Food:
Replaces honey with sugar or sugar which may leave bees less capable of fighting infection
Beehive Transport:
While bees are kept in hives for long periods of time they are fed high fructose corn syrup to
simulate nectar
Lacks all the nutrition found in flowers
Rents land from farmers, taking it out of production to conserve soil and perserve wildlife
But as the sale of commodity crops like corn or soybeans have increased, farmers can make
more by returning their soil to farming
This year, 25.3 million acres are held by the CDC, down 33% from its peak in 2007 the
smallest area in reserve since 1988
Crop Monoculture:
While decades ago, farms had numerous crops, today they specialized in a single crop
When crops are not blooming, bees have no food
Flowers and wild spaces – transformed countryside into cities! Monocultures of crops –
fields of corn or soybeans that are a desert for honeybees starved of nectar and pollen
Even with the high rates of annual losses, the number of managed honeybee colonies
in the US has stayed stable over the past 15 years at 2.5 million
This is significantly lower than 5.8 million in 1946
Honeybees have the ability to regenerate and beekeepers that stay with the business
can recoup their loses
Backbone of the world’s diet – corn, wheat and rice are self-pollinating
In China, where pesticides have killed their bees, farmers hand pollinate their plants – robots
are being designed but this does not seem feasible
We need to plant “bee-friendly” flowers (or veggies) and keep them pesticide free
Bad News
Since 2006, 10 million beehives have been lost at the cost of $2 billion but the lost of
the beekeepers with experience cannot be – many are leaving their hives!
Bees may and up being managed like huge farms – put into confinement and the food brought
to them
Our Native Bees?
Support organic farmers and shop at local farmer’s markets as often as possible
Cut the use of toxic chemicals in your house and on your lawn, and use only organic,
all-natural forms of pest control.
Get rid of your lawn altogether and plant a garden or other natural habitat. Lawns offer
very little benefit for the environment. Both flower and vegetable gardens provide
excellent natural honeybee habitats.
Become an amateur beekeeper. Having a hive in your garden requires only about an hour
of your time per week, benefits your local ecosystem, and you can enjoy your own honey!
Plant for Bees and Other Pollinators!
General Gardening Advice for Attracting Bees and Other Pollinators
Don’t use pesticides. If you do, follow the label instructions to the letter!
Use local native plants. 4x more attractive to native bees than exotic flowers.
Chose several colors of flowers. Blue, purple, violet, white, and yellow.
Include flowers of different shapes. 4000 species of bees in North America, and they are of
different sizes, have different tongue lengths, and will feed on different shaped flowers.
Have a diversity of plants flowering all season. By having several plant species flowering at
once, and a sequence of plants flowering through spring, summer, and fall, you can support a
range of bee species that fly at different times of the season.
Plant where bees will visit. Bees favor sunny spots over shade and shelter from winds.
Plants that Attract Bees
Native Plants: Others
Inquiry:
Search for information and explanation
Scientific Process or Method: trying to find an explanation for something you know to be true
Hypothesis: tentative answer to a well-framed question; may or may not be true; may have to modified
or changed with new data “Iterative”
Predictions: can be tested by observation or experimentation; tells us what we will use to accept or
reject the hypothesis
Test: experiments (data) that test the hypothesis, repeatable; prove or disprove the hypothesis
Theory: broader in scope than a hypothesis; supported by a large body of evidence in comparison to a
hypothesis; later, may proved to be not true
Scientific Process or Method
In Hypothesis-Based Science, there is often 2 or more alternative hypotheses
Field Journals:
Each student picks a spot and weekly over the semester they observe and record animals,
plants, insects, weather, etc
If keep yearly, you would see the changes – I noticed bees on the Rose of Sharon
Quanititate it by counting the number of bees or rabbits
Discussion:
Discuss the situation – Loss of Bees!
Often there are different views – listen to them
Hopefully, you will come to a conclusion
Students write a paper on their views
Our Pollen Laden Bee!