CCD
What is CCD? What does CCD stand for?
CCD(Colony Collapse Disorder)- is the phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees.
CCD stands for Colony Collapse Disorder.
What do honey bees do that is very important to agriculture?
Honey bees are known for their role in pollination, which is very important to agriculture, because approximately 30% of crops grown throughout the world depend on pollinators for reproduction.
Who are beekeepers?
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honeybees. Honey bees produce commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen, propolis, royal jelly.
What is a habitat?
A habitat- is the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.
Where do bees store their honey?
Bees store their honey in a honey comb.
Has CCD ever happened before?
Yes, CCD has happened in the past, and almost every state in USA has reported CCD at least once. CCD was first reported in 2006. Beekeepers began reporting high colony losses where the adult honey bees simply disappeared from the hives, almost all at the same time.
What is pollination?
Pollination- is the transfer of pollen to a stigma, ovule, flower, or plant to allow fertilization.
Name 5 crops that bees pollinate.
Raspberry, Apples, Cauliflower, Avocado, Nuts.
What are the habitat of bees?
The habitat of bees are commercial hives.
In most hives, all the eggs are produced by this special bee...
The Queen
Are there any theories as to what may be causing CCD?
There are many theories about what may be causing CCD. For example:
1. Increased losses due to invasive vary mite( a pest of honey bees)
2. New or emerging diseases such as Israeli Acute Paralysis and the Gut parasite Nosema.
3. Changes to the habitat where the bee forage.
Why should the public care about honey bees?
Most of the crops that bees pollinate are vegetables, fruits, and nuts- all stables of a healthy diet. In fact, honey bees pollinate plants that produce about a quarter of the food Americans consume.
Why do we need beekeepers?
Beekeepers are needed for the bees, because they are the ones who keep the bees, in order to collect their honey and other products. Additionally, beekeepers help the bee population to increase and in some ways they prevent CCD.
What are commercial hives? Give a definition.
Commercial hives are popular hives often used with nationals supers to give the queen a bigger laying area.
In 10 seconds name 5 products that are pollinated by bees and start with the letter A.
Avocado Apple
Asparagus
Artichokes
Almond
What is being done about CCD?
Name at least two things.
1. The USDA is leading a federal government response to CCD. In 2007, USDA established a CCD Steering Committee with representatives from the other government agencies, and academia.
2. In October, 2013, the CCD Steering Committee hosted the national stakeholder conference on honey bee health.
What would happen if the bees die?
If the bees die, the humans will die too, because we depend on honey bees. As stated before, bees are known for their role in pollination, as they pollinate 30% of the crops Americans consume. If the bees die at most that humans can survive without bees is 4 years. After this period of time, there will be a single human on Earth.
What are neonicotinoids?
Neonicotinoids- are a class of retro-active insecticides chemically similar to nicotine.
What are the three types of bees that live in the hive?
1. Queen: one queen runs the whole hive. Her job is to lay the eggs that will spawn the hive's next generation of bees.
2. Workers: these are all females and their roles are to forage for food, build and protect the hive, clean and circulate by beating their wings.
3.Drones: these are all female bees and their purpose is to mate with the new queen.
Source: National Geographic Kids.
Is there currently a crisis in food production because of CCD?
Yes, there is currently a crisis in food production because of CCD all over the world.
What effect might CCD have on the prices of bee-pollinated foods? Give an example with one of the foods provided below.
Ex. Almonds
Colony Collapse Disorder has an impact on bee-pollinate foods like almonds, because when the bee population starts to die, the foods that were pollinated before this happened, start to increase in price.
Ex. Since the pollinated start to decrease in amount, their price goes up.
What can members of the public do to prevent CCD?
Name at least two answers, and provide an explanation.
As members of the community, we can also help prevent CCD fro happening and just simply help the bees: 1.Plant some good sources of pollen (same as the beekeepers)
2.Weed can be helpful for bees.
3.leave a small basin of water near the house so the bees can have a water source.
4.Don't use chemicals and pesticides to treat your lawn or garden.
Why do many beekeepers suspect that pesticides may play a role in CCD?
Many beekeepers suspect that pesticides may play a role in CCD. Farmers spray pesticides on crops, to prevent them from being eaten be insects. Later, when a bee comes to the plant to pollinate it, the bee dies, because pesticides are very harmful to insects like bees.
What is the relationship between crop farmers and the owners of commercial hives?
The relationship between crop farmers and the owners of commercial hives is that if honey bees die, farmers will suffer too, because they depend on honey bees (because the bees pollinate their crops).
Cell towers and pesticides are two of the many reasons for ______ first happening in 2006.
Colony Collaapse Disorder