Bee Importance
What is one food we would no longer have without bee pollination?
Answers can include any food that includes fruits, vegetables, other plants that require pollination and dairy products since dairy cows eat a plant that requires pollination.
True or False: Neonicotinoids are pesticides that are harmful to bees.
True
True or false: Cooler and more wet seasons are hurting bee populations.
false: hotter and drier seasons are hurting bee populations.
True or False: bees cannot get all of their nutrients from one type of flower.
True
What disease brought bee declines to the attention of the world?
Colony Collapse Disorder(CCD)
True or false: over ninety different types of crops in the United States require pollination.
True
List one negative impact pesticides can have on bees.
- death
- impaired brain function
- decreased ability to find food
- inability to communicate with other bees
- weakening immune system of bees
Do plants, that bees use to find pollen and nectar, experience shorter or longer blooming seasons when the weather is drier and warmer?
Shorter: Without rain the plants cannot survive as long, especially in warmer temperatures.
Name one threat native bees face from land cultivation.
Habitat loss
Name a disease, besides CCD, that impacts honey bee populations.
- Nosema Ceranae
- Varroa Mites
- European Foulbrood
- American Foulbrood
- Chronic Bee Paralysis
What percent of global agriculture production do bees contribute to?
10%
What does the term sublethal mean?
Sublethal means that the pesticide will not immediately lead to the death of the bee but will often lead to long term, life threatening, impacts.
True or false: bees can find enough food to last the winter even in shorter blooming seasons.
False: bees cannot stock up enough food for the winter when flowers have shorter blooming season leading to various stressors.
Name the danger honey bees pose to native bees.
Honey bees can transmit non-native viruses and diseases to native bees in the area they are pollinating.
What is one effect of Nosema Cernae?
It stops the function of the bees digestive tract. It can cause young bees to leave the hive when they aren't ready. It can also prevent bees from fighting other infections.
How many dollars a year would hand pollinating crops cost?
90 million dollars per year
List one way that pesticides can be exposed to bees
- direct exposure
- contaminated pollen/nectar
- residue on plants
- contamination of nests/hives
- contamination of water sources
- Pesticides can be brought to the hive and stored for years in wax and pollen reserves.
Correctly name one part of a bees diet and the nutrient it provides for the bee.
Honey - carbohydrates
Pollen - protein
When bees do not have enough food because of climate change they may lack one or more parts of their diet.
What stressors do commercial honey bees face?
- Moving across the country on large trucks
Which honey bee disease can be treated?
Nosema Cernae can be treated; Varroa mites can only be prevented.