Much of the world’s food supply is being threatened by what is known as the Bee Colony Collapse Disorder. This is a crucial environmental issue. Crops must have pollination. Honeybees transfer pollen which is a vital function for plant reproduction. Humans and ecosystems cannot survive without pollinators which are being lost around the world at a troubling rate.
For several years, honeybee colonies have been dying out in the U S and other countries such as Europe and Asia which has puzzled the authorities. Racheal and varroa mites have jeopardized the bee industry since the 1980s. Several honeybees show evidence of mite damage, but around twenty-five percent of the deaths this year cannot be ascribed to mites. It is critical for the world’s agriculture to find the cause of this problem. Our crops rely on honeybees.
Mite diseases have caused the death of up to 98 percent of the wild honeybee colonies. Most of the hobby beekeepers have lost all or most of their colonies and commercial beekeepers have suffered serious losses. There are around ninety different crops that depend on honeybees.
Several commercial beekeepers keep their bees in Florida and haul them on trucks. Commercial beekeepers position them near crops that need pollinating and charge growers for the service.
Most people have no idea of the role that bees play in our food supply. Hired beehives pollinate over a third of America’s crops. Without pollination there would be few if any crops, not to mention the many flowers they pollinate.
Actually it isn’t uncommon for a bee colony to die. Bees sometimes die from cold winters or disease but this situation is different. There have been die offs before but they are getting more severe. If the problem isn’t addressed promptly there could be alarming consequences. Albert Einstein is said to have believed that when the bees disappear, man would only have four years left to live. If the disappearance of honeybees continues at this rate he could be right.
Where did the bees go? Did they sense something coming and go underground?
“For nation shall rise against nation… there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. For then shall be great tribulation… there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth…” (Matt.24, Mrk.13, Lk.21)
The disappearing honeybees are only one of the many problems our world is facing today.
Resources:
http://www.heyokamagazine.com/HEYOKA.7.BEES.htm
http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/King-James-Version-KJV-Bible/
