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  • Bees play a crucial role on Earth - some even claim that if they go extinct, humanity would

  • be next. So with the dramatic decline in bee population, should we be worried? What happens

  • if the bees all die?

  • Simply put, if a plant produces a flower, you can bet that bees help them reproduce.

  • This long-standing, working relationship evolved with flowers being bright and fragrant to

  • attract bees, and the bees fuzzy, velcro-like bodies helping them to efficiently transfer

  • pollen from the male part of the plant to the female part. This seemingly simple mechanism

  • is directly responsible for the production of 70% of fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts

  • that we consume on a daily basis. 70%! Which translates into almost $200 billion in global

  • agriculture revenue. This huge responsibility is accomplished by droves of commercial bees,

  • reared by professional beekeepers for the sole purpose of being transported to farms

  • and orchards to pollinate crops.

  • But since 2006, these hardworking, busy bees have been mysteriously disappearing. This

  • Colony Collapse Disorder has seen an average of 1/3rd of commercial bees abandoning their

  • hives. In fact, some beekeepers have even reported that 90% of their bees have simply

  • buzzed off.

  • In some colonies, mites, viruses and parasites have been to blame, but many are now looking

  • at a class of insecticides called neonicotinoids. This neurotoxin is used to kill off crop eating

  • insects and pests, but also affects the central nervous systems of bees when they consume

  • contaminated nectar. And since nectar is brought back to hives, the entire colony can be affected,

  • leading to mass confusion and disorientation. On top of this, other factors such as extremely

  • cold and long winters, a lack of genetic diversity in commercial bees, and less variable nectar

  • in the fields may be at fault.

  • If the trend continues, entire food chains and webs may be at risk. Take almond plants

  • for example; the hulls of these nuts are used as feed for farm cattle and chickens. Fewer

  • bees means fewer almonds, which could mean declining livestock, and ultimately less milk,

  • cheese, eggs and meat production. Not to mention almonds are used in cereal, baking and many

  • other food products. Beef and dairy cows would also be harshly affected by the vanishing

  • alfalfa fields which are used to harvest hay for cattle. Looking for a morning buzz? Considering

  • bees pollinate Coffea arabica, whose seeds we grind for coffee, you can count that out.

  • Without bees, our diet would consist of mostly corn, wheat and rice, as they are wind pollinated

  • plants.

  • Like your clothes? Not only is cotton the biggest cash crop in the US, it also makes

  • up about 35% of the world’s fiber use. So you can forget those blue jeans, towels, mattresses

  • and high quality paper products.

  • Simply put, we’d be living in a completely different world without bees, not to mention

  • suffering a substantial economic strain from their disappearance. So while we may not necessarily

  • goextinctshould the downward trend persist, a world without the buzz of bees

  • would definitelysting!

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Bees play a crucial role on Earth - some even claim that if they go extinct, humanity would

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