What Would Happen if All the Bees Went Extinct?

Bees are flying insects belong to phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, known for their role in pollination and producing honey and beeswax. Pollination is very important both ecologically and commercially. Pollination is the act of transferring pollen grains from male anther of a flower to the female stigma. It is estimated that 1/3 of human food supply depends on pollination by insects, birds and bats, most of which accomplished by bees, whether wild or domesticated.

What is Colony Collapse Disorder?(CCD)

Phenomenon which 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 remaining immature bees. It cause significant economic losses. Most of agricultural crops worldwide are pollinated by Western honey bees and it is estimated approximately 200 billion dollar in 2005.

Causes for Colony Collapse Disorder?

Parasitic attacks

Varroa parasites carry harmful viruses like acute bee paralysis virus and deformed wing virus which are deadly to bees. These viruses weaken the immunity of host bees making them susceptible to numerous ailments. Varroa parasites fed on the bee larvae.

Use of pesticides

Pesticides consist of thiamethoxam and clothianidin directly influence the change in development in bees, though some pesticides rarely lead to deaths in bees. The pesticides like neonicotinoids which affects the central nervous system of bees lose their memory of path to their home.

Climatic changes

Changing weather patterns, washing  away pollen due to rain and dry season lead to the lack of nutrition and strained buildup of honey.

Fungal infections and Invasions of hive beetles.

Effect of Bee Extinction on Human Life

Extinction of bees vastly affects the life on earth as insects are the primary pollinators on earth. The process of photosynthesis stored the energy of sun and the process of pollination helps to give that energy in consumable way. If bees went extinct, it leads to massive loss of production of crops. This low production of harvest leads to worldwide famine. Though rice and wheat do not need insect pollination, we cannot depend entirely on those kinds of crops. The crops like Blueberries, cherries are insect pollinated crops and cannot grow in large-scale without bees. Biodiversity is very important for survival of living beings, if one species get extinct it leads to imbalance and vastly cause for food webs.

Without bees, it is very difficult to maintain the diversity fresh production and good human nutrition level. That is why Einstein said “If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live”. Japan invented tiny robotic pollinators but it is not affordable for small scale plantations and traditional farmers.