Among managed honey bees in colonies specifically reared for pollination, there are also enormous declines. In the US, annual winter die-offs, which used to be around 15 per cent, now commonly reach per cent, and in some cases up to 90 per cent.
While humans could theoretically survive in whatever kind of wasteland a beeless world would resemble, our diets would be severely restricted. As well as a chronic lack of delicious honey, fruit would largely disappear from our trees, and supermarkets would have roughly half the amount of vegetable species they currently stock. Carrots, apples, melons, onions, lemons, and brazil nuts would all become fabled goods from a luxurious bygone era.
This year, the UK government said it will allow the usage of neonicotinoid pesticides , the use of which have links to collapses of pollinator populations, and as a result is banned in the European Union. Key areas of habitat loss in the UK include wildflower meadows, which have declined by 97 per cent across the country since the s, and also native forest and woodlands. Some bee species rely on old, decaying trees for nesting habitat — a habitat which has declined severely. Until recently, both the red-tailed bumblebee and the early bumblebee were frequent visitors to our gardens; however, since these species have shown a marked decrease in number, according to studies by the University of Kent.
They exchange pollen from plants' female stigma to their male anther, which helps them produce seeds and continue populating. According to NASA, about 75 percent of flowering plants require the western honey bee for pollination , so they can produce fruit.
However, humans aren't the only ones that rely on bees for their food — according to Greenpeace , bees also pollinate crops that animals eat. For example, the feed that is fed to livestock is largely composed of alfalfa, which requires pollination. Bees also pollinate a wide variety of plants that other animals rely on, from berries that are consumed by bears, to the seeds which are eaten by birds. Bee populations started noticeably dwindling in the mids , according to Bee Health, because of parasitic mites that started to populate in mass quantities, which sadly has killed off hives worldwide.
There are also several other factors, that contribute to the bee's endangerment — Colony Collapse Disorder CCD is a major problem that plagues hives, for example. The problem, which made its mark in and , is brought on by habitat changes, stress, and pesticides. Deforestation is also a major contributor to bee's oncoming extinction — oftentimes, the destruction of wooded areas leaves many bees without habitats.
Hives are destroyed, and bees are left without homes. If bees went extinct, it would be a domino effect in terms of ecosystem destruction. But today, bees are dying off at record rates. So, what would a world without bees look like, and what would that mean for our global food supply? Narrator: Well, if all the bees on Earth suddenly dropped dead tomorrow, things wouldn't look good for our planet. And that's because pollination is critical to the health of our global ecosystem.
It's what allows plants to reproduce and grow the fruits and vegetables humans need for a balanced diet. And the thing is, bees are some of the best pollinators out there. In fact, they've co-evolved with flowering plants over millions of years to become pollinating machines. Without bees and other pollinators, supermarket shelves would hold about half the fruits and vegetables they have now, transforming the produce section from this We wouldn't have luxuries like almonds, apples, or avocados.
We use alfalfa to feed dairy cattle, and dairy cattle, of course, produces the milk, and the milk is used to produce many dairy products that we eat. When I talk to the kids, all the kids are very disappointed to hear that we might lose ice cream. Narrator: The extinction of bees could have a disastrous domino effect, killing off animals that eat those plants, and so on up the food chain.
Luckily, humanity wouldn't face a global famine like you might expect. Narrator: So if the bee apocalypse does hit, we could still meet the daily calorie needs of our global population.
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