Why we need the bees
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40193)
Canada
July 27, 2009 5:54pm CST
I was watching a show yesterday on the Pbs about how bees are being decimated all over the world through a disease that wipes out complete hives. Now they eliminated the usual, DDT, chemical sprays, single plants like all canola or all clover that makes the bees less resistant. They do not know what is the cause. It is sort of like swine flu or the flu epidemic of 1918 for bees. Now in one area of China, they have to fertilize the pear flowers by hand and if things go on, the bee population will disappear. Now there are still the AFrican bees, but they are vicious, but it said that if bees are no longer on the Earth, there will also be not fruits or vegetables and we will have to just eat grains. One scientist actually said we will be forced to eat gruel and I thought that how God makes something so small as the bee so perfect that without it we could not have many of the fruits and vegetables we eat today and that man's effort are miniscule compared to what these bees can do.
5 people like this
14 responses
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
28 Jul 09
yes I have heard all about the bees and I have noticed I get less bees than what I use to have.
I even found some in my pool I get them out when I can and find them alive in there.
They are starving fo rwater when they come to the pools to drink!
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
4 Aug 09
Here in Manitoba, it is the cold that mainly kills them and so the hives have to be covered in winter. But that also means that if one bee is diseased, it spreads through the whole hive. We had a friend who kept bees in Saskatoon (he still does them as a hobby) and he had to make sure the bees were disease free and had to spray the hive to keep them from being infected.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
11 Sep 09
Or a disease might have wiped out their navigation system so instead of heading to a bunch of flowers, they went to where there was not any.
@Idlewild (6090)
• United States
3 Aug 09
Yes, the bees are definitely critical to food production. I heard something on the news a few months ago that scientists may have some theories on why they bees are dying off, and I hope this will lead to action on reversing the situation. One theory was that a type of pesticide or other chemical might be allowing a harmful fungus to grow on or in the bees, which would cause them to get sick.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
14 Sep 09
I could not imagine a world without apples, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, apricots, or fruit in general. It would be rather boring and not that appetizing. I mean we cannot even duplicate what the bees do in the same amount of time.
And i do love honey.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
11 Sep 09
Bees don't bother me, I have been stung a couple of times, and I am more afraid of mosquitoes (carriers or plagues, etc.) and of flies (makes one think they need a bath when they already had one that morning) then of bees and wasps. But just because a bee stings you is no reason to kill it. After all think of not having any fruit to eat or vegetables for that matter and then having to go and pollinate the flowers yourself, climbing up on trees for hours at a time, or bending down with a little tweezer and then finding you might have to pay $20 each for an apple.
@neelianoscet (9615)
• Philippines
7 Aug 09
I am also afraid of bees and every time i met one i duck in for cover. I once have stung by bees in my head..it is really painful and I have it remove by my brother. It swollen the next day..then I put some oil in it to massage and take anti-headache medicine. but, i like to eat sandwich with honey jam and some medicines made from royal jelly it make your body feel strong..
1 person likes this
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
30 Jul 09
I dont like bees at all. I love honey but let somebody else harvest that stuff. We recently went camping and we needed some wood and there was this lonely tree down the trail about a 1/2 mile. We walked up on it and started checking out the wood, I saw the bark moving and I realized that we were in a bee colony, we slowly walked away, it would have been a bad day if they were disturbed. By the end of the week they were at our campsite and bugging the crud out of us. At the zoo and animal park they were going crazy because of the water shortage.
@neelianoscet (9615)
• Philippines
7 Aug 09
Everything have purpose that is why they are great creation of God. Bees produce honey which is known as royal jelly and other bees by products made into pills and mix in our food. In the Egypt alone they found bottles with honey on it..and what a incredible it never spoiled.the bottles is nearly hundred years..This really mean that honey is a good natural sweeteners and many bread products sweeten by honey taste good and various studies indicate it is good sources to replace sugar as it is free from artificial preservatives and help in our well being. With the decrease in population..it will greatly have effect i the production of honey and will affect the sources of vegetarian food and from medicinal arena..
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
11 Sep 09
It is amazing how much bees can do and that there is no substitute. I do love honey, cannot take too much as I have too much sugar in my system. And already honey is getting expensive. I would like to use honey more in my baking, but with the price of it, I can only use it as a spread and for flavoring.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
19 Aug 09
So you do not need apples, pears, peaches, apricots, tomatoes, vegetables and you can exist on gruel and milk? Try that a few times. That is what poor people existed on because they could not afford vegetables.
@GardenGerty (157865)
• United States
27 Jul 09
I think it is important for us to remember the necessity of all species. Yes, bees are having a hard time of it right now, and I hope science can turn that trend around. I agree that there is a plan and a Planner in all of creation.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
28 Jul 09
It is amazing how God designed this small creature for a purpose and made it more economical then having to use man to fertilize the flowers.
@albert2412 (1782)
• United States
27 Jul 09
I have heard that the bee decline is caused by the increasing use of seeds that have genetically altered to provide insecticide to protect the plants. I think that genetically altered seeds are dangerous and should not be used. Are these seeds possible killing off the bees and a lot of people as well?
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
29 Jul 09
That was one theory that they put out, but more in that by using one particular flower to make honey, such as whole fields of clover, rapeseed, etc. they weakened the bees ability so that when a clover bee went into a field of wild flowers it was unprotected against any disease those wild flowers had. And I suppose genetically altered seeds would not be good for humans as well. I have noticed in many of my friends who came from large families, that now they cannot have more then four children and that is not by choice.
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
27 Jul 09
Seems they would be able to do something about the 'bad bees' and leave the good ones alone. As I set here eating honey from the jar am thinking where will I get honey if the bees are all gone - oh yea more artificial junk :(
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Aug 09
Yes and no honey, no fruit, no vegetables, no salads, just have to eat bread all the time. Sounds rather boring and then they will probably make us eat pills. No fun in that is there?
@jezzmay (1845)
• United States
28 Jul 09
It would make a difference in this world,
if the Bees die out. It would upset the
plant life, but I believe there would
come a long another way for things to
grow. Where one way stops there is always
another. I just trust in God when I hear
things like this. I know he has the world
in his hands.
Have a blessed day.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Aug 09
But sometimes God will allow bad things to happen just to teach us to know that we cannot mess with what HE has provided. For instance, in parts of China, there are no fruit trees because they got rid of the bees and in one part, they have to fertilize the flowers by hand.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
28 Jul 09
It is wondrous how the least little creature is so important to the world! I heard about the bee disease and it's very disturbing. We would not only lose our food, we would lose flowers, trees and herbs. I am always very careful of bees--if one lands on me I don't disturb it for fear of its stinging and killing itself. I have a lone corn plant--I planted 6 but only one came up and I thought of pulling it out because if it wasn't fertilized from another plant it wouldn't produce corn. I think the bees are to thank for the two ears of corn that are now growing! Somehow, they or the wind carried the spores needed to produce those ears.
God's creations and circle of life never cease to inspire awe in me.
1 person likes this
@fifileigh (3615)
• United States
28 Jul 09
i like bees. they never bothered me. people should create bee farms to raise bees with their hives.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
29 Jul 09
They do have bee hives, but this disease wipes out whole hives. So if you do have a whole lot of hives, and the disease is carried from one hive to another, maybe if you are a commercial beekepper and have thousands of hives, there goes the whole honey production, and the fruit and vegetable production in that area. So having a whole lot of hives would ensure that the disease spreads more quickly.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
3 Aug 09
That would happen because even though grains of every sort are grown, there are lots of people who are allergic to wheat, and some to rice, etc. and then when all you have to eat is just wheat, rye, or whatever, there will not be enough to go around.
@insanedric (5)
• United States
27 Jul 09
Wow I never thought of it like that. you know i really don't bees well im afraid of them. But after reading this i'm feeling more respect for them! thanks for posting this!
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
29 Jul 09
I knew they were good for something like honey, but did not know that the whole flowers fruits and vegetables depended on them. Makes you wonder about when the Bible predicted famine in the last days whether an epidemic to wipe out the bees would be one of the factors in that happening. After all, flowers can grow almost anywhere.
