pest to the African subspecies of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus. Be that as it may, the beetle has been located outside of its natural habitat, where it is known to cause extensive damage to the plethora of colonies of the European subspecies of honey bees. In 1996, the small hive beetle was first sighted in the United States across a variety of states. There is no clear answer to how the beetles came over to the United States, but a multitude of people have the belief that the SHB first settled in Florida, and as the beekeepers from Florida migrated across the United States, the beetles followed. A. tumida is an invasive species and is causing many damages to the beekeeping…
(Bartlett et al.) is one of the few non-native species whose presence has become essential for food production in the United States. European honey bees are the primary pollinator for a large portion of fruits and vegetables around the world. Recent problems with pest and diseases within colonies have led to a drastic decline in the number of managed hives available for pollination. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) (Mortensen, Schmehl and Ellis)has caused the highest level of hive decrease since…
Albert Einstein once wrote that “if the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” (Goodreads). Insect pollinators are responsible for approximately one third of food crops (Greenpeace, 3) Most wild plants rely on indirect or direct pollination in order to reproduce and thus the environment and economy govern on successful pollination (Green Peace, 3).…
Another frequent topic among the literature on honey bees are their origin or from where they first inhabited and radiated out from. In the early work of Mark Winston “The Biology of the Honey Bee” it is stated that the natural geographic distribution of the genu Apis shows its greatest species diversity in India and adjacent regions, with all species except A. mellifera found there. Noting that these regions probably constituted the area of origin and early evolution of the Apini (Winston…
Unfortunately, many of the honey bees are dying off and without them to pollinate, crops will not survive, flowers and fruit will not grow, and we will lose many other luxuries bees and their honey provide us with. The decrease in the honey bee population is becoming very troubling and unnerving. Scientists believe that “global warming, habitat loss, parasites, and a class of bee-killing insecticides known as neonics” may be some of the cause (Environment, n.d). Universities and scientists are…
Most ant species are social insects, living in large cooperative groups called colonies. Two or more generations may overlap in a colony. These ant colonies are divided into three castes — males, workers and queens — and each caste perform certain tasks. Queen ants and males are part of the reproductive castes. They are the most important members of a colony because they ensure the survival of their species. Queen ants, regardless of species, often are larger than other members of their…
The texts “Eat Your Bugs” by Miguel Vilar and Laura Allen and “Insect Farmers...” by The Washington Post have both Persuade and say that bugs are healthy. irst, both of the articles persuade. For example, on page 21 of “Eat Your Bugs” the text states that you should try eating bugs. Similarly, on page 1of “Insect Farmers” it says that Americans should start eating bugs. And on page 1 of Insect farmers it says that many people don’t care if there is bugs in their salad. This is similar because on…
Summary: Over the past two years, the bee population has decreased dramatically and has immensely affected the pollination of plants. The question they are trying to answer is are bees dying because of the Varroa mite and deformed wing virus or pesticides? The scientist’s hypothesis was that the sudden decrease of bees was because of the Varroa mite and deformed wing virus, not because of pesticides. Their experiment was to produce and infect the larvae, pupae, and fully developed bees with an…
The yellow-shouldered blackbird (Agelaius xanthomus) is indigenous to the island of Puerto Rico. It is speculated that this species is derived from the red-winged blackbird which is native to the Haitian Island. Physically the yellow-shouldered blackbird looks just like it sounds, black with brachial yellow patches around the shoulders of the bird. The males are usually larger,heavier and have larger wings than the females of the species. On average the adult birds measure between twenty to…
From larva to a majestic winged monarch butterfly, the transformation a caterpillar undergoes in its quest to become a butterfly is truly unique. In such process a sixteen legged pest morphs into a beautiful butterfly. Though a beautiful sight, what a caterpillar actually goes through on this journey is quite gruesome. Many wonder how this 180 degree transformation is possible, but broken down it is much simpler to comprehend. Monarch butterflies lay their milky white eggs on milkweed, insuring…