Honey Bee Presentation Final

The Importance of the Honey Bee

Unattributed Middle Schooler

Almonds, Eggplant, Strawberries, Blueberries, Celery, Cherries,

Avocados, Beans, Apples, Sunflowers, Cucumbers,

Hazelnuts, Turnips, Pears, Apricots, Flax, Oranges,

Grapefruits, Honey and Coconuts

Do you eat these fruits and vegetables?

Honey Bees• All the fruits and vegetables you just saw needed some form of

pollination to reproduce.• The honey bee is one of the main pollinators in the animal kingdom.• The honey bee pollinates an estimated 30% of the food eaten in the

U.S. • Another astounding statistic is that in the last 20 years the

domesticated honey bee population has shrunk by 30-50% in the U.S.

• Honey bees were brought to the Americas in the 1620’s from Asia and Africa.

• Even though different types of bees, birds, and even bats can pollinate plants, honey bees are the most prolific and productive of the pollinators.

• They are astounding insects whose way of life fascinates scientists even to this day.

The hive• A honey beehive is

made of wax. This wax is sculpted into perfect hexagonal cells.

• The cells provide storage for larvae, pollen, and honey.

• The hive is like a giant nursery, home, and factory

Above – Feral

Below – Domesticated

Pollination via Honey bee• Pollination is transfer of pollen from

one flower to another, which in turn lets the plant reproduce.

• Honey bees will fly to the flowers of and collect pollen which contains the male gametes.

• The honey bee will then distribute pollen to the stigma of the female plants.

• The stigma of the stile receives the pollen which initiates fertilization.

Types of Bees

Drone

• Strictly male.• Their sole job is to mate with the queen at

about 2-8 weeks of age.• After mating with the queen the drone

dies.• In early fall, all the drones that have not

mated are kicked out of the hive. (This preserves precious food resources so the colony can survive through the winter.)

Worker• Strictly female.• Largest population of the hive.• Responsible for caring for young, food storage,

cleaning, foraging, protection, tending to the queen, and regulating the temperature of the hive.

• Makes wax to build the hive.• Lives for 5-8 weeks in the summer. They can

live longer during the winter when there’s less “work” to be done.

Queen• Strictly female.• The sole fertilized

reproducer of the hive.• Generally there is only a

single queen per colony.• Lays appx. 1,500 to 2,000

eggs per day during the summer.

• Comes from a special, larger cell. The larval queen is fed exclusively royal jelly.

Other facts about honey bees• To communicate to other honey bees where the nectar

or pollen can be found they do a special “bee dance.” This dance communicates the distance and direction of the source.

• The workers make the hive from wax and form each cell to store food (honey and pollen) or brood (larvae).

• It is estimated that for every pound of honey, around 25,000 flights must be made to make collect necessary nectar. They also must visit around 2 million flowers to make that pound of honey and fly 55,000 miles.

• The honey bees in Oregon are quite mild and non-aggressive, while honey bees in other parts of the nation can be more aggressive (Africanized Honey bees).

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)

• Symptoms of CCD include the relatively sudden disappearance of the majority of the bees, yet honey and the queen remain.

• CCD was first recognized in fall 2006.• CCD is the disappearance of bees. This has occurred

in many parts of the world. • There is no single known cause for CCD. Researchers

think stress is one factor that drives them out of the hive.

• Contrary to urban myths, cell phones and power line radiation are not the cause of CCD.

• CCD and general bee population decline is currently happening. At a recent beekeeper meeting I attended, almost every single beekeeper reported losses.

Possible causes of CCD and General Bee Decline

• Pesticides • Malnutrition• Mites/ Viruses• Intensive Agriculture Note: There are more

possibilities, but these are the most commonly cited.

Pesticides• Using pesticides on plants kills insects

- the bad insects as well as the good insects.

• When the honey bee collects pollen or nectar, she might could be contaminated with the pesticide which she could carry back to the hive; killing her nest mates.

• Neonicotinds (a class of chemical found in recently developed pesticides) have already been outlawed in France since it damages the bees’ ability to navigate.

• Through the process of guttatation, extremely high concentrations of pesticides can get into the plant’s stoma and make the water on its leaves deadly poisonous to bees.

Malnutrition• Some domesticated honey bees

are only pollinating a few crops throughout the year. This is known as mono-cropping. This results in unhealthy bees, because their diet may not be diverse enough to help their body defend against sickness.

• Mono-cropping is mainly found when farmers grow and sell a single product on a massive scale resulting in a severe lack of diversity.

Mites

• The biggest killer• First detected in the 1980’s, mites such as the Varroa,

Tracheal and Nosema parasite have killed thousands of bees and hundreds of hives.

• In a recent study at Oregon State University of 247 samples from across the state, 137 of those samples had the Nosema parasite present and 234 had Varroa mites present.

• The Varroa mite will infect and feed on the larvae in the cells. Nosema parasite infect the digestive tract. Tracheal mites actually enter the breathing tubes of mature bees and choke them.

Nosema Infection

Varroa mite

Tracheal mites in the breathing tubes

Intensive Agriculture

• Bee keepers and farmers often move hives to different locations (even different states).

• Scientists theorize that this excessive moving resulting in rapid seasonal change and colony stress may confuse the honey bees and make them susceptible to disease.

Bee-conomics• Approximately 1/3 of all the food we eat is pollinated by

honey bees.• This represents $15 billion dollars of produce in the US

annually.• If the honey bees die off, the price of all their products

will rise. For example, the price of almonds went up from $1.50 per pound in 1983 to $3.50 per pound in 2005. In the next 20 years the cost could double or triple.

What can you do?

• Plant plants and flowers in your garden that honey bees love (see handout)

• Make your garden honey bee friendly (see “Gardening Tips” handout)

• Don’t kill honey bees• Donate to research studies• Raise awareness!• Become a beekeeper

Whatever efforts you make are appreciated by the honey bees and your community

Donation InformationOregon State University Department of HorticultureDr. Ramesh Sageili 4017 Agricultural & Life Sciences Bldg.Corvallis, Oregon [email protected]• Make checks payable to: OSU Agricultural

Research Foundation. (On memo line of check write Ramesh Sagili Research.)

THANK YOUFOR YOUR TIME