In the past couple of years bee death rates have been increasing at an alarming rate and the effect on plants could be drastic. Honey bees are the world's best pollinators, their pollinating abilities have been utilized by humans for thousands of years, one third of the food you eat was most likely pollinated by a honey bee at some point. This use of bees could be coming to a close a lot sooner than we think.
Bee deaths can be attributed to the use of certain pesticides, changing environments and habitats, and something called Colony Collapse Disorder. Normally the annual colony loss is around 10 percent, but recently it has been closer to 30 percent. Colony Collapse Disorder is strange because a bee keeper will open a hive and the bees seem to just "disappear." Since most bees in the world are domesticated this is extremely alarming to scientists, who don't have a great understanding of why this is taking place.
The effect on the plant community will be quite large. The death of bees could lead to the deaths of many plant species that require pollination. Plants use their flowers and scents to attract pollinators, which is very competitive, and although bees are not the only pollinators, they are the best at the job. If a plant that requires pollination to germinate and produce new seeds doesn't get pollinated, it will not pass on its genes and the species could go extinct. Plants that do not require pollination, or require little pollination, will then thrive over plants that require more pollination, disrupting the natural balance that is there.
For the source and more information about bee deaths click here.
Garrett Mulanix
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