1. The Importanceof Protecting the Honey Bee

2. Honey Bees are ImportantBecause The honey bee is an important species to human life. They make up 80% of the worlds pollinating insects. There are 20,000 species of bees but only the honey bee can produce large enough amounts of honey and wax for human use. Protecting and preserving this creature is imperative to the well-being of mankind. 3. The Three Groups of the Honey Bee Hive Honey bees are social insects that live collectively in hives. The hive is broken down into three different groups each with its own responsibility.The Worker honey beeQueen honey bee Drone honey bee Most commonly seenJust one Queen in each All male by humans hive Several hundred in each hive Unfertile females Lays eggs for the next during spring and summer generation Forage for food and She produces a chemicalEvicted during the lean protect the hiveto guide the members ofmonths of winter the hive 4. Every Day BeeswaxHoney bee wax is used in theproduction of:Some cosmeticsCandlesAdhesives VarnishesGlue And so much more 5. Honey!Some of the stored honey is fed to the bee larvae in the hive.Most of theHoney has medicinal useshoney in as well:human-maintainedSore throat sootherhives iscultivated and Skin care andextracted formaintenancehumans toconsume. 6. Pollination! Honey bees pollinate most of the fruits and vegetables that humans consume. Most flowering plants are pollinated by honey bees. Honey bees pollinate by visiting flowers and plants and sucking the nectar out of them. While feeding on the flower, the pollen therein sticks to the honey bee and is carried to the next flower. Pollination helps flowers and plants continue to spread their seeds and grow to produce the oxygen that humans breathe. 7. Animals need bees too!Honey bees also pollinate forage foods like clover onwhich livestock feed.The forage foods are important for the cattle andother animals that humans use for food.In the US alone it is estimated that honey beepollination of agricultural foods is valued at $16billion on an annual scale and that honey beesproduce 30% of the pollination of the plant life thatis consumed by humans. (National AgriculturalStatistics Service). 8. Whats killing the bees?Some honey bee hives have been infected withmites. These mites are one of the major causesof honey bee population decline.Colony Collapse Disorder (or CCD) is anothermajor factor in the declination of the honey bee.Use of pesticides on farmers crops havehad devastating effects on the honey beesability to pollinate. 9. ApiariesFunding apiaries andresearch for thepreservation of thismuch neglectedcreature will greatlyincrease productionand generate morerevenue for theeconomy. 10. CreditsThe Importance of Protecting the Honey Bee Slide show created by Erin Weasner 6 December 2012 Prof. Mark Dekle ENC 1101 11. Works Citednationalgeographic.com/honeybee, 1996-2012, National Geographic Society, web, 15 Nov.2012new-ag.info.com, The benefit of bees, web, 15 Nov. 2012World Book Encyclopedia, Scott Fetzer Co., Bees, pg. 200-207, 2011, 16 Nov. 2012beespotter.mste.illinois.edu, The Economic Importance of Bee$, web, many authors, 16Nov. 2012