Zapped by Modern Agriculture
Taylor Houston | April 2020
If you follow the back roads into the deep country of northeastern North Carolina, you will eventually come to a small farming town in Rich Square, or more accurately in the middle of nowhere. Here, cattle easily outnumber people and there are acres and acres, rows and rows, of soybeans, corn, wheat, and tobacco crops aligned in vast, seemingly never ending, monocultures. One of these farms belong to my grandparents. They have a quaint country home with a lot of land that is usually covered in a golden sea of wheat. When I was little I would go visit them every summer. One of my favorite places to play was in the tractor shed. This is where I had my first up close encounter with the Southern Plains Bumblebee, or Bombus fraternus.
In the shed, hundreds of Southern Plains Bumblebees swarmed in the corners and in the piles of old tractor wheels and rusted parts. To my grandpa, they were a nuisance. He complained saying that they “have so much room outdoors and yet they choose to hole up in my shed.” I now know that in fact the Bombus fraternus does not have as much room outdoors anymore, largely as a result of human encroachment on ‘wildlands,’ which leads them to seek refuge in human settlements (Williams et al.). Regardless, my grandpa’s war with the bees eventually dragged me in as well. He would pay me 25 cents for every bee that I killed. Armed with an electric bug zapper, I would stand in the shed for hours each day collecting a pile of tiny bee carcasses that I would carry back to the house to collect my pay.
As I returned summer after summer I began to notice the number of bees dwindle and eventually vanish altogether, even long after I had stopped murdering them. At the time I was unaware of what else was causing the bees to leave, and as a child I believed that I had scared them all off. However, the crisis the bees faced was a lot deeper and more widespread than a little girl with a bug zapper. Still, if I had known then the importance that the Bombus fraternus plays in ecosystems, as well as how dependent humans are on them, then I would not have dared to slaughter the bees and maybe a few more would exist today.
The Southern Plains Bumblebee is currently listed as endangered with its population continually decreasing (Jepsen et al.). It originally could be found throughout the US, from the coasts of NC down to Fl, as far west as Denver, CO, and as far north as Minnesota (Jepsen et al.). However, in large portions of its territory range, the bee is now considered to be “possibly extinct” (Jepsen et al.). As the issue became more widespread, beekeepers began to notice a correlation between colony collapse disorder, or the mass die off of entire bee colonies, and proximity to agricultural farms/crops that use “neonicotinyl insecticides (or neonicotinoids) such as imidacloprid and clothianidin” (Suryanarayanan and Kleinman).
Studies were eventually done to confirm what the beekeepers observed. It was found that exposure to these common agriculture pesticides resulted in less fertility in male bumble bees (Laycock et al.). In fact, it was found that “environmentally realistic dosages” were “capable of reducing brood production by ⅓” (Laycock et al.). The reduced fertility observed is speculated to be as a result of nutrient deficiency because neonicotinyl insecticides reduce feeding on flower pollen and syrup (Laycock et al.). These findings emphasize the effect that pesticides have on overall bumble bee health and reproduction, as well as on “wild bumble bee populations” (Laycock et al.).
Another nutritional stress that the Bombus fraternus face as a result of modern, industrial agriculture is “more expansive monocultures” (Suryanarayanan and Kleinman). Monocultures are a nutritional stress on bees because they are attracted to more diverse arrangements of flowers in order to meet all nutritional needs (Williams et al.). Additionally, monocultures are harmful to bees because they have one growing season opposed to a more diverse field that has varied seasons. Varied growing seasons help ensure that the bees always have a source of food. Furthermore, the “simplification of agriculture in the sense of” growing “genetically similar monocrops” leads to crops becoming “highly vulnerable to outbreaks of pests and plant diseases” (Suryanarayanan and Kleinman). This means that the “establishment of monocropping [goes] hand in hand with the development of new agrochemicals” (Suryanarayanan and Kleinman). Therefore, monocultures tie into the impacts that insecticides have on bee nutrition, reproduction, and population.
However, nutritional stresses are not the only threat that the Bombus fraternus face as a result of industrial agriculture. Another major threat is habitat loss and destruction. As more land is cleared for agricultural use, the bees have less natural habitat to thrive in. This results in many bees utilizing human built structures, such as the shed in my grandparents yard. Additionally, as land is transformed to modern agricultural fields, bees have to fly longer distances to find nutritional food or have to relocate altogether. This is incredibly taxing and energy depleting for the bees. Shrinking territory zones, coupled with nutritional stresses, that arise as a result of the industrial agriculture industry result in a variety of challenges to Bombus fraternus livelihoods, as well as is the primary reason for their continual decline in population.
The decline of the Southern Plains Bumblebee is a tragedy for a variety of ways. The Bombus fraternus is a keystone species, meaning it plays a critical role in the ecosystem it is a part of. Bees pollinate native plants that make up the foundation of the ecosystem (Williams et al.). This means that “the loss of bumble bees at a site” would result in “cascading effects on native plant populations, along with birds and mammals that rely on pollinated plants for food and shelter” (Williams et. al). Furthermore, humans depend on bees to pollinate food crops. This dependence can be depicted through the astonishing fact that bees’ “pollination service is worth more than $10 billion annually” (Williams et al.). Abundance and diversity of pollinators is also important because pollination in agricultural crops “increases significantly with pollinator diversity and wild pollinator abundance,” due to the differences in foraging behaviors (Eeraerts). Additionally, bumble bees are especially important because they visit more flowers than honey bees, as well as “can improve the pollination performance of honey bees in crops that depend on cross pollination” (Eeraerts). The Southern Plains Bumblebee is vital for the ecosystem, as well as for humans, and without them we would be in a lot of trouble.
Ultimately, the industrial agriculture industry results in increased pesticide usages, monocultures, and land clearing, which is a major problem resulting in the Bombus fraternus population decline. Numerous other species that are vital for ecosystem functioning and services are also affected in similar ways by the increased intensity of agriculture. Therefore, modern agriculture must change for there to be any major success for the bees, as well as for numerous other species listed as endangered or threatened. We need to realize that monoculture is not natural, nor effective, and thus begin a new and more sustainable way (i.e. intercropping) of growing our food crops. Both agricultural and ecosystem success largely depend on and is interconnected with species like the bee, so protecting them will ultimately be the best way to safeguard human interests.
Sources
Eeraerts, Maxime, et al. “Bumble Bee Abundance and Richness Improves Honey Bee Pollination Behaviour in Sweet Cherry.” Basic and Applied Ecology, vol. 43, Mar. 2020, pp. 27–33. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.baae.2019.11.004.
Jepsen, Sarina, et al. “The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.” Bombus Fraternus, IUCN Redlist, 21 Aug. 2014, www.iucnredlist.org/species/44937623/69001851.
Laycock, Ian, et al. “Effects of Imidacloprid, a Neonicotinoid Pesticide, on Reproduction in Worker Bumble Bees.” Ecotoxicology, vol. 21, no. 7, Oct. 2012, pp. 1937–1945. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10646-012-0927-y.
Suryanarayanan, Sainath, and Daniel Lee Kleinman. Vanishing Bees : Science, Politics, and Honeybee Health. Rutgers University Press, 2017. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.
Williams, Paul, et al. Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide. Princeton University Press, 2014. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.
Taylor Houston | April 2020
If you follow the back roads into the deep country of northeastern North Carolina, you will eventually come to a small farming town in Rich Square, or more accurately in the middle of nowhere. Here, cattle easily outnumber people and there are acres and acres, rows and rows, of soybeans, corn, wheat, and tobacco crops aligned in vast, seemingly never ending, monocultures. One of these farms belong to my grandparents. They have a quaint country home with a lot of land that is usually covered in a golden sea of wheat. When I was little I would go visit them every summer. One of my favorite places to play was in the tractor shed. This is where I had my first up close encounter with the Southern Plains Bumblebee, or Bombus fraternus.
In the shed, hundreds of Southern Plains Bumblebees swarmed in the corners and in the piles of old tractor wheels and rusted parts. To my grandpa, they were a nuisance. He complained saying that they “have so much room outdoors and yet they choose to hole up in my shed.” I now know that in fact the Bombus fraternus does not have as much room outdoors anymore, largely as a result of human encroachment on ‘wildlands,’ which leads them to seek refuge in human settlements (Williams et al.). Regardless, my grandpa’s war with the bees eventually dragged me in as well. He would pay me 25 cents for every bee that I killed. Armed with an electric bug zapper, I would stand in the shed for hours each day collecting a pile of tiny bee carcasses that I would carry back to the house to collect my pay.
As I returned summer after summer I began to notice the number of bees dwindle and eventually vanish altogether, even long after I had stopped murdering them. At the time I was unaware of what else was causing the bees to leave, and as a child I believed that I had scared them all off. However, the crisis the bees faced was a lot deeper and more widespread than a little girl with a bug zapper. Still, if I had known then the importance that the Bombus fraternus plays in ecosystems, as well as how dependent humans are on them, then I would not have dared to slaughter the bees and maybe a few more would exist today.
The Southern Plains Bumblebee is currently listed as endangered with its population continually decreasing (Jepsen et al.). It originally could be found throughout the US, from the coasts of NC down to Fl, as far west as Denver, CO, and as far north as Minnesota (Jepsen et al.). However, in large portions of its territory range, the bee is now considered to be “possibly extinct” (Jepsen et al.). As the issue became more widespread, beekeepers began to notice a correlation between colony collapse disorder, or the mass die off of entire bee colonies, and proximity to agricultural farms/crops that use “neonicotinyl insecticides (or neonicotinoids) such as imidacloprid and clothianidin” (Suryanarayanan and Kleinman).
Studies were eventually done to confirm what the beekeepers observed. It was found that exposure to these common agriculture pesticides resulted in less fertility in male bumble bees (Laycock et al.). In fact, it was found that “environmentally realistic dosages” were “capable of reducing brood production by ⅓” (Laycock et al.). The reduced fertility observed is speculated to be as a result of nutrient deficiency because neonicotinyl insecticides reduce feeding on flower pollen and syrup (Laycock et al.). These findings emphasize the effect that pesticides have on overall bumble bee health and reproduction, as well as on “wild bumble bee populations” (Laycock et al.).
Another nutritional stress that the Bombus fraternus face as a result of modern, industrial agriculture is “more expansive monocultures” (Suryanarayanan and Kleinman). Monocultures are a nutritional stress on bees because they are attracted to more diverse arrangements of flowers in order to meet all nutritional needs (Williams et al.). Additionally, monocultures are harmful to bees because they have one growing season opposed to a more diverse field that has varied seasons. Varied growing seasons help ensure that the bees always have a source of food. Furthermore, the “simplification of agriculture in the sense of” growing “genetically similar monocrops” leads to crops becoming “highly vulnerable to outbreaks of pests and plant diseases” (Suryanarayanan and Kleinman). This means that the “establishment of monocropping [goes] hand in hand with the development of new agrochemicals” (Suryanarayanan and Kleinman). Therefore, monocultures tie into the impacts that insecticides have on bee nutrition, reproduction, and population.
However, nutritional stresses are not the only threat that the Bombus fraternus face as a result of industrial agriculture. Another major threat is habitat loss and destruction. As more land is cleared for agricultural use, the bees have less natural habitat to thrive in. This results in many bees utilizing human built structures, such as the shed in my grandparents yard. Additionally, as land is transformed to modern agricultural fields, bees have to fly longer distances to find nutritional food or have to relocate altogether. This is incredibly taxing and energy depleting for the bees. Shrinking territory zones, coupled with nutritional stresses, that arise as a result of the industrial agriculture industry result in a variety of challenges to Bombus fraternus livelihoods, as well as is the primary reason for their continual decline in population.
The decline of the Southern Plains Bumblebee is a tragedy for a variety of ways. The Bombus fraternus is a keystone species, meaning it plays a critical role in the ecosystem it is a part of. Bees pollinate native plants that make up the foundation of the ecosystem (Williams et al.). This means that “the loss of bumble bees at a site” would result in “cascading effects on native plant populations, along with birds and mammals that rely on pollinated plants for food and shelter” (Williams et. al). Furthermore, humans depend on bees to pollinate food crops. This dependence can be depicted through the astonishing fact that bees’ “pollination service is worth more than $10 billion annually” (Williams et al.). Abundance and diversity of pollinators is also important because pollination in agricultural crops “increases significantly with pollinator diversity and wild pollinator abundance,” due to the differences in foraging behaviors (Eeraerts). Additionally, bumble bees are especially important because they visit more flowers than honey bees, as well as “can improve the pollination performance of honey bees in crops that depend on cross pollination” (Eeraerts). The Southern Plains Bumblebee is vital for the ecosystem, as well as for humans, and without them we would be in a lot of trouble.
Ultimately, the industrial agriculture industry results in increased pesticide usages, monocultures, and land clearing, which is a major problem resulting in the Bombus fraternus population decline. Numerous other species that are vital for ecosystem functioning and services are also affected in similar ways by the increased intensity of agriculture. Therefore, modern agriculture must change for there to be any major success for the bees, as well as for numerous other species listed as endangered or threatened. We need to realize that monoculture is not natural, nor effective, and thus begin a new and more sustainable way (i.e. intercropping) of growing our food crops. Both agricultural and ecosystem success largely depend on and is interconnected with species like the bee, so protecting them will ultimately be the best way to safeguard human interests.
Sources
Eeraerts, Maxime, et al. “Bumble Bee Abundance and Richness Improves Honey Bee Pollination Behaviour in Sweet Cherry.” Basic and Applied Ecology, vol. 43, Mar. 2020, pp. 27–33. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.baae.2019.11.004.
Jepsen, Sarina, et al. “The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.” Bombus Fraternus, IUCN Redlist, 21 Aug. 2014, www.iucnredlist.org/species/44937623/69001851.
Laycock, Ian, et al. “Effects of Imidacloprid, a Neonicotinoid Pesticide, on Reproduction in Worker Bumble Bees.” Ecotoxicology, vol. 21, no. 7, Oct. 2012, pp. 1937–1945. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10646-012-0927-y.
Suryanarayanan, Sainath, and Daniel Lee Kleinman. Vanishing Bees : Science, Politics, and Honeybee Health. Rutgers University Press, 2017. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.
Williams, Paul, et al. Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide. Princeton University Press, 2014. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.