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Olivia Madalone
Davey Mills
AP English IV
24 October, 2016
Decline of the Pollinators
Thesis: Pollinators work to provide food, a stable economy, and compose a large basis
for ecosystems around the world. It is therefore the indirect job of humanity to protect
these fragile creatures.
I.

Introduction

II.

Food
A.

B.

III

1.

Loss of jobs

2.

Economic impact

Loss of crops
1.

Colony Collapse Disorder

2.

Pesticide uses

Environment
A.

B.
IV

Economy

Cleaner environments and ecosystems

1.

Oxygen production

2.

Carbon Dioxide reduction

Erosion prevention

Ecosystems
A.

Pollination

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B.
V

Death of many species pollinated

Conclusion

Decline of the Pollinators

Plants, fruits, vegetables, they all create a major component in the intricate web
known as the environment. Pollinators are the source behind the production, the hand

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of mother nature that guides the continuation of vegetation. But, suddenly, pollinators
are disappearing around the world, exponentially declining each year. Pollinators are
the basis of vegetation production and it is the duty of humanity to preserve their impact
by working to take cautionary procedures necessary for their survival. Pollinators work
to provide food, a stable economy, and compose a large basis for ecosystems around
the world. It is therefore the indirect job of humanity to protect these fragile creatures
from mankind's own destruction. Bees, moths, bats, all work to pollinate the fruits and
vegetable plants gathered world-wide. From impacts of pesticides, sparsity of land,
global warming, and urbanization, pollinators are vanishing, and with them disappears a
vital energy source that feeds into the creation of the ecosystem of the world.
Opposing sides seem to claim that pollinators are not important, that there should
be no need of concern when there are numerous bees and butterflies found globally.
They claim that pollinators are not dying, they are simply overpopulating, with no value
to humanity. Although this is a common misconception, it is entirely inaccurate.
Numerous studies have been conducted on pollinator population declines. Iowa
experienced a decline in nearly seventy percent of their bee hive populations with
California producing less than half of their average honey per year. This decline is not
simply a bee death, it is an economic threat to the worlds economy. Honey bees
pollinate over $40 billion dollars worth of the nations overall agricultural produce each
year. If these pollinators become extinct so does their ability to fertilize and help
reproduce vegetative plant species (Hagopian).
Pollinators are the organisms behind the web of life, a web that buries humanity
in its intricate strings of complexity. Without pollinators, this world would cease to exist

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as it currently functions. When pollinators are destroyed, so is the worlds leading food
source for all categories of life. Plants that depend on pollination make up 35 percent of
global crop production (Schwartz 3) Without pollination, many plants, such as
blueberries, squash, almonds, and even coffee, would fail to survive. If thirty-five
percent of all global crop production fails, a large, vital component of the worlds food
supply diminishes. These crops will ultimately fail, leading to a lack of available food for
all life. Without the assistance of pollinators such as bees or ants, the fruits and seeds
humanity generally depends on for energy would fail to be produced. Over 75% of all
flowering plants are pollinated by animals (Pollinators). With so many plants
flourishing due to pollination, when pollination simply becomes a past tense, these
plants will be unable to survive. If plants begin to die, species become extinct and
ecosystems, along with food, become destroyed. Pollination is a vital occurrence in
nature that is necessary in order for certain plant reproduction. When plant reproduction
fails, no new offspring are produced and, ultimately, that specific species becomes
extinct over time due to a lack of fertility. Deaths of plants would plague the ecosystems,
resulting in a sparsity of various nutritional needs that the human diet requires. A wide
variety of vitamins and minerals would no longer be plentiful and abundant. Humanity
no longer would have the sudden comfort created by the close proximity of nutrition
(Center For Pollinator Research).
Pollinators provide reproduction to over 180,000 different plant species meaning
that one out of every three bites that an individual consumes is a direct result of
pollination (Pollinators Need You, You Need Pollinators). Without these small, yet
important creatures in the ecosystem, most fruit and vegetables would no longer be

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found in mass amounts. Vegetation would be grounded, agricultural crops would be
destroyed, resulting in a fundamental lack of species diversity. When asked about the
most important pollinator benefit, Mary Carmichael, a ten year private beekeeper,
responded, saying Bees are very important in my life. Not only do they, and other
pollinators, provide food like honey for many families, they also help crops to flourish
and produce greater abundance of fruits and vegetables. Without them many products
available would be scarce to find. Bees and other pollinators work together to help
produce what many humans need. Destruction of these organisms is not solely a
destruction to pollinators, but it is a devastating destruction to one of humanitys most
vital sources for life, food.
Pollinators represent the innocence of nature, but that innocence often morphs
into the corruption of society. Pollination is a vital component in the success and
production in the agricultural aspect of the economy. Pollinators work to increase plant
production, raising the total crop yield that many farmers experience today. Plants
dependent on pollination contribute as much as $577 billion a year, helping to improve
the global economy. If these plants are no longer able to continue their production,
money begins to cease its flow, and with that lack of income comes an onslaught of
unemployment (Schwartz 3). The agricultural system, for which pollinators play a key
role, creates millions of jobs worldwide (Schwartz 3). These pollinators are responsible
for fertilizing millions of plant species. These global crops create multiple jobs in the
agricultural work force, providing benefits for the economy and establishing stable
incomes for thousands of families worldwide. Pollinators work to raise the abundance of
fruit and vegetables produced by certain plants, which in turn are then gathered and

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manufactured as necessary items available for the public. Over 217 billion dollars are
added to the global economy along with 1.2 to 5.4 billion dollars in agricultural
productivity resulting from honey bees alone (Pollinators Need You, You Need
Pollinators). The food that is necessary for survival derives from pollination, helping to
provide jobs and money for the public around the world.
Honey bees are the most economically valuable pollinators for crop production.
Without their contribution to specific plants for farmers, more than ninety percent of
various, fruit, seeds, and vegetable crops decrease their total output for production
(Klein 4). When questioned about her opinion on pollinators impacts on the economy,
Mary Carmichael said Bee populations are declining which can be seen by my lack of
honey gathered each year. With many beekeepers like myself producing no honey for
private sell, I am losing a lot of money by maintaining beehives. Pollinators help many
crops, such as my own, flourish and allow farmers to grow and sell many products.
This commute of economic income is what employs thousand of workers each year and
contributes billions of dollars to the worlds economy. Pollinators are important for
sustaining the life span of specific plants as well as improving their seed dispersal.
Without these pollinators, many crops would be unable to produce specific fruits and
vegetables along with an inability to produce more vegetative offspring (Seed
Dispersal).
Pollinator populations are currently in decline. With more frequent urbanization
occurring, deforestation, and the common uses of specific pesticides, pollinators are
disappearing from their habitats. Currently, many pesticides are being used to control
inhive insects or mites on crops. This poisoning is resulting in the disappearance, also

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known as the Colony Collapse Disorder, of many bee hives around the world (Colony
Collapse Disorder 9). Colony Collapse Disorder, also known as CCD, poses a major
threat to bee hives globally. Colony Collapse Disorder is the phenomenon that occurs
when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen,
plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the
queen. In 2007, high losses of bee colony populations were reported, with as much as
thirty to ninety percent of all hives lost in those affected by CCD and other harmful
factors. When a hives working bees disappear, so does the survival of the functioning
hive and products. Without worker bees, hives are unable to survive, and ultimately fail
to sustain themselves for a long period of time, referred to as CCD (Colony Collapse
Disorder).
When discussing CCD, a large question that arises from people is why this is
happening. With Colony Collapse Disorder there are multiple components in the
reasoning. New diseases are emerging for honey bees, there is an increase in the
varroa mite population, and changes in bee foraging habitats all work to diminish bee
populations. However, the most substantial reason behind CCD is pesticide poisoning.
Many farmers use pesticides in order to decrease the amount of mites on their crops.
These pesticides however, contain numerous chemicals harmful to bees, the organisms
behind the crops survival. In using these pesticides, farmers are ultimately destroying
the very life they wish to protect, diminishing the threat of mites while destroying the
pollination of bees (Colony Collapse Disorder).
Luckily, many actions have been taken in order to decrease the devastating
impact of the Colony Collapse Disorder. Multiple surveys and data have been collected

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to determine the health of honey bees with new pesticides and pathogens being tested
for the cause. Preventive measures taken by farmers can help improve the honey bee
hive populations. By choosing to use pesticides lacking harmful chemicals that destroy
beehives, CCD can be reduced and pollination can continue to flourish, fertilizing the
very crops farmers vow to protect (Colony Collapse Disorder).
Without pollinators such as honey bees or ants, many crucial crops, including
almonds and blueberries, become a more scarce product to produce. Pollinators play a
significant role in the production of more than 150 food crops in the United States.
Many products including honey, are a direct result and product from bees. With a lack of
bees to satisfy the constant demand for honey, farmers are not able to continue
production, resulting in a negative impact on the global economy. If pollinators are not
able to reproduce than many leading raw materials produced in the United States
become unavailable for the public and for world trade. This decline of world resources
would eventually result in an increased need of importations of raw goods from other
countries, impacting the current tax rate for American citizens (Pollination: An Essential
Ecosystem Service)
The sudden loss of pollinators has resulted in many farmers losing money on
crops they are producing. For example, in 1994, honey bee shortages caused many
farmers in California to import bees from various states in order to ensure the
production of their $800 million dollar almond crop. Crops will be unable to produce the
expected amount of materials when there is a lack of pollinators enabling that
production. In Alabama, a single southeastern blueberry bee pollinates approximately
$75 worth of berries by visiting nearly 50,000 blueberry flowers in a year. With no

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pollinators left to fertilize these plants, no fruit is able to be produced resulting in a loss
for the economy. The goal of any living organism in nature is to reproduce. Plants rely
on other organisms to transfer pollen from one plant to another, causing the creation of
seed formation. Without pollinators, crops would begin to fail, numerous agricultural jobs
would be lost, and the economy would slowly begin to decline with the disappearance of
the bees (Pollination: An Essential Ecosystem Service).
With the increasing decline of pollinator populations, not only are global food
resources experiencing a rapid decline, but ecosystems are destroyed as well. Many
pollinators, such as bees, are responsible for the fertilization of numerous flower
species. Many people fail to recognize that these plants are responsible for humanitys
survival, not just in food production. Flowering plants are responsible for the oxygen that
every living creature needs to breathe. Increased pollination leads to numerous new
plant generations which work as a lead producer of oxygen. With global warming
becoming an increased eminent threat and world-wide pollution at an all time high, plant
species are needed now more than ever (Why Is Pollination Important for Native
Wildflowers).
Not only do pollinators produce oxygen, they rob the atmosphere of the very
thing threatening to kill the world, carbon dioxide. Plants need carbon dioxide to survive
and pollinators work to reproduce plant species, decreasing the suffocating blanket of
carbon dioxide covering the earth. Flowering plants help to purify water and prevent
erosion through roots that holds the soil in place. Many plants contain a fibrous root
system, where the roots are small and less clustered. They act as a backbone, guiding
its way through the soil, becoming a protective netting which prevents common erosion.

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Without pollinators, there would be no protective netting for the earth. If there are no
pollinators, fertilization is nonexistent, and when reproduction fails to occur, that species
begins to fade, dying until it no longer exists. Pollinators are the source behind
ecosystems, the power that ebbs through the complex systems, ensuring each species
survival. Without them pollution would increase and many of the ecosystems powering
the world would crumble, collapsing within its own destruction (Why Is Pollination
Important for Native Wildflowers).
Pollinators are not simply small creatures that are abundant in nature. They are
not just an insect with a purpose. They are the hand behind the actions, the mystery
behind nature. They provide all life with numerous food sources, helping humanity to
improve their economy and flourish in agricultural aspects of a community. The world is
shaped by pollinators, ecosystems in the world all exist due to the helping hand of
pollinators. When they go extinct, so does most life on earth. From helping plants
reproduce to help grow more food, providing millions of jobs in agricultural farming,
stabilizing ecosystems, and detoxing the atmosphere from harmful carbon dioxide and
producing more oxygen, all pollinators are important. They may be small, but their
impact is immense. The world as it is would be non-existent without the help of the tiny
organisms referred to as the pollinators.

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Works Cited
"Biology of Plants: Seed Dispersal." Biology of Plants: Seed Dispersal. Missouri
Botanical Garden, 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
Carmichael, Mary. "Pollinator Importance." Personal interview. 10 Nov. 2016.
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Sheets: Pollination. Ecological Society of America, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
"Colony Collapse Disorder." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 17 Nov.
2016.
"Globally, Pollinators Are in Decline (Center for Pollinator Research)." Center for
Pollinator Research (Penn State University). Penn State College of Agricultural
Sciences, 2016. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
Hagopian, Joachim. "Death and Extinction of the Bees | Global Research ..."
GlobalResearch. GlobalResearch, 4 Oct. 2016. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
Klein, Alexandra-Maria. "Importance of Pollinators in Changing Landscapes for World
Crops." Home. The Royal Society, 7 Feb. 2007. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

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