LS MISA Practice - Session 3b: Bee Populations and Ecosystem Impact

California supplies over 80% of the world's almonds. Each spring millions of honeybees are shipped to California. Almond growers need the honeybees to pollinate their trees. Almond trees rely on honeybee pollination. The almond growers look for hives that can be rented for the pollination season. The table summarizes the large number of honeybees needed.

Hives in California	Hives Needed to Pollinate California Orchards
~500,000	~2,000,000

Honeybees live in a structure called a hive. A hive consists of • one queen bee that lays all the eggs for the hive, • hundreds of male drones whose only job is to mate with the queen, • and 20,000–80,000 worker bees who are responsible for pollination.

Two or more hives are needed per acre to pollinate the almond trees. The graphs show the number of hives and the almond tree acreage over a nine-year period.

During the winter, almond trees remain dormant, existing on stored water and nutrients. In early spring, almond trees begin blooming. The honeybees are released to begin four weeks of work moving from tree to tree pollinating each bloom.

Other insects add competition for the honeybees. The competition causes honeybees to pollinate at a higher rate. All these honeybees together from so many different places could potentially spread viruses and diseases. This could result in a loss of honeybees and, ultimately, almonds. The table summarizes several key factors in bee losses.

Reason for Hive Loss	Possible Causes	Average % of Yearly Loss
colony collapse disorder	• stress of traveling
• habitat change
• poor nutrition
• lack of hibernation period – no rest	~17–20%
pesticide usage	• insecticides and fungicides	~40% and up
harsh winters	• lack of honey
• longer, colder days/nights	~30%

Almond pollination gives honeybees their first food of the year and provides the protein and amino acids their diet requires. Honeybee hives need more than one type of food to remain healthy. A healthy ecosystem is dependent on the honeybee population. The table shows how honeybees affect the rest of the ecosystem they support.

Function	Effect
food source	Bees produce honey for other organisms as well as being a food source for birds and spiders.
plant growth	Wild plants depend on pollination to create seeds.
biodiversity	Bees support the growth of other plants and flowers that are habitats and food sources for others.
wildlife habitats	Honeybees build elaborate hives for themselves, but also help build suitable ecosystems for sustaining other species.