If bees go extinct, our flora will take a massive hit, an impact that would most likely lead to our extinction as well.
In order to fight the current dangers threatening the bee population of the US, Utah joins 22 other states in the fight against bee regulations. But this is not the only reason why a recently proposed bill approaches the idea of dismissing regulations aimed at beekeepers.
Most people that grow bees in order to produce honey do not even know about the regulations that force them to register their new bee hives in order to not break the law and face some hefty fines. By making this registration voluntary, as well as put a higher emphasis on beehive registration, more people are expected to grow bees, somewhat quelling the decreasing population of bees.
Besides the removal of the mandatory registration program, this proposed bill will also block cities, counties or other political or regional subdivisions from banning farmers from growing bees on their property. In addition to the benefits gained in regards to bee numbers, farmers will also observe a rather hefty boost in pollination, with their farms growing steadily and become more efficient as time goes on.
The cultivation of bees near farmlands, for pollination or just for producing honey and wax, has been around for over 2000 years, being dated back to 10th century BCE (before our current era) in Israel. But how exactly did humans reach the conclusion that bees can act as a steady food source as well as improve their crops is still debated upon.
According to some research parties, this trend of growing bees may have been instilled in humans by seeing other animals, like bears for instance, indulging themselves with honey. This must have happened in prehistoric times, given the fact that the use of honey as food or medicine has been dated further back than the large-scale beehive farms of Israel.
Unfortunately, in our current times, bees are starting to become fewer and fewer. Even if bees have always had a risk of suffering from mass colony disorders, effectively putting an end to tens of beehives at a time, the rate at which this phenomenon currently progresses is alarming, to say the least.
Several studies are now underway in order to discern if this disorder is caused by specific hormones or a shift in bees’ behavior once a certain population threshold is reached within a hive. Some research teams have also approached the concept of genetically engineering bees that would be completely resistant to this type of disorder, as well as making them safe from various viruses and bacteria.
Hopefully, if Utah joins 22 other states in the fight against bee regulations once the proposed bill passes, the decline in bees will be somewhat quelled. But more serious efforts have to be made in order to stop the threat of bee extinction in its tracks before it’s too late.
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