It was the start of the new year, only January 10th, 2017 and for the first time the bumblebees hit the endangered species list. The insects that make our world go around with delicious fruits and beautiful flowers have run into colony collapse disorder; which has descended the population by 90% since the 1990’s. The decrease of bees began in Hawaii during September of 2016, but later on, the cutback hit within the other 48 states. With all the diseases and Varroa Mites, pesticides, climate change, and habitat loss, the bees and many other species are facing great danger.

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The spread of colony collapse disorder didn't stop in

North America. Europe was going through the same

struggles and asking the same question of; “how to save

the bee colonies.” Many assumed the use of neonicotinoids

on gardens, lawns, and forests were the big reason for the

decline. This insecticide is embedded within the plant’s

roots or seeds, as the plant grows it will be protected

from insects like the very hungry caterpillars,

demonstrated in Eric Carle’s book, The Very Hungry 

Caterpillar who eats everything in its sight.

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Neonicotinoids attack the insects nervous system, such as bees and earthworms (which are key

insects for plant growth), but for mammals it’s a low toxicity. The European Commission reduced the use of three major neonicotinoids and announced, “I pledge to my utmost to ensure that our bees, which are so vital to our ecosystem and contribute over 22 billion Euros [$29 billion] annually to European agriculture, are protected.” But as for Canada, whom use this same type of insecticide did not undergo the population drop as significantly. Although neonicotinoids were confirmed not being the sole descendant of the pollinators, Europe took an exceptional approach on the pledge to cut back on these insecticides. As for the U.S., we use neonicotinoids on 85% of our crops. 

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You might be asking why the bee population caught so much attention to the government. Well, the answer is quite simple: money. The estimated worth of the bee population in the U.S. is three billion dollars a year. To put a stop to our loss, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency worked hard to inspect the pesticides and insecticides. The EPA has been able to form many proposals on bans towards fumigations on crops that involve the process of pollination by bees. Neonicotinoids were concluded to be a cause of poor reproduction and shorter life spans within the colonies. With this research, scientist have conducted a new insecticide that doesn't affect any bees.

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Our buzzing bee problems aren’t over yet, and this is why we need to save them on a larger scale. According to populationmatters.org, as the population increases significantly over the next few years, we will need 70% more food by 2050. Fun fact, it gets worse, and 2050 has a lot to offer. Not only will the world need to increase its food supply, but more than 4 billion people will be living in regions short of water, and  worldwide, everyone will be using 71% more resources. Additionally, how could you forget the global demand for energy increasing by 30% before 2040? 

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All things considered, the bumblebees can't fix all our problems, but the world can save them from the problems we adapted them to. By the end of 2017, the bee population increased by 27%. But there’s a desperate need for that percentile to continue increasing as we move forward in population expansion.