The Pros And Cons Of Killer Bees

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There are many things that we, as humans, take for granted in our daily lives and do not give secondary thoughts to. We breathe air, walk properly, and eat well. Should any of our everyday gifts be taken away from us, we would learn to appreciate the value of what we had. Many of the foods we eat are based off of the pollination of bees and without them, we do not have our fruits, flowers, and of course, honey. Bee colonies and population are depleting at an incredibly rapid rate, some due to poisonous insecticides and others to major colony collapsing. Though this may seem like a menial issue, many people don’t realize that because of the bees’ hind legs carrying the pollen around, these insects are responsible for more than $15 billion worth in rising crop value per year. Without them, a rapid decrease in …show more content…

Killer bees, imported from Africa to Brazil in 1956, began to actively spread towards regular bee colonies and interbreeding with “assertive dominant genes” (Killer Bees 10). In addition to forcefully overriding different colonies, reports have been given about escaped killer bees attacking humans in the streets, leaving over an estimated 1,000 people in Latin America dead. Wintertime is a significant factor for all bees’ diminishing colonies, however, a condition named Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is a prevalent concern which does not attribute itself to natural causes, Commercial bees, descended from European bees, that interbreed with killer bees, who are not so prone to CCD, may strengthen the colony from collapsing “above 14% per year” (Killer Bess 11). Selective breeding may be the only useful tactic to preserve domesticated bee colonies, since killer bees show a resistance to Varroa mites, and genetically engineering them can prove to maintain colony

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