Honeybees Impact On Society

In Egypt 3000 BC, honey was considered an essential matter in every marriage ceremony, the bridegroom was to promise his bride a specific amount of honey each year. Without honeybees, rituals like this would not be possible. The importance of honeybees producing honey has been a significant importance for many generations. According to the Public Library of Science, it states that “pollinating bees provide a key ecosystem service in both natural and agricultural environments” (Dolezal, et., al 2016). Honeybees play a large roll in our agricultural system by flourishing our crops and fields. Today’s honeybee population; is rapidly decreasing and disappearing by the bulk because of habitat loss, pesticide exposure and other parasites. This rapid

Pollinating bees, such as honeybees live solely off flowers such as lavender. Yet, humans need more than just flowers to maintain life. Humans need food, plants and oxygen to live. Honeybees provide humans with those exact necessities of life. This means that worker bees pollinate flowers, which leads to the growth of other flowers, giving humans oxygen and in some cases, food. According to Bee Culture, The Magazine of American Beekeeping, it states, “colonies situated in landscapes composed of more than 50% urban areas were significantly more productive than colonies situated in those with more than 50% agricultural areas or those in mixed areas” (“The Effect of Landscape on Honey Bee Colony Productivity,” 2015). This means that studies have proven bee colonies thrive far greater in urban areas, on top of buildings, than in agricultural areas where harsh chemicals lie. By implementing beehives on the Environmental Science building, worker bees will pollinate Grand Canyon University’s campus and the surrounding area with more flowers and plants. It will also increase the pollination of small agricultural crops in nearby areas and provide some necessities that give humans

The concerns that some have is that if Grand Canyon University has one or more beehives the risk of swarms and bee sings can increase which can result in pain from a sting or in some cases life threatening allergy attacks. Although these safety issues can already happen naturally, some would say that adding beehives can cause major safety issues on campus. At the Hilltop Garden and Nature Center at Indiana University, students have started a beekeeping club to establish awareness of the ongoing death of bee colonies which started in 2014 (Fryling, Hinnefeld & Toler, 2015). With a few years of experience in beekeeping, Indiana University has not experienced any serious problems with the clubs bee hives. One student states, “an occasional sting is part of the price that beekeepers can expect to pay” (2015). Although, bee stings are expected when dealing with honeybees, there are no serious incidents that have occurred from the beekeeping’s at Indiana University campus. This shows that other universities with the practice of beekeeping have not experienced incidents of bee swarms, nor acts of aggression from the bees towards students or supervisors. Thus, implementing beekeeping at Grand Canyon University would not have any serious repercussions that would not happen