Honeybees are extremely important for the environment. Besides providing honey, honeybees pollinate crops, giving us 70 to 75% of the fruits, vegetables and nuts that we eat.
However, in the last few years, honeybees have started to disappear. Millions of honeybee hives or colonies have died. This condition is known as colony collapse disorder or CCD.
According to a prevailing research, a number of reasons are responsible for this disorder. One of them is pesticides like neonicotinoids. They kill crop eating insects and pests. However, neonicotinoids affect honeybee’s central nervous system. Hence, it cannot navigate its way to the hive. It gets lost and eventually dies. Along with pesticides, parasites like Varroa mites, climate change and habitat loss are some factors that are contributing to the decline of bees.
