The importance of bees Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The importance of bees - Research Paper Example Female bees have a stinger where venom s stored. In the collection of pollen and nectar, bees pollinate plant flowers. The research project seeks to find out the importance of bees to plants and the ecosystem at large. A discussion on how Human activities positively or negatively affect the life and functions of bees in the botanical world is of concern in this project. It will also highlight the significance of plants in the ecosystem and the need of bees in diversity of plants. The importance of plants in the ecosystem In any ecosystem, the sun is the main source of energy. Plant community forms the largest component of the ecosystem. They trap the energy from the sun using their chlorophyll and make their own food through photosynthesis. In addition, they constitute the primary producers of the ecosystem and pass the energy to primary consumers that feed on them. The energy continues to flow to secondary consumers, tertiary consumers and then the quaternary consumers. It is clear that directly or indirectly plants provide food to all organisms in the ecosystem including humans. They also provide shelter to a number of organisms in the ecosystem (Jorgensen, 2009). Flowering plants dominate the plant community and have flowers (the reproductive organ) as the distinguishing feature. Sexual reproduction in flowering plants involves the formation of gametes and the transfer of the male gamete to the female gamete. This transfer of male gametes or pollen grains (pollination) is by animals or wind. The survival of most flowering plant to another generation depends on the formation seeds from fertilization. The agents of pollination determine the propagation of a variety of plant species (Bailey, 2009). Bees as agents of pollination: research on horticultural plantations Flower pollinators are several. They include bees, birds, bat, other insects, and wind. However, bees play the most important and effective role in pollination. Honeybees are advantageous as pollina tors compared to other types of bees especially in crop production. They collect pollen and nectar from a vast area where plants are growing until the supply is exhausted. Their consistence makes them reliable pollinators unlike other bees and insects that just visit flowers occasionally. They move out in larger numbers making every flower occupied. Honeybees are adapted for pollination in various ways. Possession of certain structures on the hind appendages, allow them to carry pollen. As they move from one flower to another, the pollen falls on the stigmas of the flowers. Their forked body hairs enable them to pick pollen and carry it around while their antennae cleaner enable them to clean the antennae. During this cleaning, pollen grains fall on the stigmas of flowers. According to research, these bees have a way of communicating to other bees (Bailey, 2009). They transmit information about flowering crops to other bees thus making pollination effective and fast. Pollination is not important to some plants such as oranges and grapes. They reproduce without fertilization (parthenocarpy). Only few plants reproduce by these means and all the other fruit plants require fertilization. A few plants are wind and self-pollinated while the others need an animal pollinator. Self-pollinations is rare because plant posses structural mechanism to get rid of it (Lovett, 2011). Experiments on