Bees: The Invaluable Master Pollinators
Bee pollination is important to the human food supply.Copyright 2006 Wendy Holmgren. Used with permission.
The study of biomimicry and sustainable design promises great benefits in design applications, offering cost-effective, resourceful, non-polluting avenues for new enterprise. An important final caveat for students to understand is that once copied, species are not expendable. Biomimicry is intended to help people by identifying natural functions from which to pattern human-driven services. Biomimicry was never intended to replace species. Ecosystems remain in critical need of ongoing protection and biodiversity must be preserved for the overall health of the planet. This activity addresses the negative ramifications of species decline. For example, pollinators such as bees are a vital work force in agriculture. They perform an irreplaceable task in ensuring the harvest of most fruit and vegetable crops. In the face of the unexplained colony collapse disorder, we are only now beginning to understand how invaluable these insects are in keeping food costs down and even making the existence of these foods possible for humans.
Engineering solutions are, unfortunately, not always feasible or economical compared to those "services" already provided by natural systems and organisms. This holds true for the natural functioning of wetlands compared to the civil engineering construction of levees as revealed through the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Engineering designs have limitations.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate uses of biomimicry.
- Understand the intrinsic value of natural systems and species to the health of the planet and to ourselves.
- Be able to evaluate and question the wisdom of humans' choices in systems that replace the natural function provided inherently by ecosystems.
- Explain why bees are master pollinators and cannot be mimicked cost effectively by humans.