Question

"Are Commercial Honeybees Making Wild
Bees Sick?"
by Berly McCoy

If human-managed bees and bee-friendly flowers are acting as hotspots for pathogens, keeping more bees
and planting more flowers may be contributing to the steep losses in commercial pollinators seen in the U.S.
each year, as well as fueling the decline of wild bees. The more that bees are transported and concentrated for
larger-scale pollination events, the more opportunities for diseases to spread.

And it's not just a one-way street.

"It's likely the transmission is going both ways," said Scott McArt, a pollinator ecologist at Cornell University
who was not involved in the study. Even if diseases in commercial bees are eliminated, new infections from the
wild bee population, which are known to harbor pathogens, could spill back into managed populations, making
disease eradication even tougher than it is now.

From the urban gardener to the rural farmer, people are encouraged to grow "bee-friendly" plants.

"But in some cases you might actually be increasing disease levels when you plant those flowers," said Sheila
Colla, a conservation biologist at York University who was not involved in the study. "Maybe we need to have a
[buffer] area without flowers to stop diseases from spreading to wild bees."
Nobody is suggesting we stop planting flowers altogether. "We know that habitat loss is already a big problem
for bees," said Alger. Instead, she's now investigating if increasing plant diversity, or culling certain plants could
help decrease disease transmission.

She added that beekeepers and farmers need to take a long, hard look at how they are managing bees.

Use the article excerpt to answer the question.

What text evidence supports the statement that human actions are harming bees? Select the two
correct answers.

(1 point)

A researcher claimed habitat loss is already a major issue for bees.

A conservation biologist claimed that planting bee-friendly flowers might actually increase disease
levels.

The author claimed beekeepers and farmers need to think more deeply about how they are
managing bees.

The author claimed that when bees are moved around to pollinate farms, there is a greater chance
for diseases to spread.

A pollinator ecologist claimed disease transmission goes both ways between human-managed bees
and wild bees.

Answer 1

- A conservation biologist claimed that planting bee-friendly flowers might actually increase disease levels.
- The author claimed that when bees are moved around to pollinate farms, there is a greater chance for diseases to spread.