"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.

Question

1 of 2 Question Use the article excerpt to answer the question. It is possible to infer from this excerpt something about future efforts to save the bees. What inference can you make? In 3–5 sentences, state your inference and provide strong and thorough textual evidence from the excerpt to support the inference.

The answer is must be very clear. The answer is fully supported by details.

Answer 1

From the excerpt, it can be inferred that future efforts to save bee populations must address the interconnectedness between commercial and wild bees, particularly regarding disease transmission. The text states, “the more that bees are transported and concentrated for larger-scale pollination events, the more opportunities for diseases to spread,” indicating that managing the transportation and concentration of commercial bees is crucial. Additionally, the phrase “it’s likely the transmission is going both ways” suggests that measures must be taken to protect both bee populations from cross-contamination. Therefore, future conservation strategies should not only promote the planting of bee-friendly flowers but also implement practices that minimize disease spread between managed and wild bee populations.