RP156 Bats and Bees Are Dying

 RP156 Bats and Bees Are Dying

One can sting. One lives in dark caves and reminds us of Dracula. So why should we care if bats and bees are dying?

There are a lot of reasons, actually. Bees pollinate crops. Without enough bees, crops may be less productive and our food supply may be threatened. Bats, on the other hand, eat insects. They keep down pest levels. Without bats to eat pests, we may face a world full of mosquitoes and other harmful bugs.

Scientists know that bees and bats are important, which is why they' re trying to figure out what's wrong with them. So far, however, the problems remain mysterious. We still don't know the cause of Colony collapse Disorder, in which bees from a colony simply disappear. This phenomenon is happening all over the world now. It may be caused by pesticides or malnutrition. It may be related to new human technologies, like cell phones and genetically-modified crops. We must remember how our actions can affect the creatures around us, and how their actions can affect us!

The death of bats is also troubling. Bats are developing White Nose Syndrome, in which a white fungus grows around sick bats' noses. However, the fungus may only be a sign of the real problem, not the cause of the problem. For some reason, bats are starving to death. What we don't know yet is whether they don't have food, can't find their food, or are being stressed to death for some other reason.

We truly are connected to every other living thing on Earth: bats protect us and our food from bugs; bees help our crops flourish. Cute, cuddly animals are not the only ones that are important. All animals deserve respect, and we create problems for ourselves when we forget that.