How long would we survive if every bee on earth died?

Question

i know bees are an important to our lives. i heard that we could live only 3-4 years if every bee on earth died. is this true?

Answer 1

In three to four years the population of the world would be only one quarter of what existed the day the bees died.

Answer 2

I would say that it's hard to answer this question. While we know alot about most species on the earth, it is sometimes hard to really tell what their importance really is to the ecosystem unless they are eradicated somehow. Bees are responsible for most of the pollination that occurs in nature. So are butterflies and other insects. I have to disagree with the first answer that any plants would "rapidly adapt" to pollination through other means. I believe they might die off before that could happen. If too many species of plants die off, so do the things that eat them (herbivores). Once the herbivores begin to die, the carnivores starve. Thus, the ecosystem collapses. You see?

Bees are a link in a very important chain. While I'm not sure about the validity of the whole 3-4 years thing, I do know that it could cause serious problems, especially in other countries.

Answer 3

We'd adapt.  Bees are important, but remember that in the Americas most agricultural bees are actually nonnative species from Europe.  If there were no more bees, some species of plants would go extinct, and others would rapidly adapt to be pollinated by other means.  Humans and other species that depend on plants would start eating those plants that did survive.