Removing types of flowers from an ecosystem (involves pollenation)

lilyWhite

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I'm pondering an idea for a story (the AW June blog chain, to be precise), but I'm not sure that it would really work the way I have it thought out.

Would bees ceasing to pollenate certain types of flowers cause those flowers to die out in time? Would the loss of certain species of flowers in a forest affect the ecosystem, particularly plant life?
 

mirandashell

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Yes and yes.

The loss of bees will have a massive impact on the ecosystem. To the point where we will lose a large majority of our food sources if we don't do something about it. We may have to pollinate our food plants ourselves.

So yeah, the ramifications of losing bees are huge.
 

ULTRAGOTHA

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Are you asking from the POV of losing the bees? If so, mirandashell is completely correct.

Or are you wondering what might happen if certain flowers stopped being pollinated?

Honey bees were imported to the Americas from Europe. So were many of the crops they pollinate, such as apples. Our ecosystem could probably survive losing many of those crops. Our food system would be (is!) in far greater peril.