Protecting Animals: Bees

What is the main idea of the text?

• Bees can live in many different places in America.

• Bee stings can hurt, but are usually not too harmful.

• Bees are studied by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

• Bees are important to our world and people want to find ways to save them.

Which detail from the text explains why bees are disappearing?

• "But did you know that bees are vital to growing the world's food?" (Paragraph 3)

• "The USDA also shares that the country has 4,000 native species of bees, but wild bees cannot pollinate all of the country's food — too many crops and not enough wild bees." (Paragraph 5)

• "Over the last 15 years, scientists noticed a significant decline in the number of honey bees, according to National Geographic." (Paragraph 7)

• "The leading cause of Colony Collapse Disorder is a deadly parasite called varroa mite." (Paragraph 8)

Which statement describes the relationship between farmers and beekeepers in the article?

• Farmers think that bees are harmful, but beekeepers are trying to teach them that bees are helpful.

• Farmers need bees for their crops to grow, and beekeepers bring bees to different farms.

• Farmers take care of bees on their farms, but beekeepers want to leave them in nature.

• Farmers have lots of bees to keep safe, and beekeepers come to their farms to help them.

Re-read this line from Paragraph 4: "By buzzing between plants, bees unknowingly move pollen from one plant to another." In this sentence, "unknowingly" means that the bees —

• are not aware they have pollen on them.

• are able to pollinate many plants quickly.

• are able to make a lot of buzzing noises.

• are not moving very much pollen.

Honey bees are important because...

• they sting people.

• they live in colonies.

• they help plants grow.

• they travel with beekeepers.

Bees are dying because...

• their hives are falling down.

• their hives are being attacked.

• people are putting poison in their hives.

• people are eating less fruits and vegetables.

One way to help honey bees is...

• plant a garden.

• not be afraid of them.

• move bees to a new home.

• spray weeds with chemicals.

What part of speech is the word pollen?

• adjective

• noun

• verb

• adverb

What is the best synonym for the word vital? (Hint: A synonym is a word that means the same thing!)

• important

• great

• happy

• useful

Which of the following is NOT a native species to Maryland.

• Deer

• Blue Bird

• Kangaroo

• Black Snake