Read this excerpt from a blog. I was alarmed to discover that local farmers are increasing
their use of pesticides on wheat fields. While these
chemicals help to get rid of the insects that damage the
crops, they also cause great harm to butterfly and honey bee
populations. These insects are a necessary part of our
ecosystem because they spread pollen that allows our
plants, flowers, and crops to grow. To learn more about this
issue and how you can make a difference, visit
http://www. savingearth. org.
Which sentence would help the author develop the claim that
pesticides harm butterfly and honeybee populations?
Scientists believe that there are more than fifteen kinds of
honeybees and twenty thousand species of butterflies in
the world today.
A recent study found that butterfly and honeybee
populations decreased by sixty percent in areas that used
pesticides.
The chemicals found in pesticides can become absorbed
into the soil and affect humans' food and water supplies.
Farmers argue that today's pesticides target only the
insects that destroy wheat and corn crops.