Why We Should Save Bees: Importance of Bees to our Planet
With its black and gold stripes, translucent wings and signature furry body the bee is a common sight in woods and gardens around the world. But do you know how important are bees to our planet and the threats it is facing?
Often seen buzzing from flower to flower, it’s as difficult to imagine a life without bees as it is to envisage one without trees. These hard-working winged invertebrates have been around for millions of years pollinating our plants and producing the sweet golden syrup we call honey. The world without bees is sadly becoming more of a possibility as these important insects are in severe Decline. If bees were to become extinct the planet could be in serious trouble because these creatures are such an integral part of most ecosystems.
Why are bees important?
While too many they are simply the fuzzy flying insects we see darting among the flowers? During the warmer months, bees are actually so much more than this and have an important part to play in maintaining our planet where trees and woods are essential to filter our air. Bees are vital to pollinate the food we need to survive and pollinate many of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the united nations, approximately 80 percent of all flowering plants are specialized for pollination by animals mostly insects which include bees.
Pollination is Crucial
Because many of our vegetables, fruits, and the crops that feed our livestock rely on it to be fertilized. So without it, we could go hungry. Vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, and cucumber rely on the pollination of bees as do apricots, strawberries, apples, tomatoes, and almonds. While there are other methods of pollination including the wind birds, bats, and other insects wild bees are among the most important pollinators; because they are capable of pollinating on a much bigger scale.
Honey
The importance of honey as well as being pollinators honey bees Apis Mellifera also produce honey. This sickly sweet golden liquid is a valuable product not only for its saccharine taste but also due to its medicinal properties and the fact it is so energy dense.
Why Are Bees Disappearing?
Bees are in decline on a global scale as they face many threats from habitat loss to the use of toxic pesticides. Many of the threats to bees share parallels with the threats to trees and woodland. So saving bees go hand in hand with saving trees if these threats aren’t brought under control.
1. Urban Developments &Invasive Farming:
We’d be looking at a future without bees — an increase in urban developments and invasive farming methods has meant that many of the areas bees once called home, no longer exists. These developments are as much a threat to bees as they are to trees and forests.
2. Lose of Food:
eIn the wild several species of bee nest in hollow trees. So as more trees are destroyed, are the homes these bees live in Wildflowers and other areas abundant in flowering plants are also in serious decline. This means that bees lose an important food resource.
3. Use of Pesticides:
The use of pesticides is one of the main threats to our beloved bees. The use of toxic pesticides (whilst pesticides are designed to kill pests due to their intense toxicity) is having an adverse effect on other insects too including bees.
Neonicotinoids in particular cause bees a great deal of harm as when they are sprayed onto plants they are absorbed. When a bee comes to pollinate plants it will ingest this pesticide. This can seriously damage the bee’s Central Nervous System (CNS).
4. Climate Change
Climate change is extreme weather. It often causes another contributing factor in the decline of bees. It disrupts bee nesting behavior and alters the normal seasonal timings — meaning flowers may bloom earlier or later than expected whilst planting trees is helping to mitigate some of the effects of climate change. It is still a serious issue that could prove deadly for many of our bees parasites
5. Diseases:
parasites and diseases are another big threat to bees. Varroa Mite, a destructor is a parasitic mite that clings to the back of the bee passing diseases and viruses to it and gradually draining its strength.
6. Invasive Species:
Some species, in particular, can cause havoc for native species. The Asian Hornet — non-native species can pose another threat to bees. Bears, Skunks, Crab spiders, and Flycatchers eat honeybees and so pose a huge threat.
How We Can Help Bees
Luckily it’s not too late to help save the bees from extinction. There are lots of things you can do to help protect these important creatures. Most of this can be done from the comfort of your own garden and fill your garden with bee-friendly flowers.
- One of the easiest ways to help out bees is by planting lots of flowers in your garden to provide shelter for bees most of which can be done from the comfort of your own garden.
- Like most invertebrates, bees need shelter to nest and hibernate. You can create your own shelter or buy a ready-made bee hotel. Just hang it up in a sunny sheltered spot in your garden and watch bees filling the tubes during the spring and summer months.
- Another way to help bees to extinction is to avoid using pesticides. Pesticides are one of the key threats to bees and so one way to help bees is to stop using them in your own garden.
- Pests provide food for crucial pollinators so leaving them to be controlled naturally is the best choice if you want to help save bees.
Fixing this big problem can start with some small solutions. Each of us can create a bee-friendly habitat in our own yard or gardens to make a difference for bee populations on the local level. If each of us does our part in our own yards the collective benefit to bees will be significant.
