The sight of bees buzzing around the table makes even the bravest among us run away. They are so tiny & it does hurt when they sting, but did you know that bees carry the weight of the world on their backs?
We should all be grateful to bees since without them, we would have died long ago. In this series let’s look at how mankind benefits from the busy bee.
Bees and the Economy
Through insect pollination, honeybees contribute significantly to the annual income of countries all over the world.
Many flowering food crops, such as apples, pears, field beans, runner and dwarf beans, broad beans, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and others, rely on honeybees for pollination.
Even if a crop is not directly pollinated by a honeybee, the crop benefits indirectly from being in an environment where honey bees are active. The enhanced biodiversity that results in the region encourages crop growth.
Crops & Pollination
From an early age, we are taught that bees carry pollen from flower to flower, in a process known as pollination.
Some pollen gathers on the bee's fuzzy legs and is later fed to the baby bees for nutrition. Bees feed on pollen, which is transformed into energy, allowing the bee to fly for long periods of time in order to gather and spread pollen.
In general, bees pollinate almost 85% of all food crops for humans, as well as countless crops that generate food for cattle. Crops thrive as a result of the bees' attention and produce fruit, vegetables, flowers, nuts, seeds, beans, and much more.
Our food alternatives would be severely limited if the honeybee did not exist, and research has been undertaken that predicts an environmental collapse, if the honeybee stops exist.
The Fate Of The Bees & The Environment
Unfortunately, each year, a huge percentage of bee species die out owing to a variety of problems such as disease, parasites, pesticides, and the depletion of their primary food sources. We will lose harvests as more species perish, and certain plants will become extinct if bees do not play their role.
Mass bee fatalities have already been linked to the usage of harmful pesticides. Catastrophic climate change has provided scientists with additional evidence of how delicate our environment truly is.
Habitats for Wildlife
Bees are well-known for their intricate hives, but they also assist in the construction of houses for millions of other insects and animals. Their pollination role is critical to the growth of tropical forests, savannah woodlands, and temperate deciduous forests.
Many tree species, such as willows and poplars, could not survive without pollinators such as bees. If bees became extinct, so would the creatures that rely on these plants for survival.
In the upcoming blogs we shall take a look at specific “bee” products & biproducts that benefit us today!
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