The Importance Of Bees In Today's Society!

Why Bees Are Important To Our Planet

I have long been terrified of bees. I think they are wonderful little creatures who possess great power to influence our wildlife (and our food, despite my dislike of honey) - but the fact they also possess a painful sting in their abdomen has always put me off. Alas, in recent years the 'buzz' about bees has grown evermore, as reports continue to state that their numbers are in decline, and it is already affecting the environment.

So what's all the fuss about?

Honey bees in particular are easily the most important to the farming community, as they are the most prominent pollinating insect in the world. Without them, less flowers are pollinated, and we're not talking about a few hundred, we're nearing the hundreds of thousands mark. They are able to pollinate other crops such as cotton, which is equally as important for us, not as a consumable but as a material for a variety of objects we use daily.

It is important to remember that pollination isn't only about the food we eat, but the food the animals eat too. Field beans and clover are just two crops fed to farmyard animals that we humans eat, so without that pollination, it is certain that the production of meat would be in decline too. Out of food production, the act of pollination maintains a diverse set of plant life, and balances the ecosystem so that a species won't eventually die out.

For the most part, bees live in solitude, and only a minority actually live in hives alongside their queens and fellow workers. This in itself is a benefit, as the solitary bees have more chance of survival as they are less reliant on having a hive to share, and are at a lower risk of being attacked by foes from the same colony. One report tells of bees pollinating around 80% of all wildflowers in Europe, which is an impressive statistic for such a little insect. Such a steep decline of these flying insects has been met with much controversy, now including both public and political viewpoints on how to fix the problem before it is too late.

Our population is forever growing. We'll need more food for us all in the future, and with the declining numbers of pollinators, it seems that we will soon run out of resources further down the line if something isn't changed along the way. As of this post being written, only three million beehives are estimated to be left in the wild, which isn't a huge sum at all in comparison to the billions of people in the world. Thankfully, there are plenty of organisations around who are equally as dedicated to helping the bee population grow again. Just one of these organisations is the City Beekeeping Organisation.

This site was particularly helpful in finding out exactly what bees do for us, have a look:

http://www.lifebasicsorganics.com/blog/why-are-bees-important