You might not like bees, you might even be deathly allergic to them, but all of us should recognize the important ecological function they provide.
Unfortunately, bees and other pollinators just like them are at-risk and have seen their population numbers plummet.
The EarthWatch Institute declared bees the most important living beings on the planet during the last meeting of the Royal Geographic Society of London.
They have an important reason for this.
Why bees are so important.
Pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds, moths, and other species feed on a flower’s pollen. This process also leads to plant reproduction by transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma.
Without pollinators doing this, many plants would simply not reproduce.
Bees are the most important pollinators out there.
The Science Times estimates that 70% of the world’s agriculture is dependent upon pollination done exclusively by bee populations.
Humans need plant and agricultural life on the planet in order to survive. It’s what produces the oxygen we breathe. That’s sort of important.
Bee populations are declining drastically. In fact, their populations are disappearing. Every year more and more hives are lost.
“For much of the past ten years, beekeepers, primarily in the United States and Europe, have been reporting annual hive losses of 30 percent or higher, substantially more than is considered normal or sustainable,” reads the Earth Day website.
Fewer bees mean a reduced ability for plants and flowers to reproduce and survive on our planet. Reduced amounts of plants and flowers on our planet reduce the quality of the air we breathe.
Bee numbers keep falling, however, and that has experts across the globe worried.
Why are bee populations declining?
While the root cause of bee population decline is multi-factorial, one of the most significant issues is the loss of habitat. With fewer places to rest and feed, our planet has become a less suitable habitat for bees.
As we pave over more and more of traditional bee habitat, this only increases the problem.
Pesticide use is also a major factor impacting bee populations. Greenpeace has identified 7 different pesticides that, if banned, would greatly help bee populations recover.
The impacts of climate change are also believed to be harming bee populations.
Bees and plants both rely on cues from the weather to let them know when it is spring. If those cues from the environment become out of sync, the bees might not be around at the right time to help the plants pollinate, and not having that source of pollen could cause the bees to starve.
So both pollinators and plants are kind of hoping we get to the bottom of that whole climate change thing.
What you can do to help bee populations.
You can help bee populations recover just by doing some fun gardening work at home. With bee habitat becoming scarce, you can help create some by planting some pollinator-friendly plants in your garden.
Plants such as lavender, Blue Borage flowers, Marjoram, Lilac, and many others can be planted in your garden for bees to feed.
Your garden can provide much-needed food and rest for bees on migratory routes.
Learn more about the importance of bees in the video below.
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