Bee Blooms
Restoring bee habitats through education and creative design
Why are bees important?
Bees are keystone species. This means that the other organisms present in their ecosystem majorly depend on bees, and the ecosystem would change dramatically if they were removed. 90% of wild plants rely on pollinators for survival and reproduction and 30% of the world’s crops rely on bees in particular for cross-pollination. In fact, one in every three bites you eat is dependent on bees. According to UC Berkeley’s Claire Kremen, without bees as pollinators up to 75% of the world’s crops would decrease in productivity. This is chiefly because bees and other insect pollinators increase the biodiversity of crops, which increases their success and productivity as a result. Unfortunately, bees are in a decline and more and more colonies are falling victim to CCD (colony collapse disorder). Scientists have not determined any single factor that is solely responsible for CCD. The decline in bees is probably due to many factors like pesticides, industrial agriculture, parasites, climate change, and fragmentation of habitat.
Here is a short video that covers the importance of bees and goes into more depth on why we are seeing a decline:
What can we do?
There are many little things you can do to help protect bees.
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Plant a diverse selection of bee-friendly plants in your backyard. Bees are healthier when they have a large variety of pollen to choose from because contrary to common belief, not all pollen is the same. Attracting bees to your garden will benefit you too! Just watch as your wildflowers bloom beautifully as a result of the pollination of bees.
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Don’t use pesticides or chemicals on your lawn or garden. These harmful chemicals may ward off pests, but they are harming your garden environment and likely killing any bees that visit your garden. Bees can ingest chemicals through pollen and nectar, which can then cause confusion, sickness, and even death.
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Do research on your honey, and when in doubt buy local. Local beekeepers tend to use a more sustainable and eco-friendly method of beekeeping and harvesting honey.
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Buy organic produce. Organic produce may cost a little more, but it is vastly better for the environment and for bees than commercial produce. Commercial farms use pesticides and mainly rely on monoculture farming. Both of these factors are harmful to individual bees and to the entire hive. If you have access to one, farmers markets are a great place to get produce because you can personally ask the farmers about their techniques and their produce.
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Understand that honey bees are not the enemy. Because bees sting, children often fear them and that fear can carry on throughout the rest of their lives. This fear is completely irrational. Bees are herbivores. They do not intend to harm you, and if they do sting it is out of self-defense and defense of their hive. Bees die after they sting humans and being stung is easily avoidable. If a bee lands on you, stay calm. Bees can smell the pheromones released by fear and anger, and this could trigger the bee to sting you. It is most likely that you were in the bee’s way or they just needed a place to land before they took off again.
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Share your information and strategies with others. Educating people about the significance of bees is one of the best ways to protect them. More awareness will promote healthier farming and lead the way towards a mutualistic relationship with bees.