By now everyone who is aware of current events or goes on the internet probably knows that bees have been disappearing for a while now. Over the past couple decades, actually. This creates an abundance of concern for anyone in the scientific or environmental community.

Although, it should concern everyone because bees are a very important contributor in our world. Honeybees are one the biggest pollinators that nature has: “it is estimated that one-third of our food is pollinated by bees”. Without bees, we may very well be in trouble.

The bees started disappearing because of a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this is when most of the bees in a colony disappear without a specific known cause. Certain diseases and pesticides have been looked at as part of the cause, but nobody has been able to nail down one particular cause or factor. Mites have also been a problem for bees, specifically the “varroa mite, a parasite that lives only in beehives and survives by sucking insect blood”.

As terrible as these things are, there is some good news. It seems as if the bees are coming back! According to Alan Bjerga who wrote this article for Bloomberg, the rate of lost hives from colony collapse disorder has gone down 27% since 2016.

Did you know that several other species of bees have been added to the endangered list? Chances are many people don’t know. These other species may not be as directly important as the honeybee but they still carry their own weight and significance.

Mark Chorba, a researcher at Virginia Tech said, “they are coming back” and also mentioned how the large amounts of internet attention have helped to save and bring back several different species of bees, not just the honeybee

Of course, there will always be the same problems like different types of mites, and the ever-prevalent use of pesticides, but with continued work and patience, the number of bees will keep increasing, an incredibly good sign for our environment. If more and more people continue to get and stay interested in the safety if our bees, less and less will be disappearing. In a lot of cases, if people left nature alone the bee species might be better off, although monitoring and conservation are always good ideas.

The webpage Sustain emphasizes the importance of honeybees in this article. Within the article, the author says that “80% of the U.S crop is dependant on honey bees”. It continues to speak about the other industries that are affected by bees such as the meat industry, the dairy industry, and even cosmetics and the beauty industry. Knowing how much of modern society’s life is touched by the impact of bees, it is likely that society will band together to save and protect them.

Even though these important insects might be on the comeback, doesn’t mean we can start ignoring them again. In order to keep our bee populations up and safe, we have to make sure to stay on top of protecting them and their hives. Remember, it benefits us as well if the bees are safe!

To everyone helping out with and that is concerned about this topic, continue to bee awesome!