As you may have heard recently, bees have made the Endangered Species List. You know what this means right? THE WORLD IS ENDING!
Just kidding, we're fine (for now).
A common misconception is that all bees have made the Endangered Species List. The reality is, only seven species of bees have been added to the list. So why so much buzz about it? Though we may not feel the blow right away, if bee populations continue to decline at this rapid rate, it could spell serious trouble for humans agriculturally and financially.
There are one hundred crop species that feed ninety percent of humanity, seventy percent of these crops rely on bees for pollination. With bee population in decline, the amount of fruits and vegetables available in stores could eventually be cut in half. This also means more work for humans to keep up with the demand for food. In some parts of China, the bee population has stooped so low, that some farmers have to pollinate their crops by hand with a tiny paint brush, and a jar of pollen. Consequently if all bees went extinct, we may loose all the plants that rely on bees for pollination, along with the animals that consume the plants.
When thinking about the benefits of bees, the first thing that comes to mind is agricultural, though bees play large and underappreciated role in our economy as well. Financially, bees are responsible for generating thirty billion dollars in crops each year. As the bee population declines, we can expect our agricultural revenue to decrease accordingly.
This is some scary stuff to read! A decrease in bees could alter our everyday lives. So what's causing the bee decline? Is there anything we can do to stop it?
The decrease in bees is a direct consequence of several different factors including loss of flower meadows due to industrialization, colony collapse due to mites, global warming (Side note: global warming is certainly real. Perhaps just not in the way you think. But I'll save that for another day.) and pesticides, shocker.
So what can we do to help out our bumbly friends? Glad you asked.
1. Plant flowers!
Flowers are aesthetically pleasing to you, and essential to the bees. It's a win-win situation for all involved!
2. Chill out on the pesticides and herbicides.
We've all heard about the negative affects of pesticides. We don't want pesticides in our food, and the bees don't want it in theirs either.
3. Be nice to the bees.
They're just buzzing around, living their life, doing their thing, making our lives better. How would you feel if you were a bee, chilling, just doing your job, and someone came and smooshed you. Not very good I'm sure.
And finally, for the brave and ambitious,
4. Start raising bees.
I'll just stick to planting flowers, but if you feel the call to raise bees...I wish you the best of luck.
So in case you didn't catch it, bees are pretty important. These little guys tend to go unappreciated for the essential role they play in our everyday life. If the bees go, they're taking us with them. So keep in mind: the happier the bees are, the happier we'll be too.
