Bees are essential for the health of people and the planet. Honey and other products have medicinal properties, and the role of bees as pollinators makes them vital for food supplies.
There are around 20,000 known bee species worldwide, and over 4,000 are native to the United States. Humans only manage a few of these, and most species are wild.
As well as valuing bees for their honey, people have come to recognize the importance of bees in promoting food security and variety in plants and animals.
However, a rise in factors, such as pesticide use and urbanization, means that bees are currently in decline, negatively affecting many of the Earth’s ecosystems.
A loss of bees would affect honey supplies, but, more importantly, world food security and biodiversity. Without them, the world could be a very different place
Bees are essential for the health of people and the planet. Honey and other products have medicinal properties, and the role of bees as pollinators makes them vital for food supplies.
There are around 20,000 known bee species worldwide, and over 4,000 are native to the United States. Humans only manage a few of these, and most species are wild.
As well as valuing bees for their honey, people have come to recognize the importance of bees in promoting food security and variety in plants and animals.
However, a rise in factors, such as pesticide use and urbanization, means that bees are currently in decline, negatively affecting many of the Earth’s ecosystems.
A loss of bees would affect honey supplies, but, more importantly, world food security and biodiversity. Without them, the world could be a very different place
People have been working with bees around the world for millennia. The significance comes from the direct harvesting of honey and beeswax and cultural beliefs.
For example, the Ancient Greeks thought of bees as a symbol of immortality. In the 19th century, beekeepers in New England would inform their bees of any major events in human society. Meanwhile, native northern Australians used beeswax when producing rock art.
For history experts, bee products are a key aspect of archaeologyTrusted Source. This is because beeswax produces a “chemical fingerprint” that people can assess to identify components in organic residue.
Bees are very intelligent, and people have applied knowledge of their mannerisms and social interactions when creating human initiatives.
For example, researchers have suggested that studying the actions of bees could help experts develop emergency plans to evacuate people from an overcrowded environment.
Observing honeybee dances can also help scientistsTrusted Source understand where changes are taking place in the environment.
Farming practices, global warming, and disease are just a few reasons why bee numbers are declining. Experts are concerned about the impact on world food supplies, especially fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
They say that without bees, there will be no more nuts, coffee, cocoa, tomatoes, apples, or almonds, to name a few crops. This could lead to nutritional deficiencies in the human diet, as these products are essential sources of vital nutrients.
Additionally, the emergingTrusted Source medicinal properties of bee venom and other bee products may never be accessible without bees to provide them.
In financial terms, the pollination of fruits and vegetables by wild bees across the United States has a high economic value. One 2020 study found that wild bees were responsible for a significant portion of net income from blueberries. There is a direct link between the economic yield of farmers and the presence of bees.
In 2012, experts estimated that total pollination to be worth $34 billion, with a large portion of this amount due to bees.
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