By Theresa Ficazzola
This year, National Honeybee Day is August 21. It’s a day to celebrate our bee friends and remind us how important their life’s work is for our survival. Pollinators, including bees, are responsible for 1-3 of the bites of food we eat!
Honeybees have been used in farming for 4,500 years. One-third of all the vegetables and fruit we eat is pollinated by honeybees. In terms of the world’s food supply, about 50% to 80% of the food supply is directly or indirectly affected by honeybee pollination. Put another way, 71 out of 100 crop species are directly pollinated by bees. Examples include avocados, mangoes, squash, blueberries and watermelon.
There are over 20,000 known bee species in the world, about 4,000 of them native to the U.S. Honeybees were introduced to the States from Europe; however, North America has many native species of bees that don’t produce honey, but they are still vitally important because they help pollinate crops and flowers. A single bee colony can pollinate 300 million flowers in just one day! Other important pollinators include bumble bees, fireflies, hawk moths, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Types of Bees
There are 3 main types of bees:
- Queen – she’s in charge. Her sole function is to lay eggs, about 1,000 to 2,000 each day.
- Workers – all females. Their job is to find nectar and pollen, return it to the hive, produce honey and feed the drones. After the pollen and nectar is brought to the hive, the bees fan it with their wings until any water evaporates, then they seal the honey in the comb.
- Drones – all males. Their only job is to fertilize the queen. They are fed by the workers.
During the spring and summer season when bees are most active, a worker bee lives about 6 to 8 weeks. During the winter, bees don’t just die off. They continue to live and work in the hive, keeping each other warm and reproducing, but because they’re not as active, their lifespan is longer, about 4 to 6 months.
Honeybees are not aggressive at all. If someone gets stung, it’s usually from a wasp, hornet or yellow jacket.
The Decline of the Bees
Sadly, bees have been dying off in record numbers. In fact, there are 1/3 less beehives than there were just 25 years ago. The U.S. National Agricultural Statistics show that honeybees have declined from about 6 million hives in 1947 to 2.4 million in 2008—a 60% reduction. Since 2006 alone, the U.S. has lost 30%-40% of commercial honeybees.
There are several reasons for this decline: pesticides (honeybees are very sensitive to them), habitat destruction, drought, air pollution and global warming.
Do Your Part
National Honeybee Day is another reminder of just how important the planet’s fragile ecosystem is to our survival. Even the tiny bees have a critical role to play. They do their small part extremely well—and you can do your small part, too. How?
- Plant a home or school garden with flowers and vegetables that will attract honeybees and other pollinators.
- Buy organic produce, free from pesticides.
- Shop at local farm stands or farmer’s markets.
- Support local beekeepers by purchasing locally produced honey or other products.
- Don’t use chemicals or other pesticides in and around your home.
- Don’t be quick to kill weeds like dandelions and clover, as the bees like them.
- Reduce, reuse and recycle everything you can.
- Consider solar panels for your home or business from a reliable company like SI Solar. By harnessing the power of the sun, solar systems offer a green, clean, safe, reliable, less expensive way to provide energy to homes and businesses. Find out if you qualify for state and federal incentives for going solar by CLICKING HERE
