Bee Facts

What is the most important pollinator?

Globally there are more HONEY BEES than other types of bee and pollinating insects, so it is the world’s most important pollinator of food crops. It is estimated that one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination mainly by bees.

What do bees pollinate?

Many domestic and imported fruits and vegetables require pollination. Examples include avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, celery, squash, and sunflowers for oil, cucumbers, citrus fruit, peaches, kiwis, cherries, cranberries and melons. For crops such as blueberries and almonds, the honey bee plays an essential role in pollination of commercial crops, with around 80% of the crop said to be dependent on honey bees. Honey bees can also pollinate clover and alfalfa, which are fed to cattle, so there are implications for the meat and dairy industry too. And that is not to mention the huge range of manufactured food products made from all these ingredients. In addition, honey bees play a significant role in the pollination of other important crops such as cotton and flax. And there are also a number of valuable non-food products produced by the honey bee, such as beeswax used in cleaning and beauty products.

Why is pollination important?

There are more than 20,000 species of wild bees alone, plus many species of butterflies, flies, moths, wasps, beetles, birds, bats and other animals that contribute to pollination. Pollinated crops include those that provide fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts and oils. Many of these are important dietary sources of vitamins and minerals, without which the risks of malnutrition is expected to increase. Several crops also represent an important source of income in developing countries from, for example, the production of coffee and cocoa. More than three-quarters of the world’s food crops rely at least in part on pollination by insects and other animals. Bee health is directly linked to our own health.

What are the main threats to bees and why are bees important?

The reduction in the variety of plant and animal life (ie biodiversity decline) is the consequence of a) poorly managed human activity: monocultures, flowerless landscapes, pesticides, pollution caused by waste, climate change and the ever-increasing global population, and b) increase in parasitic diseases that affect the pollinators. Biodiversity loss results in honeybee declines and vice versa. The two are interlinked. Fewer honey bees means decline in plant diversity, loss of ecosystem stability, reduction in crop production, low food security and loss of human welfare.

Can we live without bees?

In fact, one third of our global food supply is pollinated by bees. Simply put, bees keep plants and crops alive. Without bees, humans wouldn’t have very much to eat. … If bees do not have enough to eat, we won’t have enough to eat.

How long would humans survive without bees?

Albert Einstein is sometimes quoted as saying, «If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.”

Where do bees live?

Honey bees can thrive in natural or domesticated environments, though they prefer to live in gardens, woodlands, orchards, meadows and other areas where flowering plants are abundant. Within their natural habitat, honey bees build nests inside tree cavities and under edges of objects to hide themselves from predators.

How many species of honey bees are there?

Currently, seven species and 44 subspecies of honey bees are known to inhabit the world. The most common among the seven species is the Western honey bee that is found in all continents with the exception of Antarctica. It has also been domesticated for the production of honey and the pollination of crops.

What are the three kinds of bees in the bee colony?

A honey bee colony typically consists of three kinds of adult bees: workers, drones, and a queen. Several thousand worker bees cooperate in nest building, food collection, and brood rearing. Each member has a definite task to perform, related to its adult age. But surviving and reproducing take the combined efforts of the entire colony. Individual bees (workers, drones, and queens) cannot survive without the support of the colony.

What is the lifespan of a bee?

The average lifespan of a queen is three to four years; drones usually die upon mating or are expelled from the hive before the winter; and workers may live for a few weeks in the summer and several months in areas with an extended winter.

Do bees sleep?

Honey bees work day and night and take shifts sleeping inside the hive. Their sleep patterns change as they grow up. Younger bees sleep a lot less than the older bees. The older foraging bees that collect pollen and bring it back to the hive have more of a regular sleeping pattern.

Can a bee survive on its own?

The life span of a honey bee colony depends upon the survival of a variety of bees within it. If only the queen lives, for instance, a colony cannot survive, as she cannot produce honey or pollinate flowers on her own.

What would happen if you killed the queen bee?

Can bees sense fear in humans?

Yes. Bees can smell fear. Istead of detecting fear in others conventionally through sight as humans may do, bees can sense fear with the help of pheromones produced by animals when they are afraid.

Can bees kill a human being?

Well, unless a person has a very severe and life-threatening bee sting allergy (which in itself is not very common), the average person can safely tolerate 10 stings per pound (or half kilo) of body weight. In fact, the average adult can withstand more than 1000 stings, although a child less than 500.

Are bees going extinct in 2019?

The truth is that there are eight species of bees that have been placed on the endangered list; different species of Hawaiian yellow-faced bees in 2016 and, most recently, the Rusty patched bumble bee. Honey bees, and other species, are not on this list, at least, yet.

Can bees kill a human being?

Well, unless a person has a very severe and life-threatening bee sting allergy (which in itself is not very common) the average person can safely tolerate 10 stings per pound (or half kilo) of body weight. In fact, the average adult can withstand more than 1000 stings, although a child less than 500.

Are bees going extinct in 2019?