6 Reasons to Be Grateful for Bees

Many people are afraid of bees. And why not? They have stingers that hurt more than you would expect and some people are very allergic, even deathly allergic, to them. But contrary to our fears, bees are not aggressive insects and do not go after humans unprovoked. And if you knew all that bees do for you, you would be happy to share your food or drink with them.

Here are 6 reasons to be grateful for bees, and tips on how you can show it.

1. They improve our diets by providing micronutrient-rich foods. Many nutritious foods, like fruits, some vegetables, seeds, nuts and oils, would disappear without pollinators. (TIP: Return the favour! Give bees food they like by growing native plants in your garden. Planting a diverse set of native plants which flower at different times of the year can make a huge difference for pollinators.)

2. They give us honey, a natural sweetener that also has antibacterial and antiseptic properties. Honey has been a part of human civilization for millennia. (TIP: Buy raw honey from local farmers. Many local smallholder farmers and forest communities maintain sustainable beekeeping practices. You can lend support by buying raw honey, beeswax or other bee products, directly from them.)

3. They have a great work ethic. A single honeybee will typically visit around 7,000 flowers a day, and it takes 4 million flower visits to produce a kilogram of honey. (TIP: Reward them by making a bee water fountain. Leaving a clean, shallow water bowl, with rocks or sticks in it so that bees don’t drown, is a good way to give the bees a resting spot and some necessary refreshment.)

4. They make our foods taste better. Well-pollinated plants produce larger, more uniform, tastier fruits and vegetables. A deformed apple, for example, could mean that the plant had insufficient or imbalanced pollination. (TIP: Avoid pesticides, fungicides or herbicides in your gardens. They can kill pollinators and poison hives with contaminated nectar or pollen brought by bees from contaminated plants. Try to find natural solutions to pests for the plants in your garden.)

5. They increase food production and food security. In one study where pollination was well-managed on small diverse farms, crop yields increased by a significant median of 24%! Bees and other pollinating insects are improving the food production of 2 billion small farmers worldwide, helping to ensure food security for the world’s population. (TIP for farmers: Create a good habitat for bees in order to ensure pollination. Leave some areas of the farm as a natural habitat. Create hedgerows with native plants that flower at different times during the year and plant attractive crops [eg: sunflower] and fruit trees [eg: mango]. Reduce your use of pesticides, and leave bee-nesting sites untouched.)

6. They maintain biodiversity. Pollination is one of nature’s most important processes contributing to biodiversity. And though often overlooked, bees and forest beekeeping also help sustain forest ecosystems as pollination helps the regeneration of trees which in turn helps to conserve forest biodiversity. (TIP: Learn more about bees and conquer your fear. By researching these creatures, you will see that bees are not generally dangerous. With better understanding, you can avoid bad encounters and learn to live peacefully with these necessary creatures.)

– edited excerpts from FAO’s article, “Bee-ing Grateful to Our Pollinators”