World Bee Day: Why bees are crucial for the ecosystem
Did you think that bees are only needed for their honey-making ability? You will be surprised to know how bees are capable of much more than that. In fact, our lives are depended on their existence. Bees have the power to endanger our ecosystem. This article will help you understand the need to save bees and how they are critical for our biodiversity.
Bees are a vital part of the food chain
Bees are considered excellent pollen collectors. Pollination is vital for flowering plants to transfer pollen to produce viable seeds. While insects like bees help in pollination, they are also food to birds, lizards, snakes, and frogs. Being a vital part of the food chain, a decline in the bee population will affect not only plants but also the aforementioned species of animals.
Frontline climate warriors
There have been reports which claim that global warming is one of the key factors for the decline of bees globally. Some wild bees and other pollinators can only exist in a narrow temperature range. As a result, when temperatures rise, they are compelled to head to colder regions, reducing the overall territory they can inhabit. This may have repercussions on the surrounding ecosystem.
Critical to our food sources
Bees and other pollinators affect 35% of the global agricultural area, which enables the production of many food crops in the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO). The growth of industrial agriculture over the past few decades has been a contributor to the decline of pollinator populations. The depletion of bees is also because of farming practices involving harmful pesticides.
Help in building economy
After honey, beeswax is the second most important hive product from an economic standpoint. Similarly, bees provide high-quality food and other products, thereby providing livelihood to many rural cultivators. Reports have shown that bee venom can be used as a natural treatment for a variety of ailments, ranging from reducing inflammation to treating chronic illnesses, and more.
