'Thank a bee for every one in three bites of food you take!'
Flying from flower to flower bees are fun to watch and of course scary to some of our human friends but what is important is that if not for these heroes we would neither have a life like this nor any vegetation on our planet. But bee colonies are declining at an alarming rate. Bees are responsible for pollinating one sixth of the flowering plant species worldwide and 400 different agricultural plants. Did you know that there are around 20,000 different kinds of bees!
Broccoli, Asparagus, cantaloupes, cucumbers, pumpkins, blueberries, watermelons, apples, almonds, cranberries, cherries and of course honey are a few examples of the many food sources we have available because of our bees. While going busily about collecting nectar and making honey while minding their business, unbeknown to them their contribution in pollination is indispensable. Their activities provide a suitable habitat for other insects, birds and animals on the planet. A bees role in keeping the habitat inhabitable is paramount and a decline in their habitat and numbers will have serious detrimental effects on the environment.
Human activities alone have led to a sharp decline in bee colonies. The two most damaging activities causing a rapid decline in the bee population are the use of pesticides in intensive agriculture as well as urbanisation which causes habitat loss. Apart from this, drought, air pollution and climate change are the other causes.
It is important that our busily buzzing pollinators are protected and conserved as our world would be a nightmare to live in without bees! They are critical pollinators and we are losing them at an alarming rate. The world will recoup without humans but not without our insects, especially our buzzing bee friends.
Urban bee keeping is a great opportunity to hep conserve nature. Urban bee keeping helps replace lost bee colonies. You, too, can keep bee boxes in your garden, terrace, balcony and/or other open spaces. There are many urban beekeeping businesses you can contact to assist you with the installation of bee boxes.
Here I am are listing a few:
Bee Basket: https://www.beebasket.in
Bee City India: https://beecityindia.com/
If you wish to learn more about bees, I suggest:
https://in.boell.org/en/2021/01/07/pollinators-urban-age Happy beekeeping or bee learning!
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