World Bee Day in an annual day that calls attention to the critical importance of bees in our world. Did you know that bees are very important to the production of food in the world? They are among the most effective pollinators which enable fertilization and the production of seeds and fruits. Approximately 1/3 of all the world's food crops depend on bee pollination. Without bees many plants would struggle to live and this would lead to diminished food availablily.
World Bee Day
May 20th is an annual observance to raise the awareness of the essential role of bees. In 2017 the United Nations approved May 20th to be the first annual World Bee Day. This date was picked to honor Anton Jansa of Slovenia who was a pioneer of beekeeping that was born on May 20, 1734.
The 2026 theme for World Bee Day is "Bee engaged in pollinator-friendly agricultural production."
I found the following YouTube video on World Bee Day. It was written for children, but it can also be very educational for adults. It tells about bees and their place in food production.
Fun Facts About Bees
- There is one Queen bee in each hive. She is the only one that produces new bees. She may live up to 5 years. She can lay up to 2600 eggs a day.
- When a queen bee dies the worker bees create a new queen by selecting a young larva and feeding it a special food called "royal jelly" this enables the larva to develop into a fertile queen.
- The rest of the female bees are worker bees. They all have assigned jobs. They can live for just 5-6 weeks.
- The male bees are drones. Their primary function is to mate with the queen bee and pass on their genetics to future generations.
- Scouts- they go out to find where the pollen is most plentiful. They also search for a place for a new hive.
- Funeral directors- when a bee dies the funeral team takes the dead body out of the hive and disposes of it.
- In order to keep warm in the winter, there are a group of bees that gather and block the entrance to the hive with their bodies. They beat their wings to send in a warm breeze. Even when it is below freezing they can maintain the heat in the hive to 90 degrees.
What you can do to help?
Some of the ways you can help to save the bees include:
- Planting native, bee friendly flowers
- Reducing or eliminating herbicide and insecticide use
- Leaving patches of bare soil and untidy areas for nesting
- Providing water sources with stones
- Supporting local organic farmers
My husband has been learning a lot about bees and last year he encouraged me to plant more bee friendly flowers in my flower bed.
I planted sunflowers, cone flowers, black eyed susans and other bee friendly plants. Here are some photos of the bees on our plants last year.
More Information on Bees
If you would like to learn more about bees, Amazon has several books available. Here is a link to one that looks like it would have a lot of information. https://amzn.to/4eVPt60
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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I had no idea that bees kept hives warm in cold weather by the assigned duty of staying in the hive entry and beating their wings. A very industrious insect with an important world-wide job. I know I have never appreciated the bees enough, since it has always scared me to be around them. But your interesting article is now changing my mind. I will look at bees with more educated eyes from now on. :) Thanks, Mary Beth.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how these little ones that we ignore every day are such exceptional creations. I really enjoyed reading your notes here and I certainly appreciate the reminder to "consider the lilies of the field". The world around us really is an amazing place!
ReplyDeleteBees are essential to our ecosystem. It’s criminal how we have endangered this critically important species! Thank you for helping to raise awareness about the importance of bees to life itself and how we can support them instead of carelessly endangering and killing these precious creatures.
ReplyDeleteWow those facts about bees was so interesting. Some I knew, but how a new Queen is appointed is fascinating - and keeping the hive to 90 degrees, wow - and funeral bees - my goodness they are a coordinated society. And yes Bees are essential. It's the darn wasps in the summer here! grrrrrrr
ReplyDeleteGreat to see more people planting for bee health! I know the bees really enjoy my cone flowers!
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