Why we should be celebrating bees

It’s fair to say that not everyone is a fan of the humble honeybee. Bees can make a grown man run a mile but there is also a very real concern for the diminishing honeybee population. In fact, in 2017 and 2018, several species of bee were added to the endangered list. This is particularly worrying since the existence of bees directly correlates to the survival of our world! That’s why Forever only extracts the nutrients within the hive using colony-friendly methods that allow the bees to thrive.

Bees deserve to be celebrated, their work encouraged, and their lives protected, read on to find out why.

Bees play a vital role in pollinating 30% of crops and 90% of wild plants

Bees have a very intentional job here on earth: to pollinate trees and shrubs. Pollination leads to reproduction and mature crops that produce fruit and seeds, and this means plenty of trees and flowers for food, oxygen and nutrients.

While bees are busy bringing balance to our ecosystems, they are also working to make their own unique substances (honey, propolis, royal jelly and pollen) to feed the colony. These substances are packed with nutritional value and the benefits can be enjoyed by us as well as the bees.

Bees produce honey and lots more foods

Honeybees produce three to four times MORE honey than is needed to feed the hive for the winter. Honey is one of mankind’s oldest food sources, providing natural energy and goodness to bees and humans alike. This golden elixir is made from the nectar retrieved by bees from flowers, which is why there are so many different types of honey available – the flavour, colour and consistency depends upon the type of flower the nectar has been retrieved from. The darker the shade, the richer it is believed to be in bioactive plant compounds (that’s a good thing). If you regularly find yourself reaching for refined sugar, you should definitely consider replacing it with a bottle of Forever Bee Honey.

Thanks to the bees, we can also enjoy other foods as well as the natural honey they produce. Bees have played their part either by pollinating the many vegetables and fruits we eat directly (broccoli, asparagus, cucumbers, blueberries, watermelons, almonds, apples, cranberries, and cherries), or by pollinating the food for the animals we then consume. And, if you are wearing cotton, it’s worth remembering that the bees also pollinated the cotton plant your threads came from!

Bees are specialists at what they do

Worldwide there are around 25,000 different types of bee species. This is further divided into over 4,000 genera of bees, which are then subdivided into just nine families. The Apidae family is perhaps the most well-known, with members such as the honeybee, carpenter bee, and bumblebee.

Many of these bees have different characteristics that make them suited to pollinate certain plants, for example bumblebees appear to be more successful at pollinating certain crops due to their larger sizes. Many farmers rely on a diversity of bees to pollinate their produce and there is also evidence that natural pollination by the right type of bee improves the quality of the crop – from its nutritional value to its shelf life!

Bees enhance our environment

Bees boost the colour and beauty of our landscape by keeping our flowers pollinated. They perpetuate floral growth and provide attractive habitats for other animals such as insects and birds. It is hard to imagine what the planet would look like if there were no flowers, but our gardens at home would not bloom if bees were not in existence. The bee population makes it possible for billions of gardens all over the world to stay healthy and beautiful throughout all the seasons of the year.

Bees are good for trees and trees are good for bees

Bees and trees belong together. The planting of trees that supply bees with their food, known as honey plants, are popular and can be grown in a wide range of conditions including small and large gardens and in the wild. A few excellent tree species are willow, maple, horse-chestnut, acacia and linden. These all provide high levels of pollen and nectar that bees need for their existence. Also, given the choice, wild honeybees would choose nesting places in trees rather than in an open landscape. Most often the honeybees prefer to build their nests high up instead of close to the ground, but these nests can be found anywhere in a tree.

What are you doing to protect our bees? Let us know in the comments.