As the weather begins to get warmer and the evenings start to get lighter, certain yellow and black striped insects too make their appearance. Bees have been a part of our ecosystem for aeons, but their sheer importance has only been made known very recently. So, how really important are bees?
According to WWF, one out of every three mouthfuls of our food depends on pollinators such as bees. Without bees, the availability and wide variety of fresh produce would deteriorate enormously. As a result, human nutrition would likely suffer. Bees also pollinate around 80% of wildflowers in Europe. Thus, much loved rural landscapes would face a decline in beauty and wonder if not for the work of bees.
Therefore, due to the rampant use of toxic pesticides, extreme habitat loss and global climate change, bees face a bigger threat than ever before - but human beings will feel the most pain from it.
So, how can we, as a society, help to protect these incredible creatures? Perhaps, providing nesting sites for wild bees or planting pollen-rich plants and flowers in our gardens would be a great place to start. We must act now in order to ensure a brighter tomorrow.
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