Why are bees so important?

´Papáááá!!!’
´what’s going on??´
´there’s a spideeer!´
´and so??´
´come here pleeease heeelp!´

This is me. Me till I moved to Germany in the worldwide pre-pandemic period at beginning of February 2020. Now it’s the same, but instead of calling my dad, I call Basti.

 

A bee and I…

This just to make you understand that I have never been – neither now – an insect-lover, neither an expert.

BUT I have never disliked bees. And I have always been 100% sure about one thing: bees are important! I have had always this concept in mind: bees are very very important! 

Then at a certain point, I’ve met for the first time Sebastian the beekeeper (called ‘Basti’)  and I couldn’t help telling to myself ‘ooooh so cool, I know a beekeper!!!’.

I got always lit up with enthusiasm every time he used to speak about his bees. ‘Sooo niceee the bees!!! and in addition, they are so important…but…why are they so important?‘. At that point I realised that I had never investigated so much into this issue. 

Ok, BEES are important, but why?

For you this may be banal, but for me – and I am quite sure I am not the only one –it was not so easy to give a certain, firm and prompt reply.

So…are they so important because they produce honey (and much more)?

No, actually no, even if this is a very good point to support them. 

Main fact is that bees represent the most spread pollination method in the world.

When pollination takes place (that means, ‘plants make looove’), pollen moves from the anther – that is the external ending part of flowers male organs –
to the stigma, that is the female part.

Therefore, for this kind of plants, bees are not involved.

Nevertheless, there is a wide range of other plants that need the external help of an animal: these are called entomophilous plants. That’s it, bees are champions in this field! 

The best Cupid that any entomophilous plant would ever want!

Why this first place?
Because bees are unstoppable workers: anyone could be envious of their persistence and passion towards their collecting activity! In addition – essential point – bees adore flying from one flower to the other, but they choose always the same species and with a certain logic.

in practice, what really happens? 

The bee dives into the flower ready to taste its nectar. In that moment it will
have for sure to rub against the famous anthers (where the pollen is, do you remember?). At that point the pollen gets stuck on the bee’s fur. This, afterwards, after rubbing, will fall accidentally on the stigma of the flower visited later…et voilá!

If the flower belongs to the same plant, we speak about self-pollination, if instead it belongs to a different plant (but always the same kind), we speak
about cross-pollination.

Needless to say, this last one in particular is fundamental for our cultivations and for protecting the biodiversity of the environment.  

ponder about it for a moment: how could these plants reproduce without pollinators?

Maybe this ‘flower&bee’ issue could sound a bit contort, but in the end this all just means that without the help of the bees, much of our favorite food would
disappear from the earth and this would affect so much its general
balance too.

Bees are one of the most important environmental bioindicator: think about it! If our bees are many, strong and healthy, this means that the quality of the air is very good. Further info regarding the surrounding area can be additionally carried out in any lab too, for example by analyzing their honey. This all can’t be given for granted, can it? 

when I assimilated all these pieces of information, i felt so tiny (smaller than a bee). i told to myself ‘Ok, if they are so important for us, we as well should do something for them and for protecting them’.

at this point…you are not wondering “how can I Be important me too for bees?”

Unfortunately wild honeybees, and subsequently their natural hives, have mainly disappeared. As you can imagine, this all have caused serious problems to our ecosystem and to the variety of the wild and not-wild plants.

In any case, neither the bees from our beehives are having such a great time – among varroa, pesticides and the loss of their natural habitat. Nevertheless, don’t panic, this just means that we must be resilient, respectful, generous and hardworking (right as a bee, isn’t it?) and do our best to give our contribution to protect both them and the balance of the nature.

Thinking about it, there are so many things that anyone can do without strictly being a beekeeper. Moreover, it could really make the difference to push for having many beehives around, widespread like stars in a wonderful sky. 

Do you know any beekeeper? Are there many in your area? Or do you have your own hives? 

Tell us a bit about your experience here below 🙂

If you think that what written here was interesting or you know someone who is keen on these topics, share the post! Help us to spread awareness about the importance of the bees!

A hug, 

The Gäblini