Honey bees don’t just produce delicious, nutritious honey and multi-purpose beeswax – they also serve critical roles in the larger ecosystem that keep Mother Earth functioning as natural design intended.
Without the bees, we’d be in a world of trouble – as environmentalists and biologists are increasingly discovering by way of the growing threats to honey bees.
Here, we’ll dive into the top 5 reasons that bees are indispensable to the health of the planet and we who depend on them for our livelihoods. We’ll also discuss the concerning declines in honey bee populations in recent years and what action you can take on your own to protect vulnerable honey bees.
#1: Honey Bees Are Crucial Pollinators
The basic reality is that we couldn’t eat without honey bees doing their thankless work out in the fields where we grow our crops. In fact, honey bees are the #1 crop pollinator in the world:
“The western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) provides highly valued pollination services for a wide variety of agricultural crops [1], and ranks as the most frequent single species of pollinator for crops worldwide.”
Above: bees are the top natural pollinators in the world
At least 75% of global crop production depends on pollinators – again, with honey bees chief among them.
#2: Honey Bees Protect Soil Quality and Prevent Soil Erosion
In addition to pollinating crops, honey bees also protect soil quality and prevent soil erosion. Stopping soil erosion is critical for keeping the water supply clean, preventing flooding, and protecting aquatic life that humans depend on for food.
Source: AZoLifeSciences
#3: Honey Bees Promote Biodiversity
Through their pollination activity, bees promote biodiversity (the flourishing of a wide range of biological life) – a counterbalance against the harmful and increasing farming practice of monoculture:
“Bees are vital for the preservation of ecological balance and biodiversity in nature. They provide one of the most recognisable ecosystem services, i.e. pollination, which is what makes food production possible. By doing so, they protect and maintain ecosystems as well as animal and plant species, and contribute to genetic and biotic diversity.”
Why Is Biodiversity Important?
Biodiversity is important because, at the most basic level of analysis, it is essential for supporting life on Earth (including human life):
“Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat.”
More specifically, the biodiversity fostered by honey bees provides the following benefits:
- Economic: biodiversity is essential for economic health by equipping humans with the raw materials to consume and produce.
- Recreation: outdoor activities like camping, fishing, hiking, and birdwatching depend on biodiversity – not to mention the economically vital nature-focused tourism.
- Scientific: the scientific pursuit of knowledge depends on a wide array of ecological data provided by biodiverse environments.
- Ecological life support: biodiversity is important for oxygen-rich, clean air, and water, wastewater treatment. plant pollination, pest control, and more.
- Cultural: indigenous cultures around the world have deep spiritual traditions based on the wide array of animal and plant life around them.
#4: Honey Bees Are Essential For Sustainable Development
Honey bees sustain food production and promote biodiversity, but they also contribute in critical other ways to sustainable development.
2021 research from the Journal of Environment and Society identified “the contributions of bees towards achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our insights suggest that bees potentially contribute towards 15 of the 17 SDGs and a minimum of 30 SDG targets.”
The SGDs are “designed to achieve synergy between human well-being and the maintenance of environmental resources by 2030,” and protecting the biosphere is the “foundation for all SGDs.”
Some of the SGDs that honey bees can play an integral in achieving include:
- No poverty (by offering economic livelihood to impoverished populations)
- Clean water and sanitation (honey bee pollination contributes to the healthy growth of water-related ecosystems)
- Affordable and clean energy (Pollination enhances oilseed crop production used in biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels)
- Decent work and economic growth (honey cultivation is a powerful and accessible economic boon to impoverished regions)
#5: Honey For Medicine Production
Arguably the most important sustainable development goal that honey bees support is the category of “good health and well-being.”
Honey bees provide the raw materials for multiple important medicines and biodiversity via honey bee pollination improves air quality). Their natural products are also used in a number of cosmetics. The raw materials harvested from honey bees can:
“Treat vomiting, diarrhea, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, diabetes mellitus and in preserving meat and fruits. Highly popular in cosmetic treatment, bee’s honey is used in preparing facial washes, skin moisturizers, hair conditioners and in treatment of pimples.”
Both ancient traditional medicine practitioners, as well as modern pharmaceutical companies, utilize honey in many essential medicinal formulations.
In unprocessed raw form, honey is considered a superfood based on its antioxidant, mineral, and unique amino acid content.
The Alarming Decline in Honey Bee Populations
Multiple environmental changes have dramatically reduced honey bee numbers in North America and around the world. According to scientists, the most pressing threats to honey bees include:
- the emergence of foreign pests
- diseases
- widespread pesticide use
- climate change
- habitat loss
Every year, the urgency to take protective action increases:
“Between April 2015 and April 2016, beekeepers in the United States lost 44 percent of their colonies and in the UK, beekeepers reported losses of almost 17 percent, according to the British Beekeepers Association.”
The startling data indicates a need for immediate action.
How to Protect Honey Bees
While we have limited capacity on an individual level to combat global environmental issues leading to honey bee colony collapse, each of us does have direct control over our own honey bees.
The single best thing we can do to sustain and boost the critical honey bee population on Earth is to build and tend to our own beehives.
Here are a few ideas to make sure your honey bee colony survives and thrives:
- Identify and remove in a timely manner any foreign parasites like varroa mites.
- Eliminate the use of pesticides in your garden/organic farm and buy pesticide-free food whenever possible.
- Construct natural barriers to protect your honey bees from predators.
- Create a pollinator-friendly habitat on your property.
- Build a bee water garden.
Contact Dadant and Sons to Learn More About Honey Bee Magic
We’re always eager to talk about the vital importance of honey bees to our health and wellness. If you have more questions about honey bees or want the help of experts to start your own bee colony, please don’t hesitate to contact us.