Honeybees and Humans need each other. For much of our history, to this very day, the bees have made it possible for us to eat.
Lets return the favor.
Honeybees and Humans have been living together for thousands of years. Egyptians floated honeybees down the Nile on rafts to follow the spring blossoms. Beehives have been found in ancient Greece. We have a long history of working together. Only now, the Honeybees may not survive if we don't help.
One out of every three bites of food we eat, is made possible by the work of the Honeybee. Honeybees pollinate most of the fruit, vegetables, and nuts that we enjoy (yes, macadamia nuts, too!). Even crops some animals eat, such as clover, are made possible by the devoted work of the honeybee.
The Honeybee has long been associated with the goddess- with the fertility of the earth and nature.
Bee products have been used throughout history as food and medicine. Honey is not only a sweet treat, but has been used as medicine, especially when mixed with other herbs. Honey is used to help wounds heal faster, and is excellent for healthy skin too, it's in face washes and body scrubs.
Other bee products like Royal Jelly (the substance the queen eats), propolis (a resin collected from trees used to seal the hive) and pollen (the protein food bees collect from flowers), have also been used medicinally throughout time.
Even bee stings have medicinal qualities. People with M.S. and other diseases have reported feeling better after getting stung by bees, or getting injections of bee venom.
Without Bees our lives wouldn't be so sweet.
We need the honeybee, and now the honeybee depends on our care of the environment to stay alive. In the last few years, bees have been dying all over the world. The bees face a world of challenges, from pollution, to pesticides, insecticides, electromagnetic pollution, and in some cases, poor beekeeping practices that weaken their immune systems.
There are a lot of names for what's going on- Colony Collapse Disorder, Nosema Cerrano, the Varroa Mite, Small Hive Beetle, and more. Trying to identify some of the diseases is a big task for scientists.
What we know, is that bees have much more stressful and challenging lives than ever before. Bees can pollinate up to 50,000 flowers in a day! That's already a lot of work. On top of they might have to deal with a dose of insecticides - times the flowers they pollinated! They might also not have a lot to eat where they are. All these things put stress on the bee's immune system. Bees are just like people in that they need to eat clean food, drink pure water, and have a healthy, nourishing environment. If they have a lot of stress, their bodies can't fight off parasites as well, and they don't have as much energy to take care of their homes and personal hygiene.
In the past, bees could survive in the wild, whether or not humans helped them out. Now, the bees need us to provide a healthy environment, so all of us can be healthy. If we take care of the bees, we'll be ensuring our own health as well.
See: How to be a Bee Buddy to find out what you can do!
Honeybees could survive without us in the past. Now, they need us to help them by making our ecosystems clean and pristine.
