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You’ve probably heard that bees and other pollinators are really important creatures, but do you know why? Did you know that, because bees pollinate so much of our food, you have a bee to thank for one in every three bites of food you eat. Honeybees perform about 80% of all pollination. (Source Greenpeace)
Sadly, the number of bees are falling – in fact some studies suggest that a third of all bees have disappeared in the last 10 years and quarter of the species of bees in Europe are at risk of extinction (Source: Greenpeace)
There are many reasons for this, but some of the key ones are Climate change, the loss of the bees’ natural habitat as areas of natural wildlife are turned into housing estates or shopping centres, and hedges and verges of wildflowers are cut back, and the use of pesticides. (Source: The Soil Association)
But there are plenty of things you can do to help the bees and other pollinators such as moths and butterflies. There are some lovely flowers and plants you can grow in your garden, or plant-pots or even in your local parks – maybe ask whoever cuts the dandelions and daisies to leave them a bit longer! There are all sorts of interesting projects you can do at home such as building a bee-hotel or a small drinking pond for the bees – the Wildlife Trust websites have lots of nice ideas
If you want to find out more about bees, we’ve put together a selection of books (including picture books and honey bee books) that might be of interest… and for starters here are some ‘fun facts’ about bees to impress your friends and family:
Did you know
1. A hive of bees in the height of summer can contain up to 80,000 bees
2. All the worker bees are female
3. Only female bees can sting
4. The queen bee is the mother of all the bees in the hive and lays up to 2000 eggs per day in the summer
5. The drones’ (male bees’) only purpose in life is to impregnant a queen bee. Once done, his genitals explode and he dies!
