If the world is a big home, humans are only one among the millions of species living under the same roof. We live in harmony with nature and other living creatures, including animals and plants. We are also codependent with them, helping us survive in this humanity-centered world.
Bees are among those living creatures that have a great significance in our lives. They are more than just pollinators. Without them, there would be no balance in our ecosystem. To know more about their importance, please read on:
They Provide Food Security
To survive and have the energy to perform our daily roles as humans, we need to consume water and food at least three times a day. Of course, to have something to eat, we need to take care of the primary food source, which is mostly the agricultural sector of our community. We also need to consider the creatures that help in this agricultural production, including the pollinators such as bees.
Bees are known as hardworking pollinators who help increase food crops each year, providing food security. They are tiny insects with a hard outer shell known as an exoskeleton, head, thorax, and abdomen. They also have two antennae found on their head and two pairs of wings for flying. There are numerous types or varieties of bees present in our ecosystem, including:
1. Honey Bee
Honey bees are half-inch-long types of bees that have black and honey-colored stripes on their abdomen. In their hives live a queen, male drones, and female workers. They are best known for their sweet honey and are good at pollinating certain native plants. If you plan to keep a colony of honey bees in your place, it must include a queen bee. You can check out Buzzbee for more info on queen bees.
2. Small Carpenter Bees
Small carpenter bees are quarter-inch long bees with blocky heads and barrel-shaped blunt abdomens. They are dark black with a metallic glint, but some species have white face markings. They can be found chewing out shrub stems with soft tissue, such as brambles and elderberry.
3. Sweat Bees
Sweat bees are quarter-inch to half-inch-long types of bees that have black and white striped abdomens. This bee type is named sweat bees because they are fond of landing onto our skin and lap up our salty sweat. They are usually found sipping nectar from flowering plants, such as sunflowers, daisies, and black-eyed Susan.
4. Bumblebees
Bumblebees are hairy types of bees with various color patterns, ranging from black to white to yellow to orange and brown. They usually build their nests close to the ground. You can make a bumblebee nest box for them as they are docile and can be your pet. When hanging around your garden, they carry balls of pollen with their hind legs that cause pollination.
A Great Source Of Honey
Most beekeepers decide to take care of bees because of the sweet honey they make. This sweet honey is rich in vitamins and minerals, including ascorbic acid, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, calcium, copper, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, and manganese. It is collected from the beehives or honeycomb frames and is used for numerous purposes.
Besides being consumed as a food sweeter, honey is also used as a salve for burns, a remedy for wounds and ulcers, and a treatment for oral and genital herpes. In addition, it is believed to prevent cancer and improve short and long-term memory.
There are a lot of honey variations that you can find available for your usage. These variations differ in texture, colour, and taste. The most common variations include comb honey, chunk honey, liquid honey, creamed honey, granulated honey, wildflower honey, etc.
Crucial For The Preservation of Ecological Balance
As a part of the ecosystem, bees maintain ecological balance and biodiversity just by being hardworking pollinators. They help enhance and support the growth of plants and trees on our planet, which are vital for other living creatures such as animals. They are also a big part of the food chain. Numerous predators, such as spiders, hummingbirds, blackbirds, starlings, and mantis, considered them as food.
They Provide Wildlife Habitats For Other Insects
Bees build beehives to store their food for winter and to have a place to protect themselves and their queen. But it is not only themselves whom they make habitats for. They also provide homes for other animals and insects simply by pollinating plants and trees. Birds and insects take trees and shrubs as their home.
They Help Make Your Garden Grow
Every one of us would love to have a charming garden filled with abundant plants and colorfull flowers. These plants lighten the mood or atmosphere of our homes. That is why most of us choose to invest some of our time grooming our gardens. Besides taking time and effort in growing your garden, you may also consider keeping bees in your area as they help germinate plants through pollination.
Keeping bees in your backyard garden comes with many advantages. Aside from helping germinate plants, they can also give you raw and fresh honey that you can use in your morning coffee or tea. When deciding to keep bees at your place, you will need to set up an artificial beehive. You will also need to follow these simple and practicable steps to make your plan of beekeeping successful:
- Do some research about beekeeping and study everything about them, including how they make honey.
- Keep in touch with some beekeeping organizations in your area to guide you about the different tasks of beekeeping.
- Set up a beehive and gather beekeeping supplies.
- Learn how to do the various beekeeping tasks.
- Buy your bees, including their queen, only from a reliable and reputable seller.
Takeaway
Bees are our friends. Despite their reputation of stinging and making your skin swollen for days, they are harmless and can be considered pets as long as you know how to take care of them. They are also crucial in keeping our environment balanced. That is why when you see a bee flying near you, don’t you ever try hurting or killing them.