Let’s Help the Bees: Pollinators Are Critical to Our Environment

Bees play an extremely critical role in our ecosystem. Unfortunately, the United States has placed several species of Bees on the endangered species list. Therefore, it is important for people to help increase their local bee populations. Think back to The Bee Movie and how it portrayed life without bees as gray and dull, with no plants. That is a scary reality that could happen if we do not make a change and help raise awareness for the bees.

Their pollination process is important because they cause plants to grow and produce food. Bees pollinate billions of plants every year that are vital to our food supply. Without pollinators, which include bees, birds, and bats, over 1/3 of the world’s food supply would be unavailable. Not only do bees play a critical role in our agriculture, but they are also important to wildlife as well. Tropical trees and forests grow from bees pollinating the area. These trees not only provide food for wild animals such as nuts, berries, fruits, and seeds, but they also stand as the habitat for them. Bees also hold a spot in the food chain as prey for birds and various insects. Environmental changes have been affecting the decline of the bee population.

Climate change and pesticides are both harming the bee population. The seasonal changes in temperature and season lengths impact plant life. Once these cycles are altered by climate change, pollinators fall out of sync with the seasons and are either too late or too early to pollinate flowers. Pesticides used in agriculture also take a toll on bees. Many different effects take place here. While some pesticides might not be directly harmful to bees, they do cause their pollinating to be less effective. Coming into contact with harmful pesticides on plants can cause their colonies to collapse. Bees could come into contact with an insecticide that can cause widespread death from contaminated pollen or nectar.

Some ways to help increase bee populations are to plant bee-friendly flowers during the spring, summer, and fall to attract them in order to promote pollination year-round. Investing in colorful flowers can help attract bees because they are drawn to shades of blue, purple, and violet. Planting vegetables and herbs such as lavender or basil are a source of food for bees. Avoid using pesticides, even organic ones, to protect bees. Some nontoxic alternatives include creating a homemade insecticidal soap for your plants. You can even go as far as creating your own Bee Habitat or become a Bee Keeper!

It is important to increase the size of the bee population because their existence is vital for our environment. Without bees, we would not have as many food sources. A world without bees could mean the human population would struggle to sustain itself. We need to take care of all things on our Earth that help us survive, and helping the bees is a step in that direction.  

• bees
• ecosystem
• environment
• science
• the bee movie