Save the bees!

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Save the Bees

Bees are dying at an incredibly fast rate. 42 percent of bee colonies collapsed in the United States alone in 2015. So in this thread, I share some photos and facts about bees to show the hard work they put into pollinating our flowers while looking quite adorable!
Photographer for this piece: Nikolaj Kloos

Fact: One out of every three mouthfuls of food in the American diet is, in some way, a product of honeybee pollination.

Fact: A single beehive can make more than 100 pounds (45 kg) of extra honey. The beekeeper only harvests the extra honey made by the bees.

Fact: Honey bees are responsible for $30 billion a year in crops. If we loose bees we may also lose all the plants that bees pollinate including all of the animals that eat those plants, losing animals as we continue up the food chain.

Fact: Bees are dying for a large number of reasons, here's a list of why:

-Pesticides: These chemicals are designed to kill insects. But some types of pesticides such as neonicotinoids, are worse for bees compared to others.

Loss of habitat: As rural areas become urban, the areas of green space that do remain are often stripped of all weeds and their wildflowers, which bees rely on for food.

-Climate change: New warmer winters have caused plants to shift their schedules to bloom, so when bees come out of hibernation, the flowers they need to feed on have already bloomed and died.

-Disease: Pathogens carried by mites weaken bees, which makes them more susceptible to pesticide poisoning. Also, if bees are already weakened by pesticides, they’re more vulnerable to disease.

What can you do?
1. Plant a variety of bee-friendly flowers outside or around your home. Either in a garden or in flowerpots outside your window.

2. Allow some weeds to grow! Wildflowers and other weeds such as clovers are great for honeybees and an important food source for them.
3. Don't treat your garden with pesticides or chemicals. Your garden is home to not only bees, but a whole ecosystem of bugs and insects! Avoiding pesticides will allow bees to thrive and your garden ecosystem.

4. Try to buy local raw honey. Local honey helps promote bee farms that keep their bees happy and healthy. Many farms that are long distance may use chemicals either on their bees or in their honey. 5. Provide fresh clean water for your bees! Have you ever been to a pool and seen bees fly by the edge to get a sip of the chlorinated water? Bees get thirsty too! Providing a basin of fresh water will provide bees with healthy water to drink and it will allow more bees to come to your garden and pollinate your plants!