World Bee Day

  Pollinators, such as bees, birds, butterflies, and bats, play a vital role in the health of plants, animals, people and the environment. This World Bee Day , here are five reasons pollinators are vital contributors to One Health. They help feed the world Pollinators contribute to 35 percent of the world’s total crop production, supporting 87 of the 115 leading food crops, including fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. These crops are critical for diverse diets and livelihoods. Without adequate pollination, yields decline, food becomes scarcer and more expensive – placing food security and the livelihoods of farmers and communities at risk. They support human health through better nutrition. Pollinators ensure the availability of many nutrient-dense foods - like berries, seeds, nuts, and vegetables - that are crucial for balanced diets and disease prevention. Without them, the supply of these foods could decline, leading to poorer diets and negative health outcomes. Pollination al...

 If we look at the many colourful and different looking flowers, we should not forget that they have developed as an adaptation for the bees and other pollinators, and not to please humans! Bees and most flowering plants have developed a complex interdependence during millions of years. An estimated 80 percent of flowering plants are entomophilous i.e. depending more or less on insect pollination to be able to reproduce, and it is estimated that half of the pollinators of tropical plants are bees. The efficiency of honeybees is due to their great numbers, their physique and their behaviour of foraging on only one plant species at one time. The bees have to find their food in flowers. The food can be nectar or pollen. Nectar is produced to attract the bees. Pollen is also attracting the bees, but it has another function too: it is produced to ensure the next generation of plants. Bee pollinated flowers have evolved in such a way that a visiting bee has to brush against the flower’s ...