Welcome to Let's Bee Kind!

With their black and gold stripes, translucent wings and signature furry body, the bee is a common sight in woods and gardens around the world. But do you know how important this creature is to our planet, and the threats it is facing?

Often seen buzzing from flower to flower, it’s as difficult to imagine a life without bees as it is to envisage one without trees. These hard-working winged invertebrates have been around for millions of years, pollinating our plants and producing the sweet golden syrup we call honey.

A world without bees is sadly becoming more of a possibility, as these important insects are in severe decline. If bees were to become extinct the planet could be in serious trouble, because these creatures are such an integral part of most ecosystems.

While to many they are simply the fuzzy flying insects we see darting among the flowers during the warmer months, bees are actually so much more than this, and have an important part to play in maintaining our planet. Where trees and woods are essential to filter our air, bees are vital to both pollinate the food we need to survive and pollinate many of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, approximately 80% of all flowering plants are specialised for pollination by animals, mostly insects (which includes bees). Pollination is crucial because many of our vegetables, fruits and the crops that feed our livestock rely on it to be fertilised, so without it, we could go hungry. Vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus and cucumber rely on the pollination of bees, as do apricots, strawberries, apples, tomatoes and almonds. While there are other methods of pollination, including by the wind, birds, bats and other insects, wild bees are among the most important pollinators because they are capable of pollinating on a much bigger scale. It has been estimated that it would cost farmers in the UK an incredible £1.8 billion per year to manually pollinate their crops, which just further emphasises the importance of bees.

Why are bees disappearing?

Bees are in decline on a global scale as they face many threats, from habitat loss to the use of toxic pesticides. Many of the threats to bees share parallels with the threats to trees and woodland, so saving bees goes hand-in-hand with saving trees. If these threats aren’t brought under control, we could be looking at a future without bees.

One of the main threats to our beloved bees is the use of toxic pesticides. Whilst pesticides are designed to kill pests, due to their intense toxicity they are having an adverse effect on other insects too, including bees. Neonicotinoids in particular cause bees a great deal of harm, as when they are sprayed onto plants they are absorbed. So, when a bee comes to pollinate said plant, it will ingest this pesticide. This can seriously damage the bee’s central nervous system.