05/20/2021
It’s ! 🐝 did you know there are over 4,000 bee species in North America, and over 20,000 different species have been identified throughout the world? 🌸
bees, among other pollinators, are crucial to the survival of our ecosystem and way of life, and their populations are in decline. nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops 🫑🍅🌽 the goal of World Bee Day is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries.
How can we do more?
🪴 by planting a diverse set of native plants, which flower at different times of the year; psst - every little beez designs purchase comes with wildflower seed paper!
🍯 buying raw honey from local farmers;
✅ buying products from sustainable agricultural practices;
🚫 avoiding pesticides, fungicides or herbicides in our gardens;
💛 protecting wild bee colonies when possible;
🐝 sponsoring a hive;
⛲️ making a bee water fountain by leaving a water bowl outside;
🌲helping to sustain forest ecosystems;
📢 raising awareness around us by sharing this information within our communities and networks
the decline of bees affects us all! 👥
and, if you’ve made it this far, here are some super cute facts about bees!
to gather pollen, bees are usually hairy, as pollen sticks to hair, and many species look like cotton candy with wings 🥺 rooting around in flowers is messy business, and leaves a bee coated in hundreds of tiny grains of pollen. using her many legs, the bee grooms herself, wiping all the pollen to the back of her body, where she stuffs it into the spaces between special stiff bristles on her legs or belly. these tufts are called scopa 🌷 quite the opposite of the furry bee, wasps look like Olympic swimmers, devoid of all hair, skinny-waisted, and with long spindly legs, so try not to blame the bees for the wasps’ bad behaviour!
Source: United Nations, Princeton University Press
