The bees place in our world is important beyond our understanding. Bees are an amazing and highly beneficial insect species that quite literally underpins the sustenance of life as we know it on planet earth. But honeybees are increasingly threatened by an onslaught of harmful influences, not the least of which includes the perpetuation of industrial agriculture and its excessive use of toxic, bee-killing crop chemicals, both of which have contributed to the massive bee die-off phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. The main role of the bee, of course, is to pollinate. Currently, there are at least 235,000 different flowering plants on earth, and bees are responsible for at least 80 percent of cross-pollinating those plants. — Dr. Reese Halter, A conservation biologist who has traveled the globe studying bees In the writings, artwork and symbolism of cultures and religions around the world from time immemorial are references to the bees and the substances they collect in nature and make in their bodies, namely honey, bee pollen, bee propolis, royal jelly and wax. These substances, along with the bees and the beehive, have been held in high esteem throughout human history in every part of the world. Photography by Sam Droege, USGS
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 07:31:55 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015