the honeybee

(image from National Geographic)

Today is the first day of National Pollinators Week. I promise I will post everyday this week about different pollinators. The first is, of course, the honeybee. The honeybee is the only insect that produces food eaten by humans. The females are the ones who do all the work. They lay the eggs and guides the behavior of the other bees (Queen) and they forage for food, take care of the hive and perform other social functions (workers). The males are called drones and their job is to mate with the queen. After that, they are expelled. Poor males. They don't even have a stinger!

Honey is considered one of the safest foods because most harmful bacteria cannot live in it for any length of time. Of course, if babies under 1 eat honey, it can be fatal. It takes 1000 bees to gather a pound of honey.

Because bees help fertilize many of our amazing foods, such as apples, almonds, blueberries and cherries, their direct value to U.S. agriculture is more than $14 billion dollars (and it could be even more). So it is no wonder why we should be doing everything we can to save these little critters.

Here is a great video on how wild bees can help managed hives and also help pollinate crops.

Here are some ways to help the honeybee:

You could become a beekeeper, but most of the people I know won't go for that. Honestly, neither will I. So, instead plant your garden with bee-friendly plants. Did you know that Willow trees provide bees with a good source of food? They do! You could also encourage local authorities to plant bee-friendly plants in public gardens or spaces.

Buy local honey. Not only will it help with your allergies, it also supports local beekeepers and most likely would be pure and raw. If you don't have access to local honey, I would say just make sure your honey is raw, not just pure. Raw means it is not heated in any way. Heating honey destroys all the good qualities.

Bees are mostly gentle and rarely attack. If you see a swarm, do not spray it with water! Instead call the authorities who probably know what to do. Also, bees do not like the smell of alcohol or the smell of "leather" clothing. They also see dark clothing as a threat. If you see a bee hovering around you, stay calm and don't run away flapping your arms! Just calmly back away, preferably into some shade. They'll soon lose interest.

Have a bee-u-tiful day.