No bees, no mankind

Bees are amazing four-winged , small and hard-working insects. There are over 12,000 species of bees. Many people think of bees simply as a summertime nuisance but those nature's tiny workers put food on our tables. How do they do that ? We know that over one-third of our food supply relies upon them for pollination services and we know that pollination is essential for the reproduction of the plants the bees service. People need to understand that bees are vital to the success of about 90 per cent of crops worldwide.

Here is the trouble: the numbers of bees decline every day. Suddenly the disappearance of bees with  epic proportions is one of the most bizzare happenings that mother nature has ever seen. Scientists named this phenomenon Colony Collapse Disorder. CCD is the disorder when all residents of the beehive suddenly disappear, leaving behind just a queen bee and some immature bee workers. Once bees have vanished they are never being found again. Honey and pollen of bees affected by CCD, neither bugs nor parasites would touch them.

So what is the cause of those disappearances? Nobody actually knows. Researchers think this Colony Collapse Disorder may be caused by a number of interwoven factors , such as global warming and using pesticides on farms. Some toxic pesticidesmeant to kill pests can harm the honey bees needed for pollination. And there is also habitat loss brought about by development, abandoned farms, growing crops without leaving habitat for wildlife.Some Some studies link bee decline to cell. In a study at Panjab University in Chandigarh, northern India, researchers fitted cell phones to a hive and powered them up for two fifteen-minute periods each day.After three months, they found the bees stopped producing honey, egg production by the queen bee halved, and the size of the hive dramatically reduced.

The New York Time has calculated that the damages created by empty beegardens could raise up to 14 milion US dollars.

And after all that, what can wa do to help? How can an individual help?

Well, for instance plant your garden with bee friendly plants. You can also become a beekeeper. Beekeeping is a most enjoyable, fascinating and interesting hobby. Some training programs allow enthusiasts to become Master Beekeepers.

You can help bees by protecting swarms. Swarming is a natural process when colonies of honeybees can increase their numbers. If you see a swarm contact the local authority or the police who will contact a local beekeeper who will collect the swarm and take it away.

Try to encourage local authorities to use bee friendly plants in public spaces. Encourage your authorities to improve the area you live in by adventurous planting schemes. And last but not least BE bee friendly. When kept properly, bees are good neighbours, and only sting when provoked.

Try to save those amazing creatures that feed you and remember what Albert Einstein once said - “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left.”