There are 20,000 species of bees in the world
Honey BeeHoney bees are widely used in commercial pollinating but are not native to most of the places they are brought to.
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BumblebeeThere are many different types of bumblebees and they often pollinate through a process called "buzz pollination."
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Mason BeeMason bees are solitary bees who construct their nests in small cracks and cavities.
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Blast from the past
Let's go back to the beginning. We're going back before humans, back before delicious honey on supermarket shelves, back before commercial beekeeping. We're going all the way back to evolution. Bees played a vital role in the process of evolution. As the world grew up, bees began their role of pollinator and soon a new evolutionary trend began, that of flowers. Many flowering plants would not be able to reproduce without bees so they adopted attractive scents, colors, and unique shapes to draw bees in.
Throughout time bees also played an important role in human culture and development. In some ancient cultures bee products such as honey and wax were used as tribute to rulers or used as currency. The bee often stood as a symbol for monarchy and deities. In Ancient Egypt, bee keepers ferried bee aviaries up and down the Nile river. When the nectar was exhausted in one place, the bees would be moved down river. Throughout the ages civilizations revered and loved bees, leading to our own dependence upon them today for, not only honey, but also crop production.
the truth of today
- Bees contribute to an estimated 10% of global agricultural production; in the U.S.A. the estimate is 1/3 of crop production.
- In the U.S. alone, bees are responsible for roughly 29 billion agricultural dollars; worldwide bees are responsible for between 235 billion to 577 billion agricultural dollars.
- Bees pollinate an extremely wide variety of crops including vegetables, fruits, nuts, and fibers.
- Over ninety different types of crops in the U.S. rely on bee pollination.
- Hand pollinating crops would cost an estimated 90 billion dollars per year.
- A farmer can produce a couple hundred pounds of crops per acre without the help of bees; with the help of bees that number rises to 100,000 pounds per acre.
- Our diets would be reduced to grasses and some grains without bees, for vegetarians 90% of their diet would be lost.
- Many typical meals would not be the same without bees