There’s been a lot of buzz in the media about bees, and it’s easy to see why; two native species have gone extinct in the past 80 years alone, but why are bees beginning to drop like flies?
Well for a start, the past century has seen many dandelion filled meadows replaced by industrial farmland, and with the ever-increasing demand for perfectly shaped vegetables, this number continues to grow. Considering the fact that 84% of our crops need bees to survive, perhaps we should rethink bulldozing their only food source – and squashing them whenever they have the nerve to buzz into our back garden.
It’s no secret that if the bees were to die, we’d end up paying about 20 pounds per apple, but that’s not all we would have to deal with. Granted, everything else seems silly when you’re forced to choose between fresh fruit and financial stability.
You see, bees act as personal wingmen to flowers. We won’t go into the details, but when two flowers love each other very much, a bee pops over and transfers pollen from one to the other. Fast forward a few days and up springs a baby apple or orange.
Bee conservation isn’t just essential for fruit and veg though, without it, our roses would wilt away, the clusters of daisy that add so much life to our fields would droop and die, and of course, our toast would be pretty bland without a dash of honey.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, as there are other animals that can take the role of bees. These include bats, birds and butterflies, but these creatures aren’t wired to be pollen addicts the same way bees are, as bees need them to feed their young.
Any pollen that might be passed on by these animals is a happy little accident, but relying on them as our chief pollinators would be akin to putting chimpanzees at the controls of a train; It might work for a little bit, but will inevitably end in a spectacular disaster.
Bee Conservation Tips
These days, neighbours seem to be in a constant battle over who has the most manicured lawn. The moment the first weeds begin to peek out, people begin revving up their lawnmowers. Although we don’t want to begrudge folks of their well-trimmed patches of grass, there is such thing as going over the top.
Either way, it might surprise you to know that it’s best to let your garden live a little. Dandelions and clovers have a bad reputation as they’re classed as weeds, but they add colour to your garden and are a succulent source of food for starving bees, so think twice before tearing them down! Try to avoid pesticides too – they can severely harm bees if they get into their systems, along with harming us if the polluted pollen should make it back to the hives’ batch of honey.
Naturally, if you’re really concerned about bee conservation, then a good way to ensure their survival is to not swipe at them with rolled up newspapers. We understand that insects are a pain while trying to enjoy a picnic, but bees are vegetarians, which means that they’re not the ones going after your ham sandwiches. Those winged menaces would be the wasps.
There are a few distinguishing features between the two; Bees are fuzzy and tend to hide their legs while in flight, whereas wasps have little to no hair and have their legs visible while airborne.
In addition to not butchering them and letting your garden flourish, you can also plant a few bee-friendly flowers. 97% of the UK’S species-rich meadows have been decimated since the 1930’s, but if people transform their back lawns into bee sanctuaries, we can still reverse the damage that has been caused.
Doing Our Part
As you can probably tell, here at iBeani, we’re passionate about bees, which is why we’ve created an iBeani dedicated to them. Our iBeani bees edition comes with a simplistic yet elegant bumblebee design, and will always fit in with your choice of décor. Like all our products, iBeani bees is lightweight and can hold any device, be it a tiny kindle or a bulky iPad.
And to top it off, a percentage of all the products earnings goes to support the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Just £16 worth of donations can be used to create about 5m2 of wildlife habitat, or to put that into perspective; About the same size as an average living room, an insanely large food source to help keep the bees sustained!
Bees don’t need much to survive, but a helping hand now will prevent a disaster in the future, and every little helps!