Today, May 20, 2023, is World Bee Day once again – an annual commemoration day established by the United Nations to raise awareness of the importance of bees and other pollinators to our environment, agriculture and food security .
Bees play a crucial role in pollinating flowering plants, including many crops important to human nutrition. Through their pollination services, bees contribute to the preservation of biological diversity and support the production of fruit, vegetables and nuts.
The climate crisis and diseases are causing a dramatic decline in bee populations
World Bee Day aims to raise awareness of the decline in bee populations and the threats bees face. Factors such as habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change and disease have led to dramatic declines in bee populations worldwide.
UN Bee Day: Promote sustainable development, improve protection of bees
Various events and activities are held on this day to highlight the importance of bees, educate the public about their role in sustainable development and promote bee conservation measures.
This includes information events, workshops, lectures and actions aimed at raising awareness of protecting bees and taking concrete steps to promote their habitats and welfare.
World Bee Day: 20,000 species of bees on our planet
According to expert and award-winning biodiversity expert Frauke Fischer, there are over 20,000 species of bees on our planet. All bee species are vegetarian. They need nectar and pollen for protein. This specialization makes them excellent pollinators – also of useful plants. Most importantly, we need many different bee species to ensure this pollination service. Bumblebees, stingless bees and honey bees live in colonies, while many other species are solitary.
The largest bee species in the world, the Wallace giant bee is about 4cm long and has a wingspan of 6cm. It was thought to be extinct for a long time, but was rediscovered on three Indonesian islands a few years ago.
Spiders are also very important for biodiversity
The ambitious nature photographer and biodiversity author Roland Günter points out that other important insect species should also be of particular importance on Bee Day: For example, spiders, which are just as important for biodiversity? “They live in millions and billions on plants and in the soil litter.
There they capture countless small animals. They act as a kind of #feedback and are therefore essential for the existence of a balanced balance within the #biodiversity of thousands of small animal species in our ecosystems. For example, if there were no more spiders, the number of many species of flies and mosquitoes would explode – because their reproduction strategies would easily make this possible.
Intact ecosystems are essential
However, if their number increases in an intact ecosystem, the number of their predators also increases – until their prey density falls again; then the robbers also decrease in their population density. Put simply, this is how #ecosystems work.
The biggest bad luck for the spiders, writes biodiversity expert Günter: Humans don’t particularly like them. That’s why there is no World Spider Day, And that’s why many people don’t look when it comes to spiders; Bees are easier to love.