This is a re-post of the one I wrote last year for World Bee Day, but some of you haven’t yet seen it, others may have forgotten it, and it says everything I would say if I wrote a whole new post. Today is World Bee Day and I cannot think of another species that deserves its own day of celebration more than bees! Quite literally, our lives depend on bees, and the bee population has been in serious decline for years now. Be kind … plant some bee-friendly flowers this week as a special treat for these fuzzy little guys, k? And PLEASE … keep the chemicals out of the garden, the yard, and anywhere else you might be tempted to use them.
While every critter, every plant has its place in the ecosystem on planet earth, there is perhaps none more important than the bee. Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities. Pollination is, however, a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land.
To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the United Nations designated May 20th as World Bee Day. The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries.
Boštjan Noč
As it was told to me by a dear friend, a Slovenian beekeeper by the name of Boštjan Noč was driving home one day, listening to a program about “World Days” and their meanings, and he wondered why bees did not have their own day. After all, as important as they are, surely they deserved a day as much as any. As President of the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association, Noč was in a position to rally the others and launch the World Bee Day Initiative.
The initiative was supported by the Slovenian Government, which strove to make it happen. It took some time … three years, to be exact, but finally on November 17th 2017, the resolution was unanimously backed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, thus designating May 20th as World Bee Day. The initiative was supported by all UN states, while 115 countries also acted as co-sponsors, including major countries such as the U.S., Canada, China, Russia, India, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and all EU Member States.
Why May 20th? Because May 20th is the birth date of Anton Janša (1734–1773), a Slovenian beekeeper, the pioneer of modern beekeeping and one of the greatest authorities on the subject of bees. The Austrian Empress Maria Theresa appointed him to the post of permanent teacher of apiculture at the new School of Beekeeping in Vienna. He became well known even before his death in 1773. After 1775, all state beekeeping teachers had to teach the subject in accordance with his teachings and methods.
So, now that you know the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ behind World Bee Day, what can we do to help the bees? For one thing, we can plant bee-friendly flowers in our gardens, and … don’t mow down those dandelions and clover … bees love those, and frankly, I think they are just as beautiful as any hothouse-bred flowers! Another is we can help force companies like Monsanto, Dow, Bayer and others to stop using bee-killing pesticides on their crops. How? First, stop buying their products. I’m not a fan of buying organic produce, for it is over-priced and doesn’t keep as long, but … if that’s what it takes, then so bee it. You’ll find some other ideas and suggestions on the World Bee Day website … be sure to check it out, for there is a wealth of information there, including lists of bee-friendly (honey) flowers and much more.
I don’t know about other countries, but in Slovenia some beekeepers decorate their bee hives with some fun artwork …
And speaking of coincidence, as I began writing this, I reached for my coffee cup and realized I was drinking out of one of my favourites … no comments about the overflowing ashtray, please!
I think the words of Mr. Noč speak as well as any I can offer ….
“I believe that we all agree that every human being on this planet deserves food every day. We have to produce more food every day, and every day more food is dependent on pollinators – with honey bees in the lead. Talking about reducing global hunger without ensuring the conditions for the survival of bees and other pollinators would simply be like throwing sand in people’s eyes!
It is time for everyone to listen to bees, in particular, leaders and decision-makers. From today on, 20 May will be a worldwide celebration of bees and beekeepers. I believe that – with the proclamation of World Bee Day – the world will begin to think more broadly about bees, in particular in the context of ensuring conditions for their survival, and thus for the survival of the human race.” – Boštjan Noč
And, I thought a cute bee video might bee just the thing to wrap up this post!
I’ve kept bees when i was younger. With Roundup and such, it’s sad what old-fashioned agriculture is doing to the bees’ world.
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It is sad … tragic, actually, for without the bees, the human species will not survive.
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Thank you for mentioning, Jill! Yes, bees are very important to us, and i have so say, i have not seen here more than three one, over the last three years, even we are having a cherry tree and pear trees in our garden. xx Michael
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Yes, the bee population is in decline around the globe, and yet people keep spraying harmful chemicals that kill ever more bees! Xx
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How sad. xx
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Very sad, and very scary. We always grow sunflowers in our tiny front yard, and when I go out to water the flowers each morning, a bumblebee or two will come talk with me for a bit. Sometimes they’re so interested in what I have to say that one will land on my nose for a brief few seconds. I think of them as my friends. xx
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Great post Jill. I agree, bees are so important to us. I have several bee friendly flowers in my yard and I have seen several over the last couple of weeks.
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Thank you, Carla! Too many people don’t realize just how important bees are to our survival! Yes, we’ve only begun seeing bees in the past two weeks — I was getting worried.
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I have some bee-friendly flower seedlings growing in the greenhouse at the moment, courtesy of 38degrees. Almost ready to be planted out 🙂
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Awesome! We planted a number of bee-friendly flowers last month … the squirrels keep digging them up and eating them, despite the fact that I feed the squirrels a pound of peanuts every day!
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Ingrates!
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Exactly what I told them!
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Reblogged this on Wibble and commented:
This is a timely and important post. Bees are crucial to our survival. And our society does not value them as it should: instead, it supports the vendors of the toxins and environmentally unfriendly practices that are killing them wholesale, driving them to extinction. And when they are gone: we all die. It’s as simple as that.
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Thank you so much for sharing this one, Pendantry! Far too many people don’t realize how reliant we are on bees, nor how fragile the bee population is, as a result of all the chemicals we have used. Thanks again!
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Oh, you’re welcome. What I find most sad of all is those pompous farts who babble about “the economy being all-important”… yet none of them think of paying the bees for their service.
Homo fatuus brutus is just a huge egotistical leech.
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It’s bad enough that they feign ignorance, but worse yet that their actions may condemn the lives of their own grandchildren, and yet they do not care
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Never mind ‘grandchildren’; call me selfish, but I’m thinking about what I’m going to eat four years from now. And I know for sure that it’s not ‘money’.
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Nothing selfish about that! I guess I’ve just stopped caring whether I eat or not, for I’m old and not of much use to anybody these days, but the grandchildren are the future, the salvation of the planet, if there is to be a future.
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Hey, your words are of great use to me. (Call me selfish!) And again, never mind grandchildren: I believe that we need to abide by the maxim of those Indigenous folk our society ran out of town; to plan for ‘the seventh generation’.
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Awww … I’m honoured! Good point, my friend!
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Ah, life is a b…… sometimes 😁😎😂🐝
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That’s for sure! 🤗🙋♀️
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How could I miss that one????? 😘🐝
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You, of all people!!!! 😉🤗🙋♀️
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Jill, thanks for the revisit for this important species. Keith
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Another bee post I saw had a quote from the bees: “If we die, we’re taking you with us. ” So true!
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One of my fondest garden memories was one day when I was weeding, there was there this something out of the corner of my eye, and there perched on my shoulder was this small bee, with its sacks bulging, it’s little abdomen pulsing like fury. The image was this little critter had just stopped to catch a breath, it was there for about a minute and then flew off.
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Awwww … that image makes me smile!
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Yay for bees and beekeepers. Keep their honey pure, don’t use insecticides.
Cwtch
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Agreed … it’s like poisoning your own food.
Cwtch
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