World Bee Day!

World Bee Day is nearly here! We will be celebrating bees and all other pollinators on the 20th May, will you join us? Below we’ve put together some essential information you should know about bees, their health and how we can help them…

We should actually celebrate our pollinating pals every day of the year, because without them the world would be a very different place… and not for the better! There are many insects that pollinate such as butterflies, moths, ants and even mosquitos (I know, I thought they were the only useless insect on the planet too, but I guess not) however bees are the predominant pollinator, estimated to pollinate one third of the food we eat globally and around 80% of flowering plants!

Considering we are already looking in to the face of a world food crisis, if bees ceased to exist, which is actually a possibility at the way we’re going then the whole planet would be in a lot of trouble. Without the bees we would struggle massively to feed the whole planet, let alone in a sustainable and economically responsible manner. It is estimated that it would cost the UK £1.8 billion to self pollinate the food grown in the UK alone.

But why are bee populations declining?

There are a number of reasons why bee populations are declining, from habitat destruction, use of pesticides to climate change, parasites and diseases and invasive species. Not only do these factors directly affect the bees themselves, it can also lead to a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder, which is happening more and more in recent years.

Colony Collapse Disorder occurs when the majority of worker bees in the colony suddenly disappear, leaving behind a handful of nurse bees to look after the brood and the queen, and heaps of unguarded food. The remaining hive is simply unable to sustain themselves without the worker bees and the hive will eventually die.

Therefore it is imperative to make more time and effort for the conservation of bees and their habitat. So this is where World Bee Day comes in and we have Slovenia to thank. It took them 3 years of efforts at the international level to get UN member states to approve the proposal to proclaim the 20^th May World Bee Day.

The main purpose of World Bee Day is to raise awareness of the vital role that Bees and other pollinators play in keeping our planet and our people healthy. It can provide governments, organisations and citizen’s opportunities to help promote the protection of bee habitats, to help improve their abundance and diversity and find ways to support sustainable bee keeping.

So how can you help?

As an individual you can plant nectar bearing flowers, purchase only local (regional or national) honey, keep your garden diverse e.g. mixed lawn species, mow your lawn in the evening (after the bees are back in their hives), set up a ‘bee hotel’, talk about bees and spread awareness and support farmers that are using sustainable agricultural methods.

Life Cykel can help you help the bees! We have a range of bee related products that can help you celebrate World Bee Day and raise awareness. We have a bee pollinating grow kit so you can grow tasty flowers (for the bees that is!) easily from you back garden, it comes with our very special coffee compost mix and recycled coffee cups so you can see the Circular Economy in action. 10% of profits go towards bee health research!

We also have organic mushroom honey, whereby we have worked with Australian beekeepers to help enhance the immune system of their bees by allowing bees to feed on native mushrooms and bush berries. The honey that these immunity enhanced bees produce is collected and additionally infused with our Reishi Mushroom Liquid Extract. Therefore it is not only helping to improve the health of our bees but also the immune system of you, the consumer! 10% of the profits go toward research in to Colony Collapse Disorder.

And lastly our Beemunity extract, this liquid extract is more focussed on those who own hives. We have mixed our mushroom extracts with native Australian bush foods from the Northern Territory to create an extremely powerful immune boosting tincture that serves as a food base the bees can feast on in their hives.   

So next time you see one of our fuzzy little friends buzzing around some flowers, think about just how important they really are…

You can find more information about World Bee Day here: 

https://www.worldbeeday.org/en/