Bees and flowers have evolved in tandem because each depends on the other. Many flowers depend on bees for their pollination, but the bees in turn depend on the flowers for their food. All bees pollinate flowers, but honey bees are particularly important because honey bee colonies provide such a large number of pollinators. Without honey bees, many of our wild flowers and trees would disappear, and the yield from many of our important commercial crops would drop substantially.
| The worldwide economic impact on agriculture from the loss of bees has been estimated at over €150 billion – and that doesn’t take account of the impact on biodiversity. This figure is many times greater than the total value of all bee products. It makes beekeeping a unique form of ‘farming’ as the main beneficiaries from beekeepers’ efforts are not beekeepers but the public and the environment. |