Today is World Bee Day! The United Nations declared the date as World Bee Day in December 2017, after years of campaigning by the Republic of Slovenia to get recognition for bees and their importance to the environment.
It's all about raising awareness about the critical role of honey bees in our communities and economy, and the need to protect their health.
Bees are critically important to New Zealand and to the New Zealand economy – much more so than you might think! Without bees, our gardens would be without many of their plants and flowers, and our major agri-export industries (worth around $5 billion) would be in severe trouble! At least one-third of our food depend on honey bees for pollination, this food provides us 35% of our calories, most of our minerals, vitamins, and anti-oxidants. What would happen to our nutrient food intake and in turn our health if our bees disappeared? Albert Einstein said, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live".