21 February 2020 - BEES - THE MOST IMPORTANT BEINGS ON EARTH

 

THE MOST IMPORTANT 

BEINGS ON EARTH

G'day folks,

Listen up and take notice. Mother Nature has given us some adorable insects like butterflies, ladybugs, and, of course, bees. Yes, you do get the occasional bee sting every once in a while, but they outweigh your discomfort of its self-defense by being a vital component in the planet’s ecosystem.

Scientists say that bees have become the single most important animal on the planet. So important, in fact, that humanity is at stake if bee populations go south… which is, unfortunately, becoming a reality. Dr. McGavin is an entomologist, academic, and explorer, who has dedicated over 25 years to teaching students at Oxford, many of whom are now in the forefront of conservation and insect biology.

The Earthwatch Institute, an international environmental charity aiming to work for the good of the planet, stated in the Royal Geographical Society that bees are now the most important living thing on the planet. Unfortunately, multiple species of bees have been placed on the list of endangered animals with studies showing a rapid global decline in the bee population.

Dr. McGavin stresses the importance of bees in the global ecosystem: “The critical symbiosis between insects, especially bees, and flowering plants has created a rich diversity of life on Earth. The origin of bees coincides with the main radiation of the angiosperms approximately 100 million years ago.”

  “There are around 20,000 species of bee (not just honey bees!) and many are solitary species,” elaborates Dr. McGavin. “Bees are essential to our survival—without the world’s bees, we would have to change our eating habits dramatically. No flowers, no fruits, no vegetables.”

According to a Greenpeace report, roughly 60 to 90 percent of the food we eat needs help from pollinators such as bees to reproduce. This percentage includes a variety of fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts, much of which we consume daily. This also means that as bee populations dwindle, Earth’s biodiversity also diminishes, potentially affecting further species and causing a domino effect in that regard.

Clancy's comment: Yep, vital to our survival, so don't bitch if you get the occasional sting.

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