Climate change causes some flowers to bloom earlier or later than usual, leaving bees with fewer food sources. Bees are suffering from habitat loss from development, abandoned farms and a lack of bee-friendly flowers. In our ecosystem, planting a garden will not only lead to healthy plants, but it will ensure that bees continue to play their vital role. Bumblebees are essential to human beings, as part of our natural capital. They are responsible for the pollination of many food crops, which present both economic value and essential nutrients. Bumblebees are important pollinators of wild flowering plants and agricultural crops. Some species of bumblebee are now much more numerous in urban and suburban gardens than in the wider countryside, as gardeners grow plants that bees can feed on.
This blog will help you understand why bumblebee is so important to think and what we can do to conserve it.
Why Bumblebees are important:
The reason why bumblebees are so important is that many plants depend on them for pollination. Fewer bumblebees are pollinated and begin with a systematic decomposition of the ecosystem in which these plants exist. The loss of the bumblebee would have a drastic effect on our current way of life and on the many animals that depend on these plants for food. They can move their large perennial colonies to where they are needed and they can communicate direction and distance between the hive and the nectar sources. However bumblebees are ‘key pollinators’ and they are essential for farmers to pollinate crops, fruits and flowers. We need healthy populations of all our wild bees and other pollinators. Let’s explore some reasons bees are important to our environment.
Food Source:
Bees produce honey to feed their colonies during the cold winter months. Humans have been harvesting honey for thousands of years, but we’re not the only ones who think of it as a sweet snack. Creatures like birds, raccoons, opossums, and insects will attack beehives to taste nutritious honey (and bee larvae). At least 24 species of birds, including blackbirds, ruby-throated hummingbirds, and starlings, feed on bees. Many spiders and insects, such as dragonflies and praying mantises, also eat bees.
Wildlife Habits:
Bees known for their elaborate beehives, but they also help build homes for millions of other insects and animals. Their role as pollinators is vital in the growth of tropical forests, woodland savannas and temperate deciduous forests. Many tree species, such as willows and poplars, could not grow without pollinators such as bees. If the bees were to disappear, the animals that depend on these plants for their survival would also disappear.
Biodiversity:
As pollinators, bees play a role in all aspects of the ecosystem. They support the growth of trees, flowers, and other plants, which provide food and shelter for creatures large and small. Bees contribute to complex and interconnected ecosystems that allow different types of species to coexist. There is no doubt about the importance of bees to our food supply. But we need to remember the other reasons why bees are important to the environment.
Steps for mitigation:
The first and most obvious thing you can do to help conserve bumblebees is to never disturb a nest if you encounter one. You can also plant native plants, making sure there is habitat for these bees. Never use systemic insecticides in your garden, and when purchasing plants from a nursery, check that they have not been pretreated with systemic insecticides. Moreover, plants that attract bees, you can also provide a source of water, such as a shallow dish with floating caps for the bees to rest and drink.
Whether you are planting a native garden in containers on your patio or getting involved with your local chapter of a conservation society, you can help conserve the bumblebee population in your area. It takes for someone to get involved in a cause is a small amount of education, so telling friends about the work you do can go a long way if you encourage them to do and also engage in the conservation of bumblebees.
Summing-up:
The best way to protect our bumblebee population is to limit the loss of important habitat. Farmers could play a big role in saving bumblebee by encouraging wildflowers to grow in hedges and putting agri-environmental programs to good use to ensure their agriculture is bumblebee-friendly. All the wildflower patches are useful to bumblebees and even you could help by planting a few native wildflowers in your garden. There are so many wildflowers that attract bumblebees and not only would you help a good cause, but it would also bring you fun!
