When most people think of bee keeping, jars of glistening honey come to mind. And while there’s no argument that honey is perhaps one of the sweetest and immediate rewards of bee keeping, it should be considered that bees and other pollinators provide benefits on such a larger scale. It’s important to support pollinators of all kinds and we can do this by providing a variety of housing to not only Honey Bees but other species of pollinators as well.
Here are some interesting facts about pollinators provided by The NAPPC (North American Polinator Protection Campaign) and the Pollinator Partnership.
“Why does pollination matter to us?
• Worldwide, roughly 1,000 plants grown for food, beverages, fibers, spices, and medicines need to be pollinated by animals in order to produce the goods on which we depend.
• Foods and beverages produced with the help of pollinators include: apples, blueberries, chocolate, coffee, melons, peaches, potatoes, pumpkins, vanilla, almonds, and tequila.
• In the United States, pollination by honey bees, native bees, and other insects produces $40 billion worth of products annually.
Are pollinators in trouble?
• Worldwide there is disturbing evidence that pollinating animals have suffered from loss of habitat, chemical misuse, introduced and invasive plan and animal species, and diseases and parasites.
• Many pollinators are federally “listed species,” meaning that there is evidence of their disappearance in natural areas.
• The U.S. has lost over 50% of its managed honeybee colonies over the past 10 years.
• A lack of research has hindered our knowledge about the status of pollinators. The E.U. has been so concerned that they have invested over $20 million investigating the status of pollinators in Europe.“
https://pollinator.org/pollination.htm
So as you can see pollinators of all kinds are important to the us, our food production, the production of medicines and the natural balance of the food chain. For those of you who want to support pollinators, but perhaps don’t want to get involved in the whole honey extraction process, here are a few alternative hive options that might interest you.
Read more: http://keepingbackyardbees.com/hives-pollination-conservation/
