Posted on July 10, 2019
Two good reasons NOT to step on a bee:
(1) You don't want to be stung. Especially not on your foot.
(2) Bees are in trouble. And they are super-duper precious to the world and specifically to humans!
I guess I don't have to say anything more about #1. Right? Even if you're not allergic to bee stings (if you are, use your epipen and seek medical help immediately), they swell and they hurt!
But, as to #2:
You probably know that bees make honey. People love honey!
Also, consider beeswax, the natural wax created by honeybees. The bees use it to build honeycomb cells in which they store honey and raise their young. WE use it in a bunch of ways: to make candles, cosmetics, lip balm, lotions, medicines, paint, shoe polish, furniture polish, surfboard wax, rosin, and much more; to do resist-dye art forms like psanky (Eastern European Easter egg decorations) and batik (decorated cloth); to seal letters and formal decrees; to coat cheese and glaze or coat certain foods.
But most important for the world in general and humans in particular:
Bees pollinate so many plants!
Scientists estimate that bees pollinate about 80% of the world's plants, including many food crops. We truly do need honeybees!!
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| We don't know how many bees there are in the world. An educated guess puts the number at something like 100 trillion. Until we build 100 trillion of the little robot pollinators pictured above, we are going to need to take good care of our bees! |
Bee populations go up and down with environmental conditions, but recently we have had some major losses, probably due to a lot of factors combining into one big problem. Some of the factors putting pressure on bees include pesticides, loss of habitat, and climate change. There have been problems with pests and parasites such as a particular mite and a particular fungus, and once in a while a new virus comes along and wreaks havoc on bee populations.
Wild bees are in more danger than are domesticated honeybees. Here are some things we can do to help them. 
Big picture: if we try to fight climate change AND try to clean up our air, water, and food supply, we will make things better for bees, and for all of us.
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