Why SAVE the BEE?
Honey bees are essential to life as we know it, and they are dying.
The Issue
Humans need honey bees! They pollinate 1/3 of our food supply.
Pollinators are essential to life and to the biodiversity of our planet. Ninety percent of flowering plants need pollinators and honey bees pollinate 80% of agricultural crops in the United States. One third of our diet, and arguably the most nutritious, comes from plants that require pollination by honey bees! The need for honey bee pollination services has increased nationwide due to the market demand for foods like nuts, orchard fruits, berries, and numerous vegetables. It is critical that we protect our pollinators.
Be part of the solution
Honey Bee Colony Loss & Population Decline
Honeybee colony loss in the US has averaged 40% over the last decade
This significant annual loss has put enormous pressure on our commercial beekeepers. Imagine if you were a cherry farmer and you were losing a third of your crop every year? The effort extended to keep the overall honey bee population relatively stable comes at a substantial cost of time and money to beekeepers who are forced to create new colonies by splitting existing colonies in half. This is not a sustainable business model! SAVE the BEE hopes to inspire serious action to prevent further honey bee population loss.
Why are bees dying?
Major contributors to the global honey bee population decline include pesticides, parasites, loss of foraging habitat, and poor nutrition.
- Pervasive use of pesticides that move systemically into all parts of a plant are causing numerous sub-lethal effects on honey bee development and immunity.
- Varroa mites and the viruses they carry continue to negatively impact honey bee colonies.
- Native forage is critical to bees. Acreage of diverse forage has all but disappeared due to industrialized agriculture and development of open lands.
- Honey bees need a diverse diet! When bees are used to pollinate large monocrops like almonds or blueberries, their dietary options are limited.
These assaults pose a significant threat to bees, beekeepers, and our food systems worldwide.
Pesticides
Parasites
Loss of Forage
Poor Nutrition
The Issue
Bees need our help
The Action
Read about GloryBee’s initiative
The Impact
SAVE the BEE successes
