The Not-So-Secret Life of a Bee

Taking a closer look at how these insects provide for human health and well-being

The Beginning: BirthAs these new bees enter the world they are immediately born into a caste: drone, worker, and rarely, queen.

Commercial beekeepers use plastic combs, which has been shown to increase the rate of varroa mite infestations: The combs are too large, so mites are able to crawl in and infest bee larva.

The Life of a Worker

The workers are the only bees in the caste that go out and collect pollen. Worker bees will collect for two weeks and visit over 400 species of plants.

The life of a worker is much riskier than one may think…

If life isn’t short enough, some workers are burdened with blood-sucking mites, as pictured right.

And through disease and infestation these creatures push on, pollinating more than 70% of crops that America depends on. Including cherries, avocado, blueberries,

raspberries, strawberries, plums, and vegetables like cucumbers, squash, asparagus and nuts, particularly almonds.

Breakfast with Bees Breakfast without Bees

Bees play the biggest role in pollination because they live in large colonies that ensure “high local pollination” (Dietemann, 2010). No other pollinator is quite as efficient as the bee

The Evidence Is There….

In North America, the number of managed honey-bee hives has declined almost 60 % since the mid 1940s, due to the increasing incidence of parasitic mites and other unidentified factors. (Aizen, 2009).

Commercial beekeepers migrate their hives to different states: bees aren’t adapted to these new environments, exposing them to various diseases, as well as exposure to pollution and urban gases

Newborn dead bee infected with Mites

What Can You Do?

• Buy organically grown honey, it supports beekeepers that don’t use insecticides or other harmful beekeeping methods• Plant a bee-friendly garden: planting a wide variety of plants will attract different bees.• By researching your area, you can discover plants that the bees are particularly adapted or attract native species• Bees are not here to hurt you, there’s no need to hurt them!

Cry For Help…

The Bees need a voice. These creatures have been crying out for years now, but they have gone unnoticed.

We Need the Bees…

…And the Bees Need Us.

Contact your local non-profit organization and see what you can do Today!