During the eighth annual day of the “World Bees Day”, around 400,000 bees in the hives on the urban roof in Cologne, Germany, were busy making honey. They seemed unconscious threats that endanger their survival. Scientists and bee experts hope that World Day on Tuesday can raise awareness, reports the AP. For Matthias Roth, president of Cologne Beekeepers Association, it is crucial to protect both bees – like those of its hives on the roof and wild species. His organization has created nest boxes in the hope of helping solitary bees, which do not form hives, but Roth fears that this is not enough. “We have to take care of nature,” said Roth on Tuesday. “We have become very far from nature, especially in cities, and we must take care of wild bees in particular.”
Bees and other pollinators have been declining for years, and experts blame a combination of factors: insecticides, parasites, diseases, climate change and lack of diversified food supply. An important part of human food comes from plants pollinated by bees – not only bees, but hundreds of less known wild bee species, many of which are threatened. In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly sponsored the first “World Bees Day” to draw attention to the fate of bees. Steps as small as the planting of a pollinators’ garden or the purchase of raw honey from local farmers have been encouraged.
May 20 was chosen for the “World Bees Day” to coincide with the birthday of Anton Jansa, a pioneer from the 18th century in modern beekeeping techniques in his indigenous Slovenia. In Germany, where bees contribute to 2.3 billion dollars in economic advantages, they are essential to pollinate the emblematic fields of yellow rapeseed which dominate the countryside in the spring. (No more bee stories.)
