World Bee Day

About World Bee Day

When is World Bee Day? Held on May 20th each year. Don’t confuse it with National Honey Bee Day (also known as World Beekeeping Day), which is held on August 16th.

World Bee Day is a chance to celebrate bees, their crucial role as pollinators, and their importance to our ecosystems. 

Yet, they’re increasingly at risk from factory farming, land clearing, and the use of pesticides, so World Bee Day is also an opportunity to highlight the plight of bees around the world.

Let’s use this day to protect the bees and, in turn, protect our planet.

Ready for some interesting facts about bees? Let’s go:

1. Bees have five eyes, two large ones and three smaller ones in the centre of their heads.
2. Bees and flowers are interdependent, as bees need pollen and nectar for food, while plants need bees to enable their reproduction.
3. Bees carrying pollen look like they have two orange sacks stuck to their hairy legs.
4. A third of the world's food production depends on bees, as they pollinate three-quarters of the most popular global crops.
5. Factory farming and pesticides are hurting bees. Though designed to kill pests, these chemicals are incredibly harmful to bees.  
6. Bees are losing their natural habitat to farming, as trees, meadows, and other plants are being cleared to make way for livestock and crops to produce animal feed.
7. Bees don't want to sting you. They’re more docile than hornets and wasps and only sting when they feel threatened.

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Are bees endangered? Threats to bees explained

Bee numbers are declining globally. Here are the primary threats they face. 

Farming

Factory farming is a major threat to bee populations. It drives widespread habitat destruction and loss and exposes bees to harmful pesticides.

Habitat destruction

Beyond farming, natural landscapes are being lost to urbanisation and infrastructure developments. The trees, flowers, and meadows that bees rely on are disappearing from our planet, leading to biodiversity loss and decreasing bee numbers.

Climate change

As global temperatures change and weather becomes more unpredictable due to climate change, bees are becoming disoriented. They take their cues from the weather, so many bees are emerging later. The vegetation they rely on is also developing at different rates.

Bee facts and FAQS

Why are bees important?

Bees are important because they’re responsible for pollinating the vast majority of flowering plants. Bees collect pollen and nectar, fertilising the plants that humans and other animals rely on for food as they travel from flower to flower. Humans and other wildlife simply couldn’t survive without bees.

What do bees do?

Solitary bees, bumble bees, and honey bees all pollinate plants. However, they don’t operate in the same way. While solitary bees build and defend their nests alone, bumble bees live in a colony, and honey bees work collectively within a hive.

How and why do bees make honey?

Bees make honey by drinking and regurgitating nectar, passing it mouth-to-mouth in the hive until it thickens. This honey then feeds the growing larvae.
Both bumble bees and honey bees make honey, though the latter produce it in much greater quantities. 

How long do bees live?

The lifespan of a bee depends on its species and, if it’s a honey bee, the role it plays within the hive. A queen honey bee can live for three to six years, but a drone honey bee may only live for one to two months.

What do bees eat?

Bees eat honey, nectar, and bee pollen (a mixture of pollen and nectar). Larvae are also fed royal jelly, a white substance that nurse bees produce using special glands on their body.