The Bee and Its Role in Our Lives

 by Isabella Tarttelin

There are many creatures and insects in the world that we may never know of, or pass by everyday and don’t take much notice of. We are so absorbed in what we have on our phones, or what we are eating for dinner, or if we remembered to turn the TV off before leaving the house, that we miss incredible constructions of nature that have been around far longer than we have.

Take the bee for example. Bees (superfamily Apoidea) have been around for 146 to 74 million years, ever since flowers began to flower in the Cretaceous period. 

When searched into google, bees are described to be a stinging winged insect which collects nectar and pollen, produces wax and honey and lives in large communities. They range in size from 2mm to 4cm and are closely related to wasps. 

There are many types of bees: honey, bumble, carpenter, buff-tailed, andrena but I would like to focus on one, the honey bee. Despite all the species of bee (and what is stated on google), the honey bee is the one kind that makes honey. They live in large families or colonies, and can be found all over the world. A typical honey bee colony contains 1 queen, 50000 workers, 300 drones, 9000 hungry larvae, 20,000 older larvae and 6000 eggs. Bees haven't had a break a day in their lives, they work until they drop dead, meaning a strict air-tight routine. 

First role of the hive: the queen. She lays all the eggs, laying about 1000 a day. Second role: the worker. Immediately as they emerge they get to work. Feeding larvae and the queen with pollen and honey. As they get older (16 days) they will begin to secret wax and build the familiar hexagonal shaped honeycombs. At 20 days they defend the nest and forage for nectar and honey. They are crucial in the regulation of temperature of the hive by fanning with their wings and carrying water.

The last role is the drones. They are the only males in the hive and their one task is to mate with the queens to produce eggs. And that's it!

It may seem strange to suggest that humans can learn from bees. One may argue that they are not as developed as we are. They lack the ability to read, speak and write, our skyscrapers are much more intricate than their hives and we have imagination, conscientiousness, personalities, souls, and moral judgement. We average at 171cm, whereas they average at a mere 2.    

But can we learn from bees? Yes, we can. Bees are great team players; they cooperate in everything. If one bee falls sick, the others work twice as hard to make sure collective productivity is never reduced. They are efficient, they get the job done without multitasking. They stick to their job and waste no other time but living their purpose.They continuously evolve, relocating from one region to another, quickly scouting out the new environment and getting to work in as little as an hour. They are not discouraged by new locations, they are not discouraged by change. No amount of sunlight can be wasted with them so they can make the most amount of honey possible colonies have queens without dictatorship. Even though the bees depend on their queen; she doesn't interfere with her subjects and is still a servant of her hive as she performs her duties. 

Despite all these important factors, bees are an endangered species. Since 1900, the UK has lost 13 species of bee, and a further 35 are considered under threat of extinction due to the rise in pesticide use and urbanisation. Honey is such a crucial part of many people’s lives, even yours. People have used this bee-related product for medical purposes for thousands of years. Research has proven it has antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. It was a big part of traditional medicine, treating things like eczema, eye diseases, and ulcers. It also has benefits for our skin, and is a component of many skincare products. In 2020 scientists found evidence that a component in honey bee venom called melittin could kill cancer cells. Bees could provide the groundbreaking steps of medicine in this age. 

Another clear reason is pollination. About 75% of crops produce better yields if bees help them pollinate. They visit over 90% of the world's top crops. The numbers of bees declining will affect food supplies. Without bees there will be no more nuts, coffee, cocoa, tomatoes and more. In 2012 experts estimated the total pollination to be worth $34 billion, largely due to bees.  Bees even help in places you had no idea they even correlated in! Bee products are a key aspect of archaeology; beeswax produces a chemical fingerprint that people can assess. A study states that in post-industrial times beeswax was a component for many agricultural societies across the world. It can provide evidence for the early ideas of agriculture and the beginning of a domestication process. The geographical range of bee product exploitation has been stated to trace back to Neolithic Europe (later part of Stone Age). 

Even in our society we are utilising their mannerisms to our advantage. Observing the honey bee dances and their communication can help scientists understand where changes are taking place in the environment. The ‘waggle dance’ tells other bees that distance and direction of the food. The line she ‘waggles’ correlates to the distance of the flowers. A long line means a long distance, and a short line means a short distance. The direction they do the dance at links to the direction from the sun. Scientists can use this to find the most profitable foraging locations for the bees. Despite being small, the bee is such a key part of our lives. Food, colour, medicine, science, your own garden has had the influence of bees. It is so crucial that we learn, we understand their impact before it is too late.