100 Simple things you take for granted: #4 Bees

By Sparklingjem
Einstein made a statement that:

"If the bee were to disappear from the surface of the earth, mankind would have no more than four years to live."

The bee is quite simply one of the most fascinating creatures on our planet. It's wings, which beat at a speed of 200 beats per second, are supposedly too small to carry the weight of it's body yet they do. The bee can fly up to six miles in a single trip at a speed of 15 miles per hour. Their brain is the size of a sesame seed yet they possess the ability to learn, remember and make complex calculations when foraging for honey. Honey is the only human food produced by insects that contains all the substances necessary to sustain life. Not to mention, honey is the only substance that never goes bad. It has been found in Egyptian pyramids, thousands of years old yet still edible. But, all in all, we could probably survive without honey so what was Einstein talking about and what was he drinking while doing so. 

Einstein was referring to pollination. In most of the western world, the biggest bee industry is not producing honey. It is hiring out the services of bees to farmers who rely on these tiny creatures to pollinate their crops which we rely on to eat. Over a third of commercial crops rely on bees alone to pollinate them. 

This crisis is more immediate than you might think. The last few years have seen huge declines in bee populations around the world from pesticide poisoning and the development of resistant strains of diseases. Already farms in parts of China are having to hand pollinate. This will lead to huge food price increases, ultimately food shortages and many crops disappearing from our supermarkets.

So next time you complain about the bees flying around your swimming pool or try to swat one buzzing around your soda, take a moment to think about what the world would be like without them and be grateful for the work they do.