Honeybees are an extremely important species for the pollination of flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
And did you know that for a single pound of honey, bees must gather the nectar from two million flowers?!
There are many reasons why we need to help save the bees and their ecosystem. And we can now do it by just leaving the dandelions alone this coming spring.
Jane Memmott, the new president of the oldest ecological society in the world, reminds everyone to live in harmony with nature. It’s not as difficult as it may seem. Sometimes, all you have to do is try to keep your lawn pollinator-friendly. Memmott herself shares that she goes around the dandelions and buttercups when she mows her lawn. She believes that while we can’t personally help species like tigers and elephants, we can at least do something for the insects, birds, and plants around us.
The Bristol University professor notes that even if we think about something we do every day, such as breakfast, we can realize how much we need the impact of honeybees in our lives.
“Think about what you all had for breakfast”, she says. And she is absolutely right! The seeds in our muesli, the fruits in our marmalade, the magical beans we need for our first cup of coffee in the morning – we have it all thanks to the hardworking bees.
To show our gratitude, the least we could do is to plant our gardens or put plants in our balconies that are bee-friendly. The choice of plants we make can have a significant impact on our local ecology.
First, we need to learn to love weeds. Dandelions, for example, are fantastic for early season pollinators. Memmott also advises people to avoid planting too many pom pom-shaped flowers because they focus too much energy into petal production and not enough into producing nectar and pollen. She explains:
“The UK has about 270 species of solitary bee and they love dandelions.”
The most important message of all is to be in harmony with nature. Your kindness will be definitely awarded.
Just think about how amazing you feel after visiting your local town park, or going to the beach. This sense of freshness after spending more time in nature is significantly improving your wellbeing.
Besides, the honey which bees provide has always been highly regarded as a medicament.
It helps with everything from sore throats and digestive disorders to skin problems and fever.
So, leave the dandelions alone and save the bees! They absolutely deserve our help!
