#worldbeeday

I thought of an ideas for World Bee Day, so I decided to draw Bee Caine. 🐝🎩

World Bee Day, May 20, 2021

World Bee Day was established by the United Nations in 2017 to appreciate bees and bring more awareness to their place in the environment. Bees, butterflies, bats and hummingbirds pollinate and support plant growth. They are under threat of extinction.

 The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries.

The 2021 theme is “Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees.” You can participate in the day by: 

planting a diverse set of native plants, which flower at different times of the year;

buying raw honey from local farmers;

buying products from sustainable agricultural practices;

avoiding pesticides, fungicides or herbicides in our gardens;

protecting wild bee colonies when possible;

sponsoring a hive;

making a bee water fountain by leaving a water bowl outside;

helping sustaining forest ecosystems;

raising awareness around us by sharing this information within our communities and networks; The decline of bees affects us all!

Our call to raise awareness comes from The Bee-Man of Orn by the 19th-century American writer and humorist Frank S. Stockton and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Held in the Historical Curriculum Collection, our copy is the first Sendak-illustrated edition published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in New York in 1964.

Frank S. Stockton was a late 19th-century writer, known for humorous and moralizing children’s books, who originally published his story, The Bee-Man of Orn, in 1887. He is most famous for his 1882 The Lady, or the Tiger?, which, like The Bee-Man of Orn, also showcases a philosophical conundrum. 

The illustrator’s bio in the book states: “Maurice Sendak could never by advised by the Junior Sorcerer that he had been transformed from something other than his present being -- that of one of the best-known, best-loved illustrator’s in the field of children’s literature -- for there is no other Maurice Sendak.” Sendak was awarded the Caldecott Medal earlier the same year The Bee-Man of Orn was published for his most famous book, Where the Wild Things Are.

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Bee engaged!

World Bee Day 

Support bee conservation by donating or purchasing from companies that work to save these crucial members of the ecosystem, or start your own bee hive.

Lately, the concerns about bees being endangered have become widely noted among people all over the world, but information on how to take action about it has become scarce in this age.

That’s why World Bee Day exists to educate people about the importance of bees and how they can help preserve them for the sake of the future. If you want to help save these fuzzy insects from extinction, then read down below to find out what World Bee Day is about!

History of World Bee Day

World Bee Day corresponds with an important influencer in the pioneering of beekeeping. Anton Janša, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia, was one of the first people to help bring about the importance of bees in the world environment.

Since then, beekeeping has become a vital necessity in the world’s ecosystems and economic systems. However, not many people realize the importance of bees or know how to help save the bees, which led to the announcement of World Bee Day through the United Nations.

The United Nations designated World Bee Day to raise awareness of the importance of bees. Bees are under a continuous threat from human activity, which includes the introduction of invasive insects, pesticides, land-use change, and monocropping practices, which have continuously been destroying bee colonies over time.

World Bee Day helps educate people about the importance of bees and what they do for the environment, which includes how they help grow 90% of the world’s wildflower plants, 35% of the world’s crops depend on bees to grow, and how they help build ecosystems all over the world. With these statistics, the United Nations has created various programs all over the world to increase awareness of protecting bees and what you can do to help this cause.

This day is also open to other pollinators as well as bees, like bats, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Together these essential animals help keep ecosystems healthy and maintain biodiversity. Bees and other creatures also help us fight problems on a global level, like world hunger and helping to adapt to climate change. These fantastic fuzzy creatures help keep our plants and our planet alive.

If you look at bees as creatures, they are a fascinating insect even without all the services they provide for us. For instance, the phrase bee’s knees makes absolutely no sense, because bees actually don’t have knees. Bees also communicate by dancing – can you imagine if humans didn’t talk and only communicated via the medium of dance? If you consider honey as well, it has also been used as an antiseptic and treatment for burns and wounds for centuries.

Bees have been around for thousands of years, and the very first bee found was 100 million years old! Bees might also have been the very first species to decide to go vegetarian. Originally, our fuzzy friends used to eat other insects, but they evolved to eat nectar and pollen instead. Bees have long supported us, humans with honey being a monumental discovery for our ancestors (it must have been tough for them to gather!).

From sweetening food to dressing wounds, we loved honey so much that our children are still named after bees. Names like Melissa and Ali mean bee in Greek and Urdu, showing that across the world, we share a global appreciation for bees.

World Bee Day Timeline

13000-8000 BC People get honey from wild bees

Enjoying the sought after sweetness of honey and usefulness of wax, people climb ladders to reach the nests of wild bees.

200 AD Bee hives in Ancient Egypt

With bees that may have been more aggressive, beekeepers approach the hives with shaven heads to prevent the bees from reacting to the perfumed oils used in the hair.

1621 Beehives are sent to the colonies

To help the people of the colonies survive, supplies that include beehives are sent on ships from London to Virginia.

2006 Colony Collapse Disorder is first reported

Beekeepers begin reporting high losses where adult bees literally just disappear from the hive, leaving the queen and immature bees inadequately attended to.

2008 The Secret Life of Bees film is released

Based on a book of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd and set in the 1960s southern US, this movie stars Dakota Fanning as a young girl who runs away in search of her mother.

How to Celebrate World Bee Day

If you want to do more, find a charity that helps towards bee conservation, and donate through there. Many bee charities offer their own merchandise, which goes directly back into their profits, like bee jewelry or clothing.

Why not purchase your own Bee Tee or give your loved ones a unique bee necklace to share the love? Many bee charities also arrange their own events, awareness campaigns, and particular ways of donating, so why not support a charity near you to show support for our buzzing buddies.

Start a garden and place with a full arrangement of fruits, vegetables, and flowers that you know bees would like. Only have limited space? If you have a balcony or terrace, you can buy nectar-bearing flowers and pot them in your available area for both decorative and bee-saving purposes.

Plants like sunflowers, poppy, and our much-loved food favorites like thyme, dill, and fennel are perfect for pollinators. You can even create a pollination station for bees in your garden or outdoor space to benefit from. Make a friendly environment for bees, butterflies, and any local pollinators to help their habitats.

Looking to be more proactive about how you purchase your food? Go to a local beekeeper and buy honey from them. You could go for honey and many other hive products. Talking to a local beekeeper will also help you find suitable ways to keep your garden or outdoor space a bee-friendly environment.

Avoiding harmful pesticides will keep pollinators happy, and if you have to spray anything, doing so in the morning or late at night will ensure that your bees don’t get caught in the crossfire. If you’re lucky enough to have a larger outdoor space that’s filled with wildflowers, keeping part of it preserved will mean that your bees have the perfect natural environment to enjoy.

If you’re looking for a way to help raise awareness of bee endangerment, then share and spread the news about World Bee Day through social media.