The World Bee Project Journal©

The joint programme has empowered over 100 women to start homestead honey production. This honey production has had a significant impact not only on the women but also on crop yield and local biodiversity.

As bees pollinate the majority of the food crops we eat, bees are clearly vital for our survival. But to grow more food, we are creating bigger and bigger farms but big farms tend to destroy the native habitats vital for the survival of both wild and managed bees.

Whilst the domesticated, managed Apis Mellifera honey bees we are familiar with are important for pollinating crops and producing honey, their role is just a part of a greater contribution from 20,000 species of wild, free-living bees.

We know about the fascinating behaviours of honey bees (Apis Mellifera), managed worldwide for pollination and honey production. Still, we don’t know much about ‘wild’, free-flying, ‘solitary bees’.

You would think this would be a no-brainer, and that bees would obviously prefer living in the countryside, with the wide variety of both food and nesting options. But there may be more to this than we might think.

In September 2023 progressive lawmakers and climate activists endorsed by 400 scientists and 500 organisations held inter-generational and cross-societal marches and rallies to demand an end to fossil fuel usage now.

Throughout history, bees have been used as an indicator of weather. A better understanding of the relationships between weather and pollinators is also important to help predict how climate change might impact pollination and the food supply.

Many plants rely on insect pollination to survive, but what can they do to ensure they are visited as frequently as possible? Flowers have developed some ingenious ways to first attract the bees to their flowers and then to keep them coming back.

Commercial crop pollination is essential to the human food supply chain, and honeybees are brilliant at it. However, modern, unsustainable farming methods are seriously affecting bee health. Solutions are available; they just need to be implemented.

Bees are guardians of biodiversity essential to our survival. These remarkable insects diligently pollinate flowers enabling plants to reproduce and produce the fruits and vegetables we rely upon for sustenance. But their importance extends far beyond that.

Many plants rely on insect pollination to survive, but what can they do to ensure they are visited as frequently as possible? Flowers have developed some ingenious ways to first attract the bees to their flowers and then to keep them coming back.

Human activities are primarily responsible for the two most significant environmental changes – habitat fragmentation and loss which drive pollinator declines. These serious environmental changes have led to nearly 1 in 10 wild bee species facing extinction in Europe.

Commercial crop pollination is essential to the human food supply chain, and honeybees are brilliant at it. However, modern, unsustainable farming methods are seriously affecting bee health. Solutions are available; they just need to be implemented.

As populations rise, food production increases. As a result, agriculture’s reliance on pollinator-dependent crops has increased. Studies show that production declines when bees decline. Therefore pollinator depletion is a critical issue that everyone needs to be aware of.

Audio data from hives is a valuable area of research, with each hive producing around 12 hours of sound every month. The audio data can be combined with other bee related data to provide a much more detailed picture of bee behaviours and activity.

Thanks to plant behaviour researchers, we’re beginning to understand plants are responsive and have active relationships with pollinators. Sabiha Malik talks about her special relationship with plants and why we should all be conversing with our foliage friends.

Trees improve the diversity and density of pollinator populations and are vital to human survival. They clean the air and combat global warming, and their beauty makes us happy. Read more about why we can’t live without trees and why hugging them is a great idea!

Bees convert raw pollen into bee ‘bread’ or Perga, which is easier to digest and can also be stored for long periods without it going off. So, did humans copy the idea of baking bread from honeybees? Andy Welch seems to think they might. What do you think?

In this article, we learn more about the stingless ‘Sugarbag Bee’, native to Australia, who build tall spiral-shaped hives and, despite being stingless, have also perfected gruesome self-defence strategies. They defend their unique structures relentlessly!

Well, that’s not as crazy as it sounds! Bees can be trained to ‘kick’ a football, not the human-size version, but a mini bee-size one. Read this article to learn more about our clever soccer-loving friends – they’re even more complex thinkers than we thought!

While the current pollinator decline might not lead to famine, it could severely impact our diets, leaving us malnourished and more prone to serious health issues. The pollination ‘services’ nature so willingly provides for free are showing declining trends.

By rewarding certain behaviours, scientists can train bees to do some pretty incredible stuff. A bee’s sense of smell is at least 100x better than humans, and they are very sensitive to the presence of certain chemicals found in bombs. Could bees be better bomb detectors than sniffer dogs?

Biodiversity is the variety of all living things on Earth. Many species of insects, animals and birds are vital for pollination. They all work together within ecosystems to create the web of life. Learn how bees and biodiversity provide us with a myriad of life-enhancing benefits.

Bees fly at about 15mph, so how can they find flowers when flying so quickly? Learn from Data Scientist Andy Welch how bees have evolved to take advantage of flowers, and flowers have evolved to take advantage of bees.

Important decision-making takes place in all walks of human life. In this article, Sabiha Malik, founder of The World Bee Project suggests that humans can learn one or two good things on this topic from honeybees.