What is pollination?

The vital importance of bee pollination – explained by AsapSCIENCE

Discover quickly why bee pollination is vital for humanity

The objective of living organisms is to reproduce in order to create offsprings and to maintain or develop genetic variation. Plant species achieve this through cross pollination, which involves the transfer of female to male reproductive organs to initiate fertilization. Pollination is assisted by various species including honey bees, who are at risk and are important for sustaining ecosystems globally5https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/What_is_Pollination.

The opening video demonstrates the significance between pollination of honey bees and the food we eat. The depleting population of honey bees influences the production of food we eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Items like coffee, chocolate, almonds, jam, honey, and cotton are amongst many products that consumers purchase on a daily basis.

Here is a list of food items that rely on bees and pollinators6http://pollinator.org/list_of_pollinated_food.htm:

1. Honey
2. Coffee
3. Wine
4. Chocolate
5. Tequila
6. Vanilla
7. Sugarcane
8. Fruit (cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, lemons, limes, cherries, bananas, melons, mangos, pumpkins, avocados, tomatoes, and papayas)
9. Vegetables (cucumbers, zucchinis, peppers, beetroots, cabbage, broccoli, turnips, brussel sprouts, and onions)
10. Berries (strawberries, blueberries, elderberries, blackberries, raspberries and cranberries)
11. Beans (green beans, adzukis, kidney beans, lima beans, soybeans, and peas)
12. Nuts (almonds, cashews, and peanuts)
13. Sunflower and sesame oils

Check out how dishes would look like without the pollination service of bees:
Image credits to Huffington Post7https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/09/placeholder-for-cascadian_n_5687779.htmlENVIRONMENT

The value of Pollination in our ecosystem

Plant species have uniquely adapted to attract pollinators with their shape, colour, and smell. Pollinators are continuously working to maintain ecosystems by receiving energy-rich nectar and/or protein-rich pollen in exchange for guiding dispersal and cross pollination.

Ecosystems are at risk with the declining population of honey bees, therefore there is a urgent need for adjusting our interactions with the environment.

Why are bees super-pollinators?

Pollinators include bats, birds, butterflies, flies, and bees. Respectively, bees are methodically more advanced than most other pollinators.

Honey bees are the best pollinators for two reasons:

1. They maintain responsibilities within their communities to acquire enough nectar and pollen to sustain the health and survival of their colonies. Honey bees are not solitarian species therefore they are able to achieve more in numbers.
2. They provide a significant service by collecting pollen on their bodies. This unintentional behaviour is what helps bees maintain their hives and the reproductive efforts of producing species8http://www.pollinator.ca/bestpractices/animal_pollination.html.

It is important to enrich the lives of honey bees as they are significant for sustaining our ecosystems.

Learn now why bees are dying worldwide.