“Bee engaged – Build Back Better for Bees”
Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities. Pollination is, however, a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land. Not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, but they are key to conserving biodiversity.
To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day. 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. We all depend on pollinators and it is, therefore, crucial to monitor their decline and halt the loss of biodiversity.
Here are some fun facts of bees in Trinidad and Tobago!
- There are 122 species of bees in T&T that we know of (Starr and Hook, 2003) and it is likely that many species remain to be discovered
- The majority of bees are solitary – that is, they do not live in hives or colonies and do not produce honey
- The majority of bees either nest in the ground or in wooden cavities
- Bees are great pollinators! We need pollinators for the production of food and to maintain biodiversity otherwise
- The social bees in Trinidad and Tobago are honeybees (Apis mellifera), and several species of stingless bees (Meliponini)
- Stingless bees produce very valuable honey and are great native pollinators
- Stingless bees are social (i.e., have a queen, live in a hive/colony) and unlike honeybees cannot relocate from their original hive. While honeybees can leave their hive and form a new one elsewhere if the location becomes unfavourable, stingless bees are unable to do so as their queens are too heavy to fly
- Honeybees are not native to Trinidad and Tobago and were brought here for honey production – as a consequence, they have not coevolved with our local flora and are not suited as well for pollinating our native plants as our native bee species are, including the various species of stingless bees
- There are no bumblebees in Trinidad and Tobago – large black bees frequently observed are usually carpenter bees of the genus Xylocopa
- Bees are generally not aggressive once left alone. Africanised honeybees only become aggressive when they perceive a threat – mostly when persons are coming too close to their hives
- Bees are closely related to wasps and ants
- Not all species visit flowers – some steal resources from other bees
- Some bees can fly far away – the distance that bees can cover is a function of their body size and is specifically related to the distance between their wings
- Some bee species can fly as far as 10km, while others never fly further than 100m away from their habitat
For more information visit- https://www.un.org/en/observances/bee-day