Bees are Beneficial

By: Josh Riedy '31

Many people despise wasps, and even honey and bumble bees for seemingly no reason, but they play a crucial role in ecosystems around the world, even in our own area! Wasps and bees may seem to be a pest, but most are actually helping our local ecosystems!

Bees produce honey, beeswax, and other helpful products that support local economies. To further that point, the IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), over eighty million controlled bee hives produce 1.6 million tons of honey per year. To show how much this helps the economies of countries, a single pound of raw honey costs around $15, so a ton costs around $30,000 dollars, so in total bees produce around forty eight billion dollars a year for the entire world. The United Nations estimates that a third of the world’s food manufacturing relies on bees pollinating. Bees are by far the biggest pollinators. Bees save UK farmers an estimated 1.8 billion dollars a year as they pollinate crops for free. If bees went extinct that 1.8 billion dollars would have to be paid by farmers. Bees don't just pollinate flowers, they pollinate squashes, apples, coffee beans, and many seeds and nuts. Furthermore, 90% of bees are solitary, and usually burrow underground for protection, which can help with soil aeration and water absorption which are both vital aspects of soil health.

 Sadly, bees have been under attack by many different things, such as pesticides, which can kill the crops they pollinate. Air pollution also harms bees, as the dirty air interacts with the scents flowers produce, causing bees  to not be able to locate flowers as easily. Because of this, bees have massive dieoffs each year. Compared to 1947, we have lost 60% of the world's bee population. In 2017, the first species of bumblebees were put on the endangered list. If bees went extinct, a giant ripple effect would tear through ecosystems because bees help insects, and insects help birds, and so on.

But you can help in many different ways, including 

Not using pesticides in your garden

Hang a bee “hotel” in your garden, it helps both you and the bees, as they need shelter, and they are more likely to pollinate your plants if they live near them.

Use flowers that are bee friendly, as in certain areas, bees can't find flowers and plants to pollinate, which can cause malnutrition.

The next time you eat an apple, thank bees, without them many different products would see price hikes or shortages. Bees play a crucial role in local economies and ecosystems, but many people don't know bee’s true power!

Works Cited

The Bee Conservancy. “Why Bees?” The Bee Conservancy, 2020, https://thebeeconservancy.org/why-bees/. Accessed 24 November 2025.

López, Margarita, and Lorenzo L. Langstroth. “Why Are Bees Important?” Penn State Extension, 2025, https://extension.psu.edu/why-are-bees-important. Accessed 24 November 2025.

United Nations. “Why bees are essential to people and planet.” UNEP, 18 May 2022, https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/why-bees-are-essential-people-and-planet. Accessed 24 November 2025.

Varela, Charlotte. “Why Are Bees Important? - The Woodland Trust.” Woodland Trust, 26 April 2023, https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2023/04/why-are-bees-important/. Accessed 24 November 2025.

World Wildlife Foundation. “Why Bees Are Climate Superstars.” World Wildlife Fund, 2025, https://www.worldwildlife.org/resources/explainers/wildlife-climate-heroes/why-bees-are-climate-heroes/. Accessed 24 November 2025.