I’m Hungry! (Kids Edition)

 Imagine having a picnic on a cloudless day, with nearby buzzing insects and delicate flowers. The air smells like lavender, and the sun warms the sky. In your picnic basket, you have watermelon, strawberries, a colorful salad, and a handful of almonds. What if I told you that when bees disappear, so would this pleasant picnic.

One out of three bites we eat everyday is because of bees. They pollinate 80% of the world’s plants, including 90 different food crops. This adds up to $20 billion in the U.S crop production. When on a foraging trip, they will travel from plant to plant to collect and deposit pollen. This makes it possible for many flowers, fruits and vegetables to reproduce. In fact, bees also pollinate alfalfa and clover, which is what cows eat. Humans, cows, nor countless of other species wouldn’t have much to eat without bees. 

Which food depends on bees?

Much of our  foods and crops we rely on benefit from bee pollination. Here’s a list of those crops: