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Lakewood Times

    Why Bees Are Important

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    Most of us have been in this situation: We are outside. We hear a pestering buzz, and look down to see a small yellow-and-black bee flying around by our feet. Now, lots of people would do one of two things in this situation: either run away screaming or try to find something to kill it. But neither one of these options is appropriate. The correct action would be to leave it alone and go on with your day. Bees need to be protected, and at least . Here is why:

    In the past few years, honey bees have been coming too close to extinction. This is mostly because of what we have done as humans: pesticides and habitat removal, not to mention the mindset of beehives as pesky and therefore people immediately trying to destroy them in the most violent way possible.

    Honey bees are very important in our everyday life. Without these minuscule creatures, it has been estimated we would not have over 1/3 of the food we eat. How? Bees pollinate so much, from fruits and vegetables to the food that the animals (that we profit from) eat. Not to mention the 14 kilograms of honey that only one colony makes a year. Honey is especially valued because it would be almost impossible to make ourselves. Without honey bees many of us might very well starve.

    Not to mention the aesthetic values bees add to the planets. Most pollination of flowers is done by bees, and in turn this pollination of flowers creates beautiful ecosystems that are able to house countless other animals and plants. The extinction of bees might wreak havoc on other species as well.

    There are other animals that pollinate plants, such as bumblebees and butterflies, but they don’t do nearly enough to maintain the vegetation by themselves. If bees were to go extinct, the only way to keep growing things would have to be pollinating everything by ourselves. If we could accomplish this enormous feat, it would cost so much time and money that prices would become drastically inflated.

    So, next time you see a bee, leave it be.

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