Even if most of the time you try to avoid bees—and, perhaps, even pictures of bees—you may want to make an exception today: it"s National Honey Bee Day. Back in 2009, then-Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack officially recognized this event to help raise awareness about the critical role bees play in the world"s ecosystem and give a nod to the beekeeping industry. Around the world, there are over 20,000 species of bees, which include solitary bees, bumblebees, and honey bees. Of these, only honey bees make honey, but all these industrious insects benefit humans by pollinating roughly a third of the crops we eat. Honey bees do most of the heavy lifting. In the US alone, each year domesticated honey bees pollinate about $20 billion worth of crops such as almonds, watermelons, blueberries, and more.
The buzz about bees
Today in History
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Steyr River, Austria
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Ministry of Fun Santa School
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Cheetah mother and cub
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Oh, the places you’ll go
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So, how long till springtime?
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Celebrating World Art Day
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Porto Timoni beach, Greece
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Birds of a feather
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Native American Heritage Month
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Of moles and liquid nitrogen
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Corfe gets creepy
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Lucian Blaga National Theater, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico
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Feeling chic on Fashion Week
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Speed skaters in the Gangneung Oval, Pyeongchang, South Korea
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Here’s looking at you, teachers
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Big Bend National Park turns 78
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Te Rewa Rewa Bridge near New Plymouth, New Zealand
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Whale hello there!
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Step into the dark
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A hit ballet, long after its debut
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Celebrating Flag Day: ‘O long may it wave’
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Cranborne Chase, England
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Construction workers resting above Manhattan
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A look at Uranus, seventh planet from the sun
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New York City Marathon
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Old man s whiskers growing wild
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Here’s why landmarks are going dark
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Happy Father s Day
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State funeral of Queen Elizabeth II