World Honey Bee Day © ABB Photo/Shutterstock
Today we"re celebrating World Honey Bee Day, honoring the humble bee"s role in pollinating our crops and sharing honey goodness with us. It"s remarkable to consider that there are around 20,000 different species of bees in the world, but just eight species of honey bees. And it"s sobering to realize how fragile their existence is. Billions of honey bees have disappeared over the last 15 years in what"s known as colony collapse disorder. There"s no definitive explanation for the die-off, though scientists believe pesticides, loss of habitat, climate change, mite infestation, and disease are contributing factors. Now we need to reintroduce bees and other pollinators to safeguard our food system.