Too many people bees seem to symbolise summer and therefore they are often seen as ‘pests’, lustfully following around fizzy drinks and sweet consumables. Recently there has been an outcry to look after bees, however it seems as if bees and the vital role that they play in many ecosystems continues to be overlooked. Bees fall under the category of the Apoidea, and it is in this category where bees form part of eight different Apoidea families that all play vital roles in the organisation of the environment (Britannica 2020) and according to Zimmer (2012) there are 20 000 different species of bees. The Western honeybee, named the Apis mellifora, originates in Africa but has spread all across the world and has been able to adapt to specific regions and climates. According to the University of Arkansas Systems(https://www.uaex.edu/farm-ranch/special-programs/beekeeping/about-honey-bees.aspx) there are three different types of honeybees, namely worker bees, drone bees, and queen bees.

​

Queen bees are in charge of reproduction and they start laying eggs in early spring. This process happens as soon as the first fresh pollen is brought back into the hive by worker bees. Worker bees are the smallest of the honeybees, but they are the majority in the colony. They are all female and are normally incapable of reproduction. Worker bees have important jobs including: secreting wax that is used in the hive, they collect pollen and nectar from flowers, and they transform nectar into honey (as well as royal jelly) to feed the queen bee and the young larvae (University of Arkansas System [sa]). Worker bees also remove dead bees from the hive and they defend the hive against intruders. Drones are male honeybees that only function to fertilise young queen bees, and they feed off of honeybees in the hive. Honeybees are completely herbivorous and they derive all of their nutrients from pollen and nectar, however, when they are unable to find these sources of nutrients, worker bees may kill and consume bee larvae. The bees and the flowers that they visit have evolved simultaneously, and through the process of visiting flower to flower and gathering pollen, worker bees are able to cross-pollinate different plant species. This process of pollination is the most important and irreplaceable practice the bees take part in.

​

This should scare those who overlook bees and the vital role that they play in the environment. If humans continue to treat the environment as a fixed environment that will continue to aid humans only, climate change will only speed-up and bees might not be able to come across the flowers that they need for pollination. The University of Arkansas System states that in a colony that has lost its queen bee, worker bees might be able to produce drone bees. In this case, the colony is effectively doomed. Another few aspects in the environment that impact the future of bees include insecticides, habitat destruction and climate change (Zimmer 2012). Zimmer (2012) states that these issues cause stress in bees in ways that impair their ability to forage for nectar and pollen and then find their way home. By overlooking the role that bees of all types play in the environment, humans will continue to selfishly partake in irreversible actions that will dangerously impact all living species.