The National Honey Bee Day program started with a single concept: to bring together beekeepers, bee associations, as well as other interested groups to connect with communities to advance beekeeping.
Through collaboration and utilization of the efforts that so many already accomplish, and using a united front one day a year, the message is exaggerated many times over. Today, the National Honey Bee Day program promotes beekeeping, the advancement of apiculture, public education, and spread awareness of environmental concerns related to honey bees.
Pollinators are a vital part of agricultural production. In the United States, more than one-third of all crop production – 90 crops ranging from nuts to berries to flowering vegetables – requires insect pollination. Managed honey bee colonies are our primary pollinators, adding at least $15 billion a year by increasing yields and helping to ensure superior-quality harvests.
However, our beekeepers have been steadily losing colonies. The number of honey bee hives in this country has decreased from 6 million in the 1940s to about 2.9 million today.
Americans are encouraged to consider setting up hives where possible, or at least to plant bee-friendly flowers and flowering herbs in their gardens and yards. There are several beekeeping associations that will provide you with assistance.
Honey bees may be some of the hardest workers you’ll ever see, but they need our help.
Visit the Spartanburg County Beekeepers Association website at spartanburgbeekeepers.com for additional local resources and events.