I am a bee and I have a message for you on this Earth Day.
I live 40 days. My life is short, but I do everything I can to help you.
I existed 150 million years before yours. 80% of flowering and cultivated plants depend on my pollination. That represents a third of everything you eat. You may not know it, but it is thanks to me that you can drink a good coffee in the morning, eat fruits, vegetables, nuts.
I pollinate nearly 700 flowers a day to ensure their pollination. As soon as the weather permits, I am outside and work tirelessly. My mother, the queen, lays 2000 eggs a day to ensure our survival.
In addition to providing you with food through pollination, I also make honey, I am the only insect that produces food that you can eat! I produce in my life 1/10 of a tablespoon of honey. Think of me when you open your jar of honey.
I am the ecological sentinel of the Earth, when I am feeling bad, I tell you that your environment needs your attention. I see the fields that are becoming monocultures, I have trouble feeding myself in them, I need biodiversity to be healthy.
I have to fly further and further to find food, I am exhausting my strength and my life expectancy is decreasing.
Pesticides used in fields and on lawns are killing my sisters. My beekeeper has to move my hive to prevent me from getting poisoned too.
Fortunately, by participating in the Dandelion Challenge, you are providing me with a source of food that helps me regain my strength after a difficult winter. It gives me the courage to start the pollination season.
I have been feeding you for thousands of years, I am grateful that you do the same by offering me flowers to pollinate all summer long. Observe me when you see me in your garden, you will see, I am gentle and courageous.
I am here for you, on this Earth Day, remember, without me you would not be here.
I am a bee and I have a message for you on this Earth Day.
Posted by Christina Fortin-Ménard on
