We may not be aware of it, but the problems of bees are also ours. We know that a third of the production of the food we consume depends on their work, but it is impossible to calculate their impact on the ecosystem : how many wild plants and animals survive thanks to them?
The reproduction of many plant species depends on bees, from apples and cotton to most of the crops that feed livestock.
Pollination is a key step in the life cycle of flowering plants. It consists of transferring pollen grains from the male reproductive organ, called the anther, to their female counterpart, the stigma. Some species are self-fertilizing, others depend on the wind, but many require the intervention of these insects, which have developed the necessary adaptations to maximize pollen collection .
In the case of bees, it remains attached to the hairs that cover their bodies. In this way, when they visit a flower, part of it is transferred to it. Thus, a colony can fertilize millions of flowers in a single day . No other species is as effective.
Image: Sam Droege / USGS
