Why bees are so important?
Bees are well-known for their role in providing high-quality food (honey, royal jelly and pollen) and other products used in healthcare and other sectors (beeswax, propolis, honey bee venom). But the work of the bees involves much more!
The greatest contribution of bees is the pollination of nearly three quarters of the plants that produce 90% of the world’s food. A third of the world’s food production depends on bees and pollination, but since many of their natural habitats have been destroyed, the bees’ population has been reduced.
Where they come from?
Honey bees are native to Africa, the Middle East and Southern Europe and have been brought into ecosystems around the world as a result of intentional transport by humans, but the health of managed honey bee colonies is threatened by habitat loss, pesticides and climate change.
Some of the places that have become an option to keep bees alive are Parks. Did you know at Scissortail Park we have an apiary?
Scissortail Park´s apiary.
Here at Scissortail Park, there are 14 staff members who have taken up beekeeping in their spare time. Our apiary is situated for visitors to view from a distance along the South Garden Trellis pathway just West of Skydance Bridge. Honey bees help pollinate on average 80% of the plants, trees, and crops throughout the world.
A single hive can pollinate 300 million flowers every day! With the honey bee population in decline, mainly due to habitat loss, we are trying to do our part in combatting this. This includes planting wildflowers near the apiary as well as having several educational talks led by our Park Rangers to discuss bees and other pollinators you may see throughout the park.
New Bees at the Park!
Last week our Park Rangers and other staff members added a new colony to our Scissortail Park Apiary and the facilities’ team will be in charge of managing this new hive.
Soon, we will get 2 more colonies so each department will have their own hive to manage. The package had about 10,000-13,000 worker bees and a queen included. Once the bees were put into their new hive, they will have to let the queen out of her cage by eating away a layer of sugar candy that is blocking the entrance. This will take a couple days, which will allow time for the worker bees to accept her as their queen.
If you are interested in learning more about bees or pollination follow our social media for updates from our Park Rangers!
