Bee tending a honeycomb

© Simun Ascic/Alam

I can't bee-lieve it!. World Bee Day

We're really buzzing: today is World Bee Day! This event is a chance to celebrate these winged insects and the vital role they play in biodiversity and agriculture. Bees come in a range of sizes, from just 0.20 centimetres all the way up to 3.9 centimetres, and there are over 20,000 known species. They are one of the most important pollinators in the world. They help keep trees, flowers and crops alive, which helps secure food chains as well as boosting biodiversity by keeping a wide range of plants alive. It's no overstatement to say that bees are vital for humans' survival.

Honey bees, like the one in today's image, construct nests from wax and produce a surplus amount of honey. This excess means that humans can harvest honey without endangering the bees themselves. The western honey bee is the most common species; humans have been keeping bees in artificial hives for around 10,000 years.