It’s summer time! When the weather gets warmer, nights get longer, and the fruit gets sweeter! We love enjoying all of the delicious fresh fruits and vegetables that can be harvested in the summer, but have you ever stopped to think about who we should thank for allowing us to enjoy these tasty treats?
The Bees. That’s right, bees do more than just make honey. Bees play a crucial role in helping us enjoy all types of yummy foods.
How?
Through pollination. One third of the food you eat has been pollinated by honeybees. What is pollination? Pollination is the process that occurs when a brightly colored powder on one part of the flower gets moved to another part. The pollen gets produced in the male part of the flower (anther) and gets moved to the female part of the flower (stigma). It takes one tiny grain of pollen to make each seed in the fruit or vegetable. For some plants, like grain and corn, the pollen gets carried naturally by the wind. But for many plants, like fruit and vegetables, bumblebees are responsible for the pollination.
Bees help with multiple types of fruits and vegetables we enjoy every day, such as raspberries, blueberries, apples, almonds, grapes, watermelons, pumpkins, pears, and more. Without pollination, we would have trouble growing enough food.
The issue is, some bees have been disappearing and many others are under stress. Recent research tells us that new bee diseases, habitat loss, pollution, pesticides, and weather patterns are all factors influencing bee populations.
At Natural Alternative, we believe in using natural and organic ingredients so we can enjoy the environment without harming it! It’s also why we’ve been recognized by the EPA as a leader of environmental conservation.
So enjoy those summer fruits and veggies – and thank the bees for all their hard work!
Discover your inner gardener with our safer DIY product line here.
