The Buzz with Honey Bees

To much surprise (or at least to me), the terrifying stinging honey bee is a critical piece in the global economy. They help pollinate 70% of our crops from fruits, to vegetables, to the food for cows, chickens, and pigs. Without them, our major pollinators would disappear, potentially creating famines. Currently, bees are in decline due to disease and mites that are slowly destroying beehives. Bee farmers are struggling to maintain the health of their hives. We need to slowly bring back our bee populations if we want to maintain our population numbers. Thankfully there are some symbiotic relationships between us and bees that are making bees more approachable.

In China, there's been a recent increase in popularity with a special kind of mochi desert. Unlike traditional mochi that is prepared entirely in the kitchen, this mochi requires the help of bees. After the mochi is prepared, it is left out in the open for honey bees to "eat". As the bees eat at the mochi, they leave behind distinct honey that enhances the flavor of the mochi, making it a popular exotic desert.

Traditional honey hives have been improved as well. Though they were symbiotic before, extracting honey from bee hives was an extremely painstaking task that was uncomfortable for the bees. In order to obtain the honey, the bees had to be removed from the hive to isolate the honey combs. Now, an Australian honey beekeeper has developed a revolutionary hive that is able to extract honey from a beehive like a sink. There is no more need to remove the bees from the hive to obtain honey.

Though honey bees are exactly pet material, there are more ways where honey bees can be more easily included in our society.