Why are bees so important? The concept of interdependence is helpful to understanding the importance of bees to human society. Interdependence means different groups or species are reliant upon each other. In the case of the bees, a food web helps visualize this concept:
Bees need flowers for their food source (nectar to turn into honey as source of carbohydrates, and pollen for protein)
The flowers need the bees for pollination, which is necessary for the flowers’ reproduction
Tumans need bees to pollinate flowers for them to turn into the fruit (anything with seeds inside, including tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, etc.) that makes up ⅓ of human food supply. A fun way to get this through to students: #NoBeesNoPizza (as there would be no more tomatoes to make pizza sauce!)
The bees need us to help maintain their population, which is currently declining at alarming rates due to Colony Collapse Disorder