Don’t Step on a Bee Day

Every year on July 10, Don’t Step on a Bee Day is celebrated – one of the important days, reminding us of the importance of ordinary bees. In recent years, the population of bees has declined significantly for no apparent reason. The holiday reminds us we have to take care of conserving the insects that play an important role in plant pollination.

History

The practice of beekeeping began with the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. Bees have been part of mythology and folklore since ancient times. In honor of these insects, Thomas and Ruth Roy founded Don’t Step on a Bee Day, celebrated in the UK and the US. Many mistakenly interpret this holiday as a call to not step on bees. Indeed, when walking barefoot, you can step on a bee, causing harm to both it and yourself, but the July 10 holiday is not about this.

On this day, raise awareness of the need to preserve the bee population, which has been rapidly declining over the past decade. The exact cause of the bee extinctions has not been identified; however, insecticides, including neonicotinoids, as well as environmental pollution and temperature extremes, could presumably have caused this.

Interesting facts

• In the 18th century, Europeans created mobile hives to collect honey without destroying the colony;
• Karl von Frisch found out in the 1940s that bees communicate with each other using a wagging dance: through this, the bee indicates the location of a food source to its fellows;
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature established the Bumblebee Specialist Group in 2011 to study all the bumblebee species in the world.

How to take part

Beekeepers make great efforts to take care of the bees, provide them with hives, buy the necessary medicines, and much more. You can support one of your local beekeepers by buying the necessary products for them, or making a donation so they can keep their job. You can help bees by planting flowers that attract them and provide them with pollen and nectar.

When is Don’t Step on a Bee Day Celebrated in 2024?

Don’t Step on a Bee Day is associated with the anticipation of happiness and joy. It is observed on July the 10th each year.

Observations