The reality is that the bee population is on the decline recently, which made these important insects in the media spotlight.

It was reported that beehives are disappearing at an alarmingly fast rate, which has its implications on food produce. The main causes for the reported decline are considered to be pesticides, mites, and climate change.

There are more honeybees than any other bee types and pollinated insects in the world, so they are the most important pollinator of food crops. It has been estimated that one-third of the food that we consume daily relies on pollination mainly by bees.

Numerous fruits and vegetables require pollination, such as cucumbers, citrus fruits, melons, cherries, kiwis, avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, celery, squash, and sunflowers for oil, peaches, and cranberries, and in the case of crops like blueberries and almonds, the honey bee plays an essential role in pollination of commercial crops, with about 80% of the US crop dependent on honey bees.

Additionally, honey bees pollinate alfalfa and clover, which are used to feed the cattle, so the decline in the bee population has its implications for the dairy and meat industry as well and for all the manufactured food products made from these ingredients.

Furthermore, honey bees are of essential value for the pollination of other valuable corps like flax and cotton. Honey bees also produce non-food products that are used on a daily basis, such as beeswax, added to multiple cleaning and beauty products.

Fortunately, more and more people are recognizing the seriousness of the problem, and are willing to contribute to remedy the issue. Many of them decide to keep their own beehives, which increases bee populations but also provides them with organic honey for consumption.

One man decided to share his own invention of a homemade beehive that helped others to save the bees in a simple way, and it quickly went viral, so here are the needed instructions if you are interested to join the initiative:

--    You will need a pre-made bottom beehive kit, plywood, and jars for the main beehive, as well as one piece of 2″ x 12″ x 6′ wood (cut two pieces to 22″ each for the sides), one piece of 2″ x 12″ x 6′ wood (cut two pieces to 18″ each for the front and back), one piece of 1″ x 1″ x 6′ wood (cut two pieces to 22″ each for the top frame’s left and right sides),one piece of 1″ x 1″ x 6′ wood (cut two pieces to 18″ each for the top frame’s front and back sides), one piece of thick plywood cut to 16″ x 20″, one box of 1″ wood screws, 12 big mouth quart-sized jars for the honeycomb,  and a can of dark wood stain.

--    You can stain the plywood as you like since it will serve as a frame for the beehive kit.

--    Drill 12 holes into the 16″ x 20″ piece of plywood to screw the mason jars into

--    To make the top frame, screw the four pieces of 18″ and 22″ plywood together

--    Make sure you sanitize the Mason jars before twisting them upside-down into the holes

--    Then, add washers or shims inside them to support the weight of the honey

--    Crew the lids of the jars on, and they should fit perfectly into the drilled holes with less than a 1/16″ gap between the jar and the beehive hole

--    Place starter strips or empty combs inside the jars, and add the bees.

--    The comb will instantly attract them, and they will start with their work right away.

--    When the jars are full of honey, twist the lids on, so that the bees can continue working while the honey is being harvested

--    The jars should be kept in the shade, as they will heat up quickly with the lids on since there will be no ventilation

After a while, you will have a constant supply of pure, organic honey, and at the same time, you will help in saving the rapidly declining population of bees.

Source: educateinspirechange.org