National Honeybee Awareness Day is Saturday, August 20th
Not to BEE confused with World Bee Day on May 20th, National Honeybee Day is a recognized day in the United States where beekeepers have an incredible opportunity to educate and promote the nation about the expansive bee industry and its relevance to our ecosystems.
National Honeybee Awareness Day holiday here in the United States of America. The day is designed to honor honeybees and their significant contributions to food sources in the United States because of their relentless pollination efforts and bring an overall awareness to this remarkable and sweet bee species.
National Honeybee Day is now every third Saturday in August. What started in 2009 with national recognition by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the day was later adopted by Pennsylvania Apiculture, Inc.
Highlighting the role of honeybees as beekeepers across the nation come together with bee clubs and associations committed to protecting this species which is critical to pollination. This day is the only holiday where beekeepers are presented as heroes, no matter how small an effort. Beekeepers labor tirelessly to keep their hives healthy and go out of their way to help bees in extraordinary ways.
Goals to Meet on National Honeybee Day
Four main goals are hopefully accomplished on this honorary day for the honeybees. First, there are extensive efforts made to provide resources to the public. Many efforts are made available to educate the public on the benefits of honeybees to pollination as well as the health of people. Beekeepers and experts will be holding live streams, posting vlogs, and offering interaction educational opportunities. Second, it is an opportunity for beekeepers to share their knowledge and experience as they encourage others to pick up beekeeping independently. Third, the goal is to spread awareness about the Honeybee and how human activity and mindlessness can adversely affect the honeybee populations. Lastly, national honeybee awareness day aims to highlight environmental factors that threaten honeybees. Collectively, those interested in knowing more can learn about the effects of insecticides, how climate change can affect Honeybee populations and how responsible crop owners are taking great strides to improve crop health.
When it comes to helping honeybees, knowledge is power.
Honoring National Honeybee Awareness Day
There are many things people can do to honor National Honeybee Day this year. The most popular is finding a local bee farm, bringing some kids, or asking your neighbors. The bee farms in your area and bound to have some fun things planned for the day. Since there are many beekeepers, meeting with one is likely if you visit a farm, or you can go to a bee removal company which will likely have some great resources for bee care.
There are many hashtags to use on this day to draw more traffic and awareness, so if you post on social media, use #SavetheBees, #NationalHoneyBeeDay, and #LovetheBees. Trending means spreading to a larger population, and that’s the whole point of the day, after all!
Did You Know Honeybees are Unique?
Although Honeybees are unique in their own way, some pretty cool facts about them cause people to take notice. Did you know that the amazing Honeybee has five eyes and four wings? Did you know that their delicious honey never spoils if appropriately stored? Well, now you do know!
Honeybees are essential to the pollination of a vast number of fruits, vegetables, and other crops here in the United States. The queen bee of a Honeybee hive may lay up to 2,000 eggs a day! Her life span is 2-3 years normally, so that means each precious queen bee (and there is only one per hive) can contribute 4,000-6,000 baby bees in her lifetime! Honeybees also have an uncanny ability to carry significant weight, well above their own body weight, and fly tens of thousands of miles. As you can see, getting to know Honeybees can be exciting and make you think!
Bee awareness is not going away anytime soon, and we will all be better off for that! Since 2016, more than 21 million dollars in grants have been awarded to further bee research. Additionally, states are adopting legislature to protect declining bee species, and this expansion shows that bees matter locally and worldwide. So, this coming National Honeybee Awareness Day, get involved and learn more about this fascinating and critical species of bees. Less than 5 percent of bees make enough honey to harvest, so instead of buying an expensive brand off the shelves of your grocery store, visit your local beekeeper and buy some local honey to enjoy!