Bee populations have witnessed a steady decline over the past decade, according to the UN. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for people to "do something good for bees" as they face extinction.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Skolimowska
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Organizations across the globe on Sunday marked the first-ever World Bee Day launched by the UN to raise awareness about the fate of pollinators.
The UN Food and Agricultural Organization believe bees and other pollinators, including butterflies and hummingbirds, "are increasingly under threat from human activities."
International authorities are hoping to draw attention to the steady decline of bee populations. For examples, around 24 percent of Europe's bumble bees are threatened with extinction according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Bees contribute to the pollination of around 90 percent of the world's major crops. Without them, the world risks food insecurity, according to the UN.
Bees are an important part of ending world hunger, according to the UNImage: picture-alliance/Photoshot/Y. Shunpi
What's happening to the bees?
Authorities believe Colony Collapse Disorder is behind the sudden decline of bee populations.
The phenomenon occurs "when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen," according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Scientists believe Colony Collapse Disorder is the result of several factors, including pesticides, loss of habitat due to urbanization, climate change, invasive alien species and pathogens.
What is Germany doing about it?
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday called on people to "think about biodiversity and do something good for bees" during her annual budget speech to parliament. She said that it is "something that perhaps seems a bit small to some people, but is actually really big."
In Germany, there are several initiatives at the local, regional and federal level aimed at preserving pollinator populations.
Beneficial bugs - life wouldn't be the same without them
Insects can be annoying. They can even make you ill. But a lot of bugs are incredibly useful - they provide use with things to eat, they keep the planet clean and protect us from danger.
Image: Robert R. Jackson
Can't live without them
They eat aphids and mosquitoes. They pollinate fruit trees and vegetables. They even dispose of trash. If you could only let yourself get close enough, you might discover how beneficial insects can be.
Image: Iryna Novytsky
Busy little helpers
The best known example of a beneficial bug is the bee. Not only do they produce honey, but without their ability to pollinate, trees and plants would be virtually fruitless. But bees are an endangered species - worldwide. In some parts of China they are already extinct. Pesticides and mites are to blame.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Loveable greedy guts
Ladybugs tend to mainly eat aphids and scale insects. Perhaps that's why we love them so much. One ladybug eats about 50 such insects a day - and many thousands over its entire lifetime.
Image: Fotolia/ K.-U. Häßler
The benefits of ladybug larva
Its eating habits mean the ladybug is also highly-prized in pest control. They are popular with farmers, who use ladybugs to control aphids and scale insects without the need for chemicals. Even its larva helps in the fight against pests.
Image: cc/by/sa/Martin Eberle
Parasite on parade
Scorpion wasps are absolutely harmless for humans. But for some insects, a meeting with a scorpion wasp can end horrifically. The wasp is known to insert - or drill - its large ovipositor (an organ used for laying eggs) into moths, beetles and lice, where it lays an egg. The egg becomes a larva and the hungry larva then eats the insect from the inside out.
Image: cc/by/sa/Panox
Remarkable predator
Ground beetles are predators. They tend to hunt all the things we don't want: woodlice, caterpillars and slugs. Even the nimble and resistant potato beetle stands little chance against the ground beetle's strong jaws. They are found all over the world - but many are a protected species.
Image: cc/by/sa/Soebe
Dark crawler
This is a beetle - even if it looks like a worm at first. The rover beetle has very short wing cases (elytra), which hold intricately folded wings. Worldwide, 50,000 variations of the rover beetle are known to exist. They like to eat bark beetles and fly maggots, but will also tuck into dead animals and the remains of plants.
Image: cc/by/sa/Hedwig Storch
Friendly giant
Hornets command respect - but their poison is less dangerous than a common wasp. The grown-ups prefer to sup the juices of plants, while the young feed on all kinds of fresh meat: they can catch up to 500 grams of insects per day.
Image: cc/by/sa/Flugwapsch62
The best till last…
… spiders. Given their eight legs, spiders aren't strictly speaking insects … but they are still very useful. They catch and eat every kind of insect that's annoying to us. Mosquitoes, moths, flies, and aphids are all a delicacy for spiders.
Image: C.M./Fotolia
So let them live
Don't be scared, don't step on them, or reach for your nearest rolled-up newspaper. Just be happy they're there!
