Don’t step on a bee day

hf10
Wednesday 10 July 2019
Close up photograph of a bee with purple flowers in the background
Bee in St Andrews

There are over 250 species of bee in the UK, and about 20,000 different species across the world: these include honey bees, mason bees, mining bees, bumble bees and solitary bees. Sadly, almost all of these species are in decline. In the UK alone two species of bumble bee have become extinct in the 20th century, and a further eight (one third of the UK species) are endangered. Our collections hold books from the early twentieth century which show bees that are now no longer seen. More recent publications, including A Sting in the Tale (currently on order for the Main Library) illustrate the problems that result from the decline in bees.

Bees are major contributors to the global economy. It is estimated that they are partly responsible for pollinating 75% of arable crops. Without bees there would be far fewer strawberries and tomatoes. (In Tasmania there are no bumblebees and tomatoes have to be pollinated by hand). Bees are (of course) the source of honey. We also have material relating to beekeeping – from antiquity to the present, and from cultures across the globe, including A Survey of a Thousand Years of Beekeeping in Russia and a list of members of the Aberdeen and District Bee-Keepers’ Association. Special Collections also hold the incredibly eclectic but fascinating Beveridge Collection, consisting almost exclusively of books about Norway, Esperanto and bee keeping which is well worth investigating.

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