World Bee Day is celebrated on 20 May and the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences also supports this important celebration.

"Bees have for centuries benefited people, plants and the environment through pollination, a key ecosystem service they provide by carrying pollen from one flower to another a process which enables not only the production of an abundance of fruits, nuts and seeds but also more variety and better quality, contributing to food security and nutrition," explains Dr Abdullahi Yusuf from the Social Insects Research Group (SIRG) in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria (UP).

He further explained that "The roles that pollinators such as bees, birds and bats play in ensuring that we as humans have food cannot be ignored as it is estimated that, three out of four crops across the globe producing fruits or seeds for human use as food depend, at least in part, on pollinators."

The United Nations General Assembly unanimously proclaimed 20 May as #WorldBeeDay to raise awareness on the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development.

This year's #WorldBeeDay will be celebrated by several virtual events under the theme "Be Engaged - Build back better for bees" aimed at global solidarity to counter the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to food security and agricultural livelihoods will be held across the globe.

If you are keen on participating in any of these events, please do sign in using the links below or by creating awareness on social media using the following hashtags on Twitter #WorldBeeDay, #Savethebees.

For more information about bees and related research on pollinators at the University of Pretoria please do contact us at the Social Insects Research Group www.up.ac.za/SIRG, follow us on Facebook

FAO World Bee Day Event 20 May 2021: Bee Engaged-Build back for better for bees http://www.fao.org/world-bee-day/en/

Africa Agribusiness Academy event 20 May 2021 https://aa-academy.org/