Don’t Step on a Bee Day

Every year on July 10, Don’t Step on a Bee Day is—an important day reminding us of the significance of ordinary bees. In recent years, the population of bees has declined significantly for no apparent reason. This holiday reminds us that we must take care of conserving the insects that play a crucial role in plant pollination.

History

The practice of beekeeping began with the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. Bees have been part of mythology and folklore since ancient times. In honor of these insects, Thomas and Ruth Roy founded Don’t Step on a Bee Day, in the UK and the US. Many mistakenly interpret this holiday as a call to avoid stepping on bees. Indeed, walking barefoot can lead to stepping on a bee, causing harm to both it and yourself, but the July 10 holiday is about much more than that.

On this day, raise awareness of the need to preserve the bee population, which has been rapidly declining over the past decade. The exact cause of the bee extinctions has not been identified; however, insecticides, including neonicotinoids, as well as environmental pollution and temperature extremes, could presumably be factors.

Interesting facts

• In the 18th century, Europeans created mobile hives to collect honey without destroying the colony;
• Karl von Frisch discovered in the 1940s that bees communicate with each other using a wagging dance: through this, the bee indicates the location of a food source to its fellows;
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature established the Bumblebee Specialist Group in 2011 to study all the bumblebee species in the world.

How to take part

Beekeepers make great efforts to care for bees, providing them with hives, buying necessary medicines, and much more. You can support one of your local beekeepers by purchasing products from them or making a donation so they can continue their work. You can also help bees by planting flowers that attract them and provide them with pollen and nectar.

When is Don’t Step on a Bee Day in 2024?

Don’t Step on a Bee Day is observed on July 10 each year.

Observations