Researchers in AU estimate far more bee species globally than previously estimated, specifically an 18–25% increase.

Knowledge of bees supports their conservation and pollination of crops, which is worth roughly A$745 billion per year.

🧑‍🧑‍🧒 Pollination is also crucial for our diet and wellbeing with 75% of food crop diversity and 35% of total food production benefiting from animal pollination.

🪨 Bees are what’s called a “keystone” group. Removing populations of that group would result in cascading ecological impacts (not in a good way).

Science knows of 21,000 bee species. There are likely thousands more

A new paper provides the first statistically derived estimate of bee species richness around the world. But this is about more than bees.

The Conversation (theconversation.com)

#InsectSaturday #NativeBees #Nature #Environment #Biodiversity