World Bee Day - What would happen if the bees disappeared?

On 20 May 2017, the United Nations established the World Bee Day to raise awareness in all sectors of the food chain about the importance of these insects, now under threat of extinction. One in ten species of bees and butterflies in Europe is endangered. The gradually increasing problem may be associated with a number of factors that often act in combination: destruction, degradation and fragmentation of habitats, physical and chemical pollution, climate change and the spread of invasive alien species. At least 25,000 different species of bees are known. These peaceful, hard-working insects are very important for honey production and, above all, for the ecosystem, as they are responsible for one sixth of all the flowers on the planet. It is thanks to these amazing insects that we have pollination and thus the reproduction of numerous fruit and vegetable plants. World agricultural production directly associated with animal pollination represents an estimated economic value of between 235 and 577 billion dollars.
Many plants are essential for the functioning of ecosystems and the conservation of biological diversity, which is the basis of our existence and economies. Italian researchers at CREA, the Italian Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics, are studying both how to defend bees from new dangers such as diseases and parasites, and how to protect and enhance them. Italian research aims to safeguard bees and their biodiversity by focusing on innovative technologies to support product certification, genetic improvement and digital development: just think of the digitalisation of beehives and artificial intelligence applications to recognise sub-species and determine the impact of agricultural systems on bees and wild bees.
In Italy it is estimated that bees, thanks to their tireless activity, contribute to the pollination of 90% of wild flora and are essential for more than three quarters of the food that reaches our tables.