International Bee Day: bees will save the world

SUSTAINABILITY

A day to remember just how important bees are for the planet. Discover which projects we support to help these industrious insects, and what you can do too!

World Bee Day is celebrated every May 20 since the United Nations inaugurated the first World Bee Day in 2018 to create awareness about the value that these insects have for the entire planet. Could we imagine a world without bees? No: not only are bees a natural indicator of the quality of the environment, they are also a fundamental link in our ecosystem.

Bee Day to understand why bees are indispensable

Pollination is essential to the survival of plants. Bees and other pollinating insects guarantee the reproduction of 90% of wild plants and 80% of the plants we get our food from.

In addition to diseases, natural predators and parasites, there are many other threats that place bees in danger. Some of these are unfortunately caused directly by man: for example, the indiscriminate use of anti-parasites and herbicides, urban development and the resulting pollution. We can and must take urgent action, starting with what is within our power to change.

World Bee Day according to Davines: a hotel for solitary bees

In October 2020, Davines hairdressers and customers in Italy supported the Bee Strong campaign in collaboration with 3bee. Thanks to the generous commitment of all participants, 33 thousand euros were raised for the protection of solitary and hive bees.

This spring we were able to close the circle by installing a bee hotel in the Scientific Garden of the Davines Village in Parma, our site. This is a safe and pleasant refuge built with every comfort to host bees and also other types of pollinating insects. More than a bee hotel, it is actually a full-fledged bug hotel: a hotel where the rooms are actually small nests for useful insects such as butterflies and ladybirds and obviously solitary bees.

Thanks to our bee hotel we can “invite” solitary bees to the Davines Village, also providing them with the attraction of our beautiful Scientific Garden managed according to the principles of organic and regenerative farming.

Bees and other pollinating insects: guests at the Davines Village

The Scientific Garden at the Davines Village is the perfect place to welcome bees and other insects that aid them in their pollinating activities!

What are solitary bees?

When we think of bees, we immediately think of ones that build hives and produce honey. But there are also other species of bees - known as solitary - that do not live collectively, they do not produce honey, but they still fly from flower to flower to feed on pollen. Since they do not have the duty of taking care of a hive, solitary bees dedicate much more time to pollination, a task they perform even more efficiently than honey bees!

Solitary bees generally build their nest for themselves and their offspring inside logs and small holes in the ground, but anthropization has made it increasingly harder for them to find suitable places and materials. This is why we have decided to host solitary bees at our bee hotel in the Davines Village and the other great news is that - if you want to - you can do it too!

To install a bee hotel all you need is a garden or courtyard, even small: there are pre-assembled bee hotels of various shapes and sizes. But you can also create your own bee hotel with small canes and rushes tied together with string. Remember to be creative: the more welcoming the refuge, the more guests you will attract!

Adopt a hive and support Italian bee keepers

If you do not have space for a bee hotel, never fear: you can still offer your crucial support in protecting hives. For example, thanks to the Bee Strong 2020 campaign we were able to donate funds to the Italian bee keepers of the 3bee network as well.

With the contributions of salons and customers, we “adopted” hives equipped with Hive-Tech, which makes it possible to scientifically check the conditions of the single bee family, so as to protect them and make the indispensable work of the guardian bee keepers in Italy more efficient.

Last but definitely not least, the Bee Strong 2020 campaign enabled us to further support Slow Food in its protection of biodiversity: we managed to establish a new Presidia, the Black Bee of West Liguria.