Day of the Honey Bee celebrates 156 years of B.C. beekeeping
VICTORIA – May 29, will be declared the Day of the Honey Bee in B.C. by Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick, to recognize and celebrate how beekeeping in B.C. has grown from May 1858 when two hives arrived in Victoria Harbour into an industry that has a $250-million-a-year agricultural impact today. There are more than 2,300 beekeepers throughout B.C. operating as a hobby, part-, or full time business with about 47,000 colonies, and as many as two billion bees. The Day of the Honey Bee recognizes the importance honey bees play in human survival and daily life, and the partnership between the province and B.C. beekeepers to improve agricultural production, and monitor and maintain bee health.
UNITED NATIONS DECLARES 20 MAY WORLD BEE DAY
New York, 20 December 2017 – On this day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by
consensus a resolution declaring 20 May as World Bee Day. Every year on this day,
the attention of the global public will be drawn to the importance of preserving bees
and other pollinators. People will be reminded of the importance of bees for the entire
humanity and invited to take concrete action to preserve and protect them. The
resolution was co-sponsored by 115 UN Member States, including the USA, Canada,
China, the Russian Federation, India, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and all the European
Union Member States.