World Bee Day 2027 is on Thursday

About World Bee Day

Bees, along with butterflies, bats, birds and other pollinators, carry pollen between flowers, which many crops and wild plants need in order to produce fruit and seeds. The day draws attention to the pressures on pollinators, including habitat loss, intensive farming, pesticide use and climate change, and to the beekeepers and farmers whose work depends on them.

The initiative began in Slovenia, a country with a long beekeeping tradition. The Slovenian Beekeepers' Association proposed it in 2014, the Slovenian government took it to the United Nations, and the international beekeeping federation Apimondia backed it in 2015. On December 20, 2017, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 72/211, proclaiming May 20 as World Bee Day, with 115 member states as co-sponsors. The first World Bee Day was held on May 20, 2018, in Žirovnica, the Slovenian municipality where Anton Janša was born.

May 20 is Janša's birthday. Born in 1734, he became the first teacher of modern beekeeping at a school in Vienna under Empress Maria Theresa. The date also falls at a busy time for bees in the Northern Hemisphere. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) coordinates the global observance and its yearly theme.

Sources: FAO: World Bee Day, Government of Slovenia: World Bee Day. How we check dates.

How to mark World Bee Day

• Plant flowers, herbs or shrubs native to your area, choosing kinds that bloom at different times of year.
• Cut back on pesticides in your garden, and follow label directions closely if you do use them.
• Leave a patch of lawn unmowed and some bare soil or old plant stems, where many wild bees nest.
• Buy honey and beeswax from local beekeepers.
• Put out a shallow dish of water with stones in it so bees can drink safely in hot weather.

World Bee Day dates