The City of Knoxville and the State of Iowa both paid tribute to the vital role bees play in our ecosystem; and area beekeepers are using the opportunity to remind the public just how important a role these insects play.

Both the state and local governments issued proclamations on Monday; the one for Knoxville Iowa Honey Bee Day notes the importance of bees as pollinators for over 90 crops grown across the country, on top of their own production of honey.

Jerry Weldon (pictured with his wife Sheila) from the Red Rock Beekeepers Club tells KNIA/KRLS News bees put far more effort into their production than most people realize.

“In order for…bees to produce a pound of honey, they have to make about two million visits to different flowers or multiple visits to the different flowers in order to produce that. And also, they have to fly about 55,000 miles just to produce a pound of honey,” Weldon says.

Honey bees in Iowa face serious threats; invasive pests such as parasites, decreasing bee friendly forage, variable climate and increasing use of pesticide and herbicide are making it more difficult for bees to survive.