# How Bees Support Ecosystems Beyond Pollination
Bees do far more than pollinate flowers. They form the foundation of complex food webs that sustain countless animal species across ecosystems.
Bees themselves become food for birds, spiders, dragonflies, and other insects. Bee-eaters, a family of colorful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, hunt bees in flight. Some spider species specialize in catching bees at flowers. Wasps parasitize bee larvae, using them as incubators for their own young. This predation shapes bee populations and behavior, forcing bees to develop defensive strategies and timing patterns that minimize exposure.
Beyond predation, animals exploit bees for shelter. Some mites, flies, and beetles live on bee bodies or inside hives, relying on the colony's warmth and resources. Certain bird species nest near beehives, benefiting from the defensive behavior of bees that deters larger predators.
Perhaps most unusual, some animals use bees as transportation. Parasitic mites cling to bee bodies to travel between flowers and hives, spreading to new food sources. In a stranger adaptation, some animals actually consume bees and regurgitate them. This process, while seemingly wasteful, can benefit plants when the partially digested bee matter is deposited on flowers.
Honeybees and wild bees also indirectly feed animals through the flowers they pollinate. Fruits and seeds from bee-pollinated plants sustain mammals, birds, and insects throughout ecosystems. Remove bees, and entire food chains collapse.
World Bee Day on May 20 highlights these interconnections. As bee populations decline from habitat loss, pesticides, and disease, the ripple effects extend far beyond flowers. Animals depending on bees for food, shelter, or transport face population pressures.