It's World Bee Day! Celebrate With These Amazing Facts About Everyone's Favorite Yellow and Black Insects

Two years ago, the United Nations started World Bee Day to pay tribute to the yellow insects who are helping to keep the environment stable and the planet healthy. So let's spend today being thankful that the bees are still buzzing around our ecosystem.

Because the flying insects are declining in numbers, the UN has enacted safety measures to protect them. Bees are pollinators who move pollen from one part of the plant to another. Without that pollen, plants would not be able to reproduce and continue making the fruit that we eat.

So I leave you with the eloquent words of Belgian poet Maurice Maeterlinck, winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize in Literature. Published back in 1901, Maeterlinck's The Life of the Bee examined how the tiny insect's role in our society.

"If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live."

Here are some facts about the honey dripping fellows that prove there's nothing else like them:

They're Number One!

According to a recent survey conducted by National Geographic and Morning Consult Poll, 55 percent of Americans believe bees should be the top priority when it comes to saving threatened critters. No love for sharks though.

Stingers

Bees only use their stingers to defend their nests. They won't sting you unless it's as a final resort.

Bees Listen To Ed Sheeran Music

Sheeran has a wooden beehive at the edge of his Suffolk estate in England. According to The Sun, the "Perfect" singer has named his bee colony, "Sheeranville."

Honey

Honey bees consume pollen from flowers and collect the nectar to produce honey. So if the honey bees become extinct, what's Winnie-the-Pooh going to eat? "Oh, bother" indeed.

Their Body

Did you know bees have five eyes, have two pairs of wings, and walk around using their six legs? The nickname "Five Eyes" doesn't sound as catchy as "Four Eyes."

Speed

Bees fly around at the speed about 20 miles per hour (MPH). How fast is that you ask? Back in 2013, Robert Gill, the wide receiver from the Arizona Cardinals, ran 25 MPH on a treadmill. Check out the video and you'll see just how fast that really is.

They Have A Great Sense Of Smell

A bee has about 170 odorant receptors, which they use to distinguish each flower, according to National Geographic Kids. For example, bees can recognize the difference between a dead plant and a fresh flower.

The Colors! The Colors!

There are about 20,000 species of bees around in the world. This means, they appear in a variety of colors, and not just the yellow and black we all know and love.

The Bee Dance

No, bees do not bust a move on the dance floor. Honey bees perform a "waggle" dance, when they have spotted a nectar source. The longer the honey bee waggles and flutters their wings, they have found a rich source of food.

They're Caffeine Addicts

Back in 2013, Dr. Geraldine Wright conducted a study at Newcastle University and discovered honey bees also get a buzz from caffeine. Caffeine actually improves their memory skills and "helps the bee remember where the flowers are."