Attitudes of university students of biology towards bees and their protection

Biology students about bees and their protection

Abstract

By number of species, insects are the most numerous group of invertebrates. They play an important role in nature, in ecosystems. Especially important are insect pollinators that provide survival for plants and other species. Among them, bees are extremely important and effective pollinators. Today, there is a global decline in the number of pollinators, especially bees. Taking into account the aforementioned facts in relation to the attitudes of students towards bees and other invertebrates, at different levels of education, the analysis of student attitudes at the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Biology, in relation to this problem has been done. The aim of this study was to determine students' attitudes on bees and their protection, and to analyze them from the perspective of several factors, such as gender, knowledge of bees, place of residence and attending a course Biology of bees with beekeeping. For this purpose, the survey questionnaire has been constructed and distributed. By analyzing the results of the questionnaire, it was found that students’ knowledge and attitudes were correlated in the sense that a higher level of knowledge correlates with more positive attitudes. Students who attended the course Biology of bees with beekeeping showed more positive attitudes towards bees than students who didn’t attend this course. It was also noticed that gender and place of residence affected the attitudes (fear, disgust) toward bees. Almost all students expressed attitude that bees are an important part of nature. Large number of students have knowledge about global bees decline. Almost all students expressed that bees have to be protected, especially students who have been completed the course Biology of bees with beekeeping. These students also have a more positive attitude that it should be more learning about bees. Based on the results obtained in this study, programs of university biology courses further will be enriched with educational content about bees, their importance/roles in nature and ways for their protection.