Daisy and Scooter Pugman reminded me of something very very important - BEES. We tend to take bees for granted and we shouldn't because they are so so vital to our EATING. Yes, you heard me - without BEES there would not be enough pollination and plants would not grow and animals that eat plants would not live and on and on and on. It is NOT a happy thought.
In August of 2015 The Rolling Stone published a feature story on bees called What Is Killing America's Bees and What Does It Mean for Us? It is a very eye-opening story which I highly recommend. Click the title. It is a link to the story. One of the most frightening things talked about in the article is COLONY COLLAPSE. This is where not only do the bees die, but they disappear. They go queenless, lay fewer eggs, and basically live in disarray until there is nothing left to sustain them.
It is pretty well documented that a big part of the problem is CLIMATE CHANGE. Hotter than normal summers, colder than normal winters, years long droughts . . . it all adds up to one big problem for us all.
An equally big problem with bees are some of the new breed of insecticides being used all over farmville - neonicotinoids, or neonics. Besides not really being able to discriminate between a good bug and a bad bug, neonicotinoids mess with insect brains. This messing with BEE BRAINS is widely thought to contribute to COLONY collapse. And unlike more traditional pesticides, neonicotinoids are not water soluble and do not break down over time. They join the plant system and live on in the food supply.
Pugsonally, I like bees and I like to listen to them buzzing around in our yard in SPRING. It would be very sad if they suddenly disappear completely. So I am making it my mission to do whatever I can to help save the bees. Here are some of the things I found out that I can do
- Plant bee friendly flowers and herbs in the garden to replace the habitat bees are losing every day
- Let weeds and wildflowers live in your lawn and garden - they provide a haven and are a food source for bees
- Control invasive plants with frequent weeding and avoid using weedkillers and pesticides which are poison to the bees too
- Buy LOCAL - local raw honeys are awesome!
- Keep small basins of fresh water around the yard for the bees to drink (this was hard to do during the drought)
- Buy local, organic foods from sustainable and pesticide free farms (if you get a chance to see "The Bullish Farmer" you will understand why)
- Learn about bees and make your yard hospitable for them
- Join or start a community group to protect bees
- Let your representatives at the city, county, state, and national levels know that you think protecting bees is very very important
- Live like bees are your friends and not out to BUG you. Bees are vegetarian unlike wasps. They don't want a piece of you and sting to protect themselves and their precious cargo (pollen and nectar)
http://www.queenofthesun.com/get-involved/10-things-you-can-do-to-help-bees/
