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— January 4, 2018 —

5 More Ways to Bee Helpful

By Amy Cadora
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5 More Ways to Bee Helpful

What’s All the Buzz About?

Environmentalists, bee-lovers, people who enjoy fresh produce and bees all over the world: we have reason to celebrate! The UK recently decided to back a total ban on all bee-killing pesticides across Europe.

The decision announced in November represents a turnaround from the government’s previous position that there wasn’t enough evidence to support the ban.

Now, says Environment Secretary Michael Gove, new evidence indicates that the risk to bees and other insects from neonicotinoids, a class of insecticide also known as neonics, is “greater than previously understood.”

A Look at the Latest Findings

While news of the ban in the UK is good, the problem that it relates to is not. Here’s a peek at some startling new research from the last year:

  • A study in Nature suggests that neonicotinoids have a significant impact on the success or failure of young queen bees to start new colonies.
  • A study in Science found 75% of the honey produced worldwide contains neonicotinoids.
  • A study in PLOS One showed that 75% of flying insect populations in German nature reserves has been lost over the last 27 years.

While this news is certainly attention-getting, the fact remains that we can all take action to not only help protect the bees but also to help maintain a steady supply of pollination-dependent fruits and vegetables.

5 More Ways to Bee Helpful

  1. Plant bee-friendly flowers and flowering herbs in your garden and yard.
  2. Don’t pick the weeds, especially clover and dandelion.
  3. Don’t use chemicals or pesticides to treat your lawn or garden.
  4. Keep a small container of fresh water outside your home. Bees are thirsty!
  5. Buy locally grown, organic food.
Did You Know

  • About one in every three bites of food we eat is dependent on insect pollination. And the honeybee is responsible for about 80% of that pollination.
  • Of the 100 crop species that provide 90% of our food worldwide, 71 are bee-pollinated.
  • Bees alone are estimated to add more than $15 billion in value to farm production each year, impacting more than 200 crop varieties.

On Board the Bee Highway!

Oslo, the capital city of Norway, is taking steps to create a more bee-friendly environment by building the world’s first bee highway!

comment_2What ways can you think of to “bee helpful”? We’d love to hear what you’re doing (or plan to do)! Just drop us a line below.

Resources:

Did you know that almost three-fourths of our food crop species are dependent on bees?

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Tanya Aoyagi
Tanya Aoyagi
6 years ago

I love the tips to help our homes be more bee-friendly! I’m excited to check with my local garden stores to see which local flowers and herbs are bee attractants!

Rebecca Littlejohn
Rebecca Littlejohn
6 years ago

Plant more plants that bees love (Dutch Clover, Cosmos, Aster, Sunflowers, Rudbekia, Coneflower) & pull weeds to get rid of them!

Jenna Gray
Jenna Gray
6 years ago

I can’t wait to plant more flowers this summer with my kids! Helping out the bees seems like a great home school lesson!

Lia Thompson
Lia Thompson
6 years ago

How much relief I’m feeling that awareness of bee endangerment is growing. Also action is being taken to stop these dangerous pesticides being used and loved the fantastic ways we can help this amazing species to thrive. I love bees!

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Admin
Moderator
6 years ago
Reply to  Lia Thompson

Thanks Lia! Long live the bees!