Thursday Thirteen - Save the bees
This time of year, my mind turns to my honey bee hives. A hive can cling to life through the frigid winter, only to die in March due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
Thursday Thirteen #22 - You can save the bees!
Here are thirteen things YOU can do to help save the bees:
1. Don’t use any neonicotinoid or imidacloprid product such as: imidaoliprid, thiamoxetham, acetamiprid, clothianidin, thiacioprid, or any neonicotinoid. READ LABELS. These products are universally toxic to honey bees. Most of them are banned in every country but the United States. If you must use these products do so before or after blooming season.
2. Petition your state and city to not use neonicotinoids or imidacloprid. The insecticide lobbyists have Washington in their pockets. (For example, even though the world believes insecticides are as least partly responsible for CCD. However, insecticides weren’t allowed to be mentioned at a Senate hearing on CCD.) The only way to rid our county of this nasty chemical is a the state or city level. If your Mayor says he or she is a “green” mayor, ask him or her to prove it by banning these chemicals use or sale in your city.
3. Leave your dandelions alone. Dandelions are an excellent source of pollen (protein) for winter hungry bees. Is a perfect lawn really worth starving a species?
4. Support your local beekeepers: Beekeeping can be expensive, especially now. With the bees dying at a rapid pace (thus needing replacement), and the cost of wood escalating, many beekeepers stop keeping bees. For example, if we sold every ounce of honey that we harvest, we would cover less than half of our cost. Local honey protects you from allergies, increases your fertility and improves your health. Plus, if you’ve never had “real” honey, you owe it to yourself. It’s amazing in texture and taste.
5. Think about hosting a hive: Every beekeeper could use another place to set a hive. Live in an apartment? How about the roof or your balcony? One of the most unique honey project is run in the skyscrapers of New York City. Most beekeepers will maintain the hive and give you some honey for a chance to set a hive in a new location.
6. Learn about the survivor bee movement: So much to say…. Basically, various beekeepers around the country are creating a new species of honey bee which they hope are resistant to the mites and diseases which make up Colony Collapse Disorder. We are getting our queens this year from ZiaQueen. Most beekeepers, myself included, believe that this movement will save honey bees.
7. Support research: In the last 20 years, very little money has gone into honeybee research. Why do we know so little about Colony Collapse Disorder? No research. When asked if you would support funds for honeybee research, say “yes”. You may just save the planet.
8. Create a pollinator sanctuary in your backyard: While there’s a lot of conversation about honeybees (due to commerce), every species of pollinator in North America has declined as much as 60% in the last 10 years. You can help support pollinators by creating a sanctuary in your backyard. Try a mason bee nest or maybe a birdhouse. Humming bird feeders work for butterflies as well.
9. Pay attention to bee related legislation: Bees are huge business. Honeybees are responsible for most pollination of any tree born fruit or nut. They work the cranberry, blueberry and melon fields. A huge portion of what you eat was created by a honeybee. Vote pro-bee. Support candidates who are interested in bee research and protection.
10. Become a beekeeper: In 1950, over 50% of households had at least one beehive in back of their house. Beekeeping is fun, rewarding and a lazy person’s hobby. And beekeepers are really great people. Think about keeping a hive. Interested? Email me. I’ll point you in the right direction.
11. Plant bee loving flowers: Bees need flowers to survive. Replace a little bit of that waterhogging grass with some beautiful flowers. What do bees like? Coneflowers, Sunflowers, Cosmos, Baby’s Breath, Gaillardia, California Poppy, Lance-Leveled Coreopsis, Siberian Wall flower, Purple Prairie Clover, Forget-Me-Not, Glove Gilia, Plans Coreopsis, Black eyed Susan, Corn Poppy, Bergamot, Aspin Daisy, Rocky Moutnain Bee Plant, New England Aster, Rockcress, Lavender, or Lamb’s Ear.
12. Speak intelligently about Colony Collapse Disorder: There’s so much panic and misinformation around Colony Collapse Disorder. Here are the important points: 1) More research is needed to determine what is going on; 2) The best thinking is that it’s a combination of - bee disease, medications for bee disease, pesticides, and new bee related disease; 3) This is a world wide problem not just a North American problem; 4) All pollinators are effected. Don’t let the panic mongers create helplessness. We can overcome CCD.
13. Interesting bee facts:
- Bees are a prehistoric creature that predate even crocodile.
- Evolutionists believe that, after the first flower, bees created every other species of flowering plant.
- We’ve found a bee that is over 100 million years old.
- This quote: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” was most likely NOT said by Albert Einstein.
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Filed under: Going out on a limb, In the Grove...., The nerdiverse
As someone that proudly owns a jar of this wonderful blogger’s honey, I will do my part for sure C.
Thanks for posting this list…I’m sad about the honey bee problem.
That’s a great cause. Most of the stuff you mention is already forbidden over here, so that’s good. I like to support local beekeepers, always buy their honey and use their bee wax to make cremes or something.
Thanks for visiting my grandmothers TT!
That is very interesting. I heard about the alarming decline in the bee population on, of all things, Bill Maher’s show on HBO. People need to be told.
FuriousBall - Hurray for real honey! Yum!! You offered to help me write a letter - and we need to do that…. I’ll put it on my list…
Laura - It’s very sad.
Tink - I know. In North America, things are just… oh I don’t know…. stupid. I hope things improve.
Nicholas - It’s shocking! It’s a world wide phenomena.
I”m doing most of the things on your list with my tiny balcony apartment. I even have some flowering weeds which I am leaving alone. They are pretty and the bees and butterflies like them.
I hadn’t heard of beehive hosting so I’ll have to keep that in mind for the future.
Happy TT.
I know all creatures are important to the Earth. I just don’t really like bees. (I’m somewhat allergic). However, I think we DO need to watch our environment and take care of this planet. Even if we don’t like certain creatures - they are all important to the ecological balance.
By the way - Priscilla Presley was a victim of a scam doctor injecting some bad type of silicone in her face. It was on the news yesterday in fact. Her face does look odd. I hope she can have it fixed. No botox for me!
Smiles,
Holly
http://theabundanceplace.com
Your passion regarding the preservation of bees is quite admirable. After reading your comments about Albert Einstein, I Googled his name and the word “bees” and found that his alleged quote is an urban legend. Do you have any thoughts on who might have actually made the statement?
You might want to contact The Killer Bee Guy (http://www.killerbeeguy.com/). He has a series on HDTV DIscovery Channel. I did an interview with him about a month ago. He said the colony collapse is only with hybrids who are so over-bred they cannot survive much of anything. He also said that this is a cyclical event that happens on a regular bases.
I did not know killer bees are better at pollinating and making honey than domesticated bees.
SJR
The Pink Flamingo
The bees in Israel don’t hibernate in the winter. We had a beekeeping houseguest from France one winter who was quite astounded by that.
Pussreboots - Hurray for doing your part! The bees of the world thank you.
Holly - We each have our passions!
Malcolm - Um, some meat puppet new anchor?
I have no idea. It’s really an awful thing to put on the world.
SJ Reidhead - I’ve heard that too - however, in my experience, and that of my fellow beekeepers, he’s not exactly on. CCD is happening in Africa where they aren’t using hybrids or domesticated bees. And no, killer bees (or Africanized bees) don’t make honey, swarm a lot and are very aggressive. I’ve had some scary experiences with them. But it is controversial! Good for you for getting that interview!
Robin - A lot of beekeepers here send their bees to California over winter. That’s another interesting thing.
I know bees have had a rough go of it the past year or two. Maybe this will help.
Learn something new every
dayweekGreat list. I always have local raw honey on hand.
Happy TT!
Neat stuff, Claudia. Although you’re making me feel bad about ripping out our trumpet vine last year. But really, it was taking over the house.
Very important, critical post. Love this.
We try to maintain a small flower garden each year. I research what flowers are tolerant to the area we are in….I’ll have to keep an eye out for some that are ‘bee-friendly”.
I am looking for something to put in a hanging basket….any suggestions?
Those pesticides are killer.
So much depends on the bees! We need to take care of our world. Thanks for all this great information. God bless.
I have to admit to being rather scared of bees. I got stung quite often as a kid (we had white clover in our yard and ran barefoot). I actually run a low grade fever, now, if I get stung and have severe swelling. However, I appreciate what the bee does for pollination and I adore honey! So I will try to forgive and forget.
This is so interesting and informative. I had no idea. I’ve always been fascinated with bees and yet scared of them at the same time.
I understand where you are coming from, and I think it’s a great thing to do, but I am deathly afraid of bees. I will run from them if they just come *near* me, I don’t bother them if they don’t bother me. I won’t kill them, I’m too afraid to, lol. I just don’t see myself starting a hive or anything in my yard. Thanks for the tips though, hopefully I can help out somehow.
Fascinating, Claudia.
Thank you.
I’ve been reading and hearing about the bee problem in the news, you’ve given me more insight.
Poor bees but I can’t be a bee keeper, I’m afraid as I am too afraid of bees. I got stung when I was younger and had anaphylaxy.
If it wasnt for Bee’s, we would be in a world of hurt for sure. Great list. Happy TT.
The flowers are out front, the trees and bushes are everywhere, and the bees and humming birds are welcome. I’m so glad you have a hobby.
I am all for something that I as a lazy person can do, but Bees sting. How can I have them in my backyard? Email me with the answer please.
Very interesting information. I learned something today. Thanks for sharing. Happy T13!
I see so many bees where I work that I never thought they might be in danger of becoming extinct! Very interesting TT!
I truly had no idea….thank you so much for posting this. I was really interesting — I enjoy learning new things on my TT journey! I will keep these things in mind especially when I’m trying to keep the dandelions out of my yard and am planting flowers!
Great TT!
I love your 100 million year old bee! This is a great post, Claudia. Regular non-beekeeping people should not really have to be reminded that everything we eat is pollinated by bees. But it’s good to do it, just the same. Actually, this is making me crave green tea with honey…
Awesome Thank you for this post this has been weighing heavily on my mind lately
It’s so nice to see intelligent points brought up about this after having watched The Bee Movie with the kids this weekend. After seeing that, I’m feeling really bad for real beekeepers. Bah. My uncle used to keep a few hives. That was some of the best honey — he had lots of clover on his farm. Thanks for some great ideas on useful things to do, Claudia!
Claudia, great job educating us. I appreciate it. I just want to say (and I don’t know if this means anything or helps) there is a HUGE hive in the trees on the property upon which I used to live (and was so rudely asked to leave). They were not there last spring. The sound is defeaning. They are in a tree with flowers (there is a pictures in my photog link, I can send it to you if you want). I have been around a lot of bees out in the country and this is a lot of them. Sorry, I digressed. My point it….I know they are safe because I know no one will go near them and I hope this means that some hives are recovering in other places?
Happy TT
We had a plant in Colorado that we called the bee bush. It would just buzz from all the bees that came to it.
i like the beehive hosting thing. we never do it in our country. nice idea.
now we’re saving bees?!?!
With words like neonicotinoid & imidacloprid, how are we supposed to READ the labels? :p
That was very interesting! My daughter’s school has a beekeeper come a couple times a year to educate about honey bees. Coincidentally, I have many of those bee friendly plants that were in the list!
I feel so much smarter after I read your blog. Thanks!
Do you think Sweetness would mind if I hosted a beehive… he is deathly allergic, and terrified. LOL…
it wouldn’t be a funny prank to pull, would it…? tehehe
You are such a VALUABLE little punk, aren’t you?
Inspirational stuff. We can do this. I know we can.
Great tips, I have a friend who is a beekeeper. I hope to host a hive when we move out of our current house.
That is an interesting post. I am really good at #11 and I will make sure to follow #1. I am not sure if I want a bee hive in my back yard though… Happy TT!
Claudia this is a very important post about honey bees. Sam Champion of GMA a while back spoke about just these things. I don’t know what I can do…but I won’t swat them when they come around anymore!
Dandelions leave evil stains along with the grass. But I’ll do my best to help the bees. Did you read that bats are dying unexpectedly these days, too? =o/
Kay - I think we can help - absolutely!
Ann Bruce - I love to learn! Glad I could help.
Nicole Austin - Yea for raw honey! Yummy stuff.
Susan Helene Gottfried - Well… maybe you could replace it with some thing that is also bee friendly?
Susie J - Yes indeed.
Tommie - For texas or Kentucky? Boy, I’ll have to research something for both places! Maybe I’ll send you something for your new porch.
Triathlete Dad - Grrr… Pesticide… grrr….
Sandy Carlson - It’s amazing how such a tiny creature can impact out entire world - just amazing.
Jill - I think we all are fascinated and a little frightened. After all, they were here first - it’s probably some biological response.
Morgan - Just plan a few flowers and send some love - that’s enough. Plus it will help you with your fear.
Joely - Forgiveness is good… very good.
Grandmother Wren - Hurray for insight!
Grace - It’s happened to my husband before as well - but not since we’ve had the bees.
Lori - Yes indeed!
CEO - I do love my bees! Hurray for flowers - and flowering trees are really the first mark of bee season.
Pjazzypar - Honey bees don’t bother you unless you bother them. I’ll send you an email.
Adelle Lauden - Learning is good.
Winter - Yes, indeed. Very close to the brink.
Lara - Hurray for dandelions and flowers! Go girl!
Julia - I love bees, just love them, so I’m happy to share!
Marcia V - There are things you can do.
Kaige - Yes, the Bee Movie was infuriating. They could have done a little bit to make it a tiny bit factual - but it was all bs.
Vixen - Weeellll…. People say that feral hives don’t exist. That the feral hive dies every year and is replaced by a swarm. The survivor stock people are collecting feral bees to find the survivors. Gosh, the survivor stock people would love to see that hive.
Zenmomma - huh - I wonder what it was? There’s a lot of Russian Sage here that is definitely a bee favorite. Oh there’s a “butterfly bush” too. Hmmmm
Dong Ho - Huh. I wonder why? Is beekeeping more centralized? Bees are HUGE business in Asia.
Jameil - Yes, like pennies …. in a jar….
Deanna Dahlsad - Always the practical one!
Toni - Hurray for you! We go to a couple elementary school classes. It’s great for the kids and kids love bees.
Kelly - D is allergic as well. If you don’t bug a bee, it won’t bug you unless it’s an africanized bee - but I don’t think they’ve gotten to your neck of the woods. He’ll have to try it when you come for a visit.
Rian Fike - I think I’m valuable - psst… Only YOU know I’m a punk!
The Happy Housewife - Hurray for you! I bet you’ll love hosting a hive - it’s no work and all honey!
Ivanhoe - Planting flowers is wonderful - Maybe someday you’ll want to host - life has it’s own current.
MaryT/The Teach - There’s the spirit! Send them a little love if you can’t do anything - that always works!
Christy - Bats are pollinators so it doesn’t surprise me. At the Senate hearing they were very clear that the native pollinators were having a tougher time than the bees because they aren’t kept and cared for.
Wow … there’s much here of which I was unaware. I’ve got more wasps than bees in my garden. I tend to avoid pesticides of all kinds as a general rule, favoring ‘natural’ methods of controlling ‘pests’ and nurturing my plants, but I’ve copied this to read (and digest) later at my leisure. Thanks for sharing.
Hugs and blessings,
Hi Claudia. Thanks for stopping by and thank you for this list! I have been following the scary bee news for several years now; I have 2 beekeeping friends. I DO plant flowers like crazy for them every year.
Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope your wish comes true Yes, I read your next post.
DK
My uncle had bees, but honnestly they weren’t of big interest to me. I prefer animals with fur and no insects but I know they are very useful !
The bees are the canary in the mine of the world, just one more sign of what we are in for. Thank you for using this forum to spread the good word (pollen).
Thank you for posting this. I’m getting more optimistic about overcoming Colony Collapse Disorder, because beekeepers have been showing some real staying power. The latest Honey Report from the USDA shows that managed colonies in the US rose by 2% in 2007 (this follows a 1% decline in 2006). As bad as CCD is, they’ve been able to make up the losses, and I think this resilience will see us through.
Erroll
What a very interesting list! I learned a lot here…my dad had bees for years and years, but became allergic to stings and had to give it up. I really really miss good, fresh honey! Happy T-13!
I’ve heard that quote, too.
Thank you for all the pointers on helping bees and the planet. I love bees (and Real Honey) and always try to plant as many of those flowers as possible to attract them.
I am allergic to wasp stings, but not bees, and will give some thought to whether we could host a hive since we rent our home.
I’ve been hearing a lot about this, but only in a vague and general way–thanks so much for clarifying, and especially for giving us things we can do to help!
Good to know. The bee die off is very concerning to me.
There’s a beekeeper on the road to the woods where I like to take the dogs, and I always buy my honey from him.
I’ve always loved Dandelions and now that I know bees love them too, they will regale my lawn with their awesomeness!
I never knew you could host a hive if you lived in an apartment. I’ll have to look into that immediately as well as catch up with the local legislation. I’ve been preoccupied with the water issues here in the Midwest but I’ve got plenty of enviromental energy left over for the bees. *grin*
~X
Wow. I had never heard of CCD. I didn’t know bees got diseases or disorders.
My Thursday Thirteen #73 is up! 13 What I Should Have Said and What I Said Stop by if you get a chance.
Storyteller - I try to “go natural” as well - it’s just hard to make others think the right way!
DK - Hurray for flowers and beekeeper friends. I honestly think beekeepers are great people overall.
Gattina - Animals are fun too!
Loose Leaf Colleen - Or we are. They’ve been here so much longer than we have, it’s hard to imagine a world without them.
Erroll - Since we’re not through the winter, I’m not sure the statistics mean anything. But good to hear something positive.
Laura - I’m sorry to hear about your father. maybe you’ll be inspired to find some real honey now?
Heart in SF - With your slumlord? I can’t imagine they would ever notice. There’s a great project in SF - honey by region. I bet they would give you a hive.
Darla - Yes, the terrorism of the unknown breds helplessness. We are all held hostage by it.
Chris - There’s always something we can do.
Janet - The bees of the world thank you - and so do I!
Xakara -Go for it! It’s pretty fun stuff!
Dame Bramage - Bee-lans is a whole amazingly complete world. I’m always surprised at the ins and outs.
Claudia, what a great post! The dandelions are blooming here, and of course the first thing everyone thinks is “get rid of them”. I had no idea how important they were to the bees. I have always been very fond of dandelions, and now there is one more reason to keep them.
Thank you!
We actually have bees in the ravine behind our house. They’ve been there a couple of years now. I suppose they do well on the dogwood and redbud trees in the area as well as a couple of rose bushes I have planted.
Great list.
Have a great TT!
I guess without realizing it, I’m not doing too bad!
I used to be afraid of bees, but knowing more about them now kinda lessens the fear.
Thanks for the great post!
What an interesting, informative, and helpful post! I do my part with the hummingbird feeders, and now I’ll know what else to do this spring and summer.
Thanks so much, and Happy TT!
I love to read about your bees Claudia! Happy Thursday Thirteen.
You know, I heard about this…It never occurred to me that there was so much that could be done about it…
This is a very interesting list. I don’t think we have this much going on for bees here in the country. There was a bee house at the farm/zoo we recently visited, but the bees weren’t in a friendly mood at that time so we weren’t able to check them out.
That’s interesting. I never thought about how honey bees are important to our environment. Thanks for the heads up.
Happy TT!!
Thanks for stopping by! Glad you liked my TT post.
This is a great post! I’ve been wondering about CCD and now I have some great information.
BTW, having a truck when you NEED one is not the issue. It’s driving a truck (or SUV) when you don’t need one that gets me riled up!
While I am scared to death of bees I do love honey. This was a very interesting post.
As far as I’m concerned, everyone should have flowers!!
After years of wanting one, I finally have a jasmine plant…it hasn’t flowered yet though.
Josie - Hurray for dandelions. I’m always amazed at how much farther ahead in the seasons you are than we are!
Driller AA - Trees are awesome for bees but also the most likely to be sprayed with those nasty chemicals. Catch 22 sometimes.
Angela Knocke - Hey that’s a very good thing!
Arlene - Hurray for less fear! yay!
Michelle - Hurray for hummingbird feeders! We aren’t on a migration route, so we don’t get them here in Denver. They have them in other part of Colorado though.
Nap Warden - There’s always something we can do - we just have to be willing to change a little bit.
Vera - I wonder if they didn’t let you see them because of the CCD. You’d be amazed at how it can wipe out an entire farm.
Toia - It’s almost impossible to contemplate what the world would be like without them.
Smtwngrl - Information is good!
Melanie - I think we are all a bit afraid - the question is what you do with your fear.
Claudia - I love jasmine - is it nightblooming? MMMMM!!
This is a wonderfully, educated TT about a very interesting subject. Kudos.
claudia-
Just checking back on this…..
I ended up getting some begonia’s for the hanging basket……and some ferns for under the porch.
We will be moving in july08 to KY.
[...] Thursday Thirteen - Save the bees By Open Grove Claudia Basically, various beekeepers around the country are creating a new species of honey bee which they hope are resistant to the mites and diseases which make up Colony Collapse Disorder. We are getting our queens this year from ZiaQueen. … - http://www.on-a-limb.com [...]