Busy Bees
Silence of the Bees was on OETA “Nature” last night.
(You can watch the complete episode at PBS.org.)
It was a very informative show about CCD – Colony Collapse Disorder.
No one knows what is causing it, but they don’t believe there is just one cause.
Several factors may play a role -
monoculture crops,
pesticides,
a disease like HIV in the bees,
weak queens.
Most bees are commercial now.
They are trucked across the country to pollinate
the oranges in Florida,
the apples in Pennsylvania,
the blueberries in Maine.
More than half of all bees go to California
to pollinate the almonds.
There is concern that in a few years there won’t be enough
bees to pollinate all the almonds.
The US has lost over 800 thousand hives.
By 2035 we may not have bees
in the US at all.
One third of what we eat is pollinated by bees.
My friend, Everett has been raising bees
in Oklahoma for over 70 years.
He says this year is the craziest year he has ever seen.
When I checked my bees this morning, I am afraid one of the hives
is without a queen. There is honey, but I don’t see any eggs.
Bees only live a few weeks, so queens lay over a thousand
eggs a day to keep the population up.
There are things we can do to help the bees:
Become a backyard bee keeper.
Join a local Association of Beekeepers to learn more.
Plant an organic garden with a variety of flowers and vegetables.
Don’t use pesticides.
Give the bees a voice by asking your federal and state legislatures to support bee research.
The bees are working hard, but they need our help.
