This info came from a member of the water gardening email list that I am a member of. I found the info most interesting. Maybe we should all become bee keepers. Earn a little money in the process. :-D
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Honey bees. Now, when I say that word a lot of you shudder in fear because you were once stung by a bee. Actually, you probably got stung by a wild bee, a bumblebee, a wasp, yellow jacket, or hornet. Honey bees seem to 'take the blame' for their meaner cousins. In fact, a honey bee dies after it stings. So it only stings as a last resort.
Even if you do not like honey bees, you should be aware of the valuable work that they do in pollinating our crops. Many crops such as almonds would not exist if there was not bee pollination.
Many of our water lilies are fertilized by honey bees. Those great random plants that just show themselves in your pond are probably the result of pollination between a couple of water lilies. With the help of our friend the honey bee.
Well, bees are in trouble. The number of bee keepers in the U.S. has fallen by about 90% over the last few decades. There is not much profit in bees and most beekeepers keep the bees as a hobby or as a service to help others pollinate their crops. In addition, about ten years ago, a parasitic 'mite' attacked many of the bee populations. The mites are like little fleas sucking the blood of the bees.
Last year, a new problem arose. CCD. Colony collapse disorder. The bees just leave their hive and disband. In some areas, 50% or more of the hives have disappeared.
There is now a bill being proposed The cost would be about $5 million per year. There are also some other requests for funding to study and prevent various insect pests. This could benefit all gardeners, including water gardeners.
The article that I read is below. The article asks you to contact your congressman/Senator. That is a personal choice. But I thought you might like to know about the work of honeybees.
I wish I had saved the photos sent into the mailing list that showed honey bees on water lilies. Maybe someone will post one of those pictures again?
Thanks for reading this.
This ezine is also available online at http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2007.06.14.16.18.archive.html
CATCH THE BUZZ
Barbara Boxer, Senator from California has introduced The Pollinator Protection and Research Act of 2007. See http://www.beeculture.com/content/ColonyCollapseDisorderPDFs/9%20Pollinator%20Protection%20Research%20Act%20of%202007.pdf
for the complete bill.
It calls for $3 million /year 2008 -2012 for the Honey Bee Research Labs, and an additional $2.5 million for 2008 and 2009 for additional USDA research work in other locations.
There's $1.75 million for each of 2008 - 2010 for other Research and Extension funding, plus an additional $.875 each for Beltsville and Tucson Bee Labs for CCD work.
Then add $10 million/year for years 2008 - 2012 for CREES (Cooperative State Research, Education, Extension) and another $2.25 million to APHIS for a pest and pathogen survey.
That's the most additional money beekeeping has seen, maybe ever. Take a look at the Bill at the link above, then contact your Senator and urge them to support this bill.
This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping
www.BeeCulture.com
This information is not copyrighted and we urge you to use it newsletters or any place this information will be of use.
Interesting info about the bee decline!
Becky,
Thanks so much for posting this vital info. The vast majority of the honey bees are found in the wild .The problems that you mentioned are the main reason the wild population has decreased so.Yes the research is needed so badly .When I lived in upstate NY I had a few hives as a hobby.I had a 13 acre farmette and I grew about 3 acres of Chinese Lanterns I'd sell for dried flowers in the fall.I was located in the finger lakes region in the middle of NY states wine country.A few years I had very poor pollination on my plants and thought if I had a bee hive it would help pollinate my plants.It was great and talk about learning alot.It went beautiful for a few years and because I didn't stay up with all preventions to help keeps differant things from invading the hive either a mite or a parasite weakened my hives and then the bumble bees took over the hive and that was it.
It's real easy to get started but you really should have another established bee keeper as a mentor and help you with extracting the honey.Many beekeepers will coop their extracting.For a share of the honey.
I sometimes think about getting another hive going here in Florida.
Thanks again Becky for posting this info. Don
Very interesting Don! I had no idea that you used to be a beekeeper! That's really cool!!!!
I met this older retired gentleman some years back who came to talk to a bunch of the kids at my church during one of my classes. He brought along all his equipment and explained that there was a shortage of beekeepers nationally. (That was about 8 years ago.) He asked some of the teenagers if any of them would be interested in learning the art of beekeeping. I was ready to raise my hand! LOL! Unfortunately, none of the students were able to mentor under him due to school commitments. He has since passed away. Sad that he was never able to pass the trade on to someone else. He even brought different types of honey for us to taste. And it was neat that Spring honey is lighter colored than Fall honey, because of the colors of the blooming flowers at that time of year. He also never had arthritis because of all the bee stings he has sustained over the years and looked years younger than his age. He swore it was because of the bees and the bee pollen. All of it was just fascinating!!
If I had acreage, I'd seriously consider it! :-) I had a piece of the honeycomb .... oh my gosh! Delicious!!! I love honey on toast. Nothing tastes better! :-) And I particularly love Orange Blossom honey. Bees are such an asset to the world. Let's hope we can protect and increase their numbers again. :-)