On a limb with Claudia

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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