What’s the real buzz on the bees?

Honeybees are vanishing. And by record numbers. It’s not like they’re moving to another country or retiring to a senior center. Honeybees are dying off.

Or are they?

Depending on which statistic you read or what report you follow, trying to figure out the plight of the honeybees is like deciphering the war in Iraq.

The bees may or may not be on the verge of becoming extinct. But since bees are important to the horticulture industry in general, I’m leaning on the side of caution. (Plus, if there’s this much national coverage from mainstream media, this might be a great time to promote what bees like most: flowers!)

Many suspected culprits have been blamed for the dwindling bee population: increased use of neonicotinoids; organized agriculture’s history of requiring more bees to pollinate food crops; decreased resistance to mites that damage bees; increased production of genetically engineered crops, like Bt corn; and a condition referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

The catch-all term CCD appears to be receiving the most blame for the disappearing bees. Entomologists and other scientists are looking into the causes of CCD. Again, depending on what you read or hear, CCD can be caused by any of the factors listed above or any of these -- random habitat disorder, poor bee nutrition, pesticide misuse, invasive species and the be-all-end-all blame-favorite, global warming.

There’s been plenty of speculation as to why bees are disappearing , and, thankfully, a lot of groups and individuals are taking action to help “save the bees.” Two of the biggest companies showing bee support are Haagen-Dazs and Burt’s Bees.

Haagen-Dazs has named an ice cream to support the bees -- Vanilla Honey Bee -- and created a Web site to answer consumer questions. A portion of ice cream sales goes to university programs to study CCD and for sustainable pollination research.

Haagen-Dazs also sponsors a postdoctoral research fellowship in honey bee biology at the University of California-Davis. UC-Davis houses the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, which is the nation’s largest apiculture facility.

Burt’s Bees Mobile Tour will visit 30 U.S. and Canadian cities by September. The bus is loaded with brochures about honeybees and free packets of wildflower seeds.

While bees are on consumers’ minds, this might be the time to promote plants and flowers that attract bees and help them remain healthy. Try monarda (bee-balm), Shasta daisies, coneflowers and calendula.

Review your pesticide records to make sure you’re applying the right rates at the right time. Or, try biologicals and less harmful control agents to deal with insects and diseases. Consider implementing more sustainable methods so your business has less negative effect on the environment.

-- Jyme

Comments

[Marshall Dirks]

Jyme -

Thanks for covering this subject. I know a lot of research is being done at the University of Illinois, I read an article in the Smithsonian magazine about 10 months ago - they were trying to determine if cell phones were causing any issues - I believe they concluded that it did not. I like your suggestion of promoting plants that aid bees. We'll be adding this attribute to our website and tags for 2009.

[Jyme]

Thanks for the comment! We are going to have an in-depth article on the bee situation from an entomologist's perspective in a summer issue of NMPRO. Be sure to check it out!