Stand up and Bee Counted~Priscilla Bernardo
Imagine this as your new diet. No fruits, no vegetables, no nuts; just grains, meat, and dairy. No, this isn’t some new weight loss fad but it is what our world would be like without bees.
Bees are dying out in record numbers and if we lose all the bees the results would be dramatic. Hand pollination of crops would drive the cost of those items beyond reach of most Americans and the health implications are easy to understand. At a time when global availability of food is in crisis, the loss of bees would certainly increase the frequency of famine regardless of where you lived.
So what is happening to the bees? Scientists aren’t sure but the most recent findings have pointed to a combination of infection and overuse of both household and commercial pesticides. While bees in the past have been able to overcome the effects of one or the other, both factors combined are resulting in what is called Colony Collapse Disorder. In just the two years since beekeepers began noticing the suddenly empty hives, we have lost nearly a third of all the bees in the US. Clearly bees in the US are in peril and as a result, so are we. Unfortunately funding for research is not able to match the urgent need. But you can help!
Join THE GREAT SUNFLOWER PROJECT! Head to http://www.greatsunflower.org/en/four-easy-steps-participate on the web and sign up. Participating is easy and they send you your sunflower seeds for free. You can take part even if all you have is a flower pot! Once your flowers are “open for business” all you do is count twice a month how long it takes for 5 bees to visit your flowers. After 30 min. of counting – stop. If you don’t get any bees that is some of the most important information that researchers need to know so be sure to fill out your online report! If they find a cluster of people reporting no bees, scientists will then know that your area is under attack. Lots of bees or just a few; all that data is just what these researchers need to know.
