Helping Bees Be Bees

And don't just be concerned with chemical herbicides. Some of the "natural herbicides" are as dangerous to bees as the chemical sprays and powders we routinely use in the yard and garden. For example, honeybees are as much at risk from "natural" products, such as pyrethrum, as they are from malathion.

Choosing flowering herbs and vegetables, such as mints, basil, squash, melons, cucumbers for your garden can provide the bees with a good source of nectar and pollen. Allow a few of your other vegetable crops, such as chicory, onions/chives, endive, asparagus to go to seed. Allowed to flower, these are a good source of nectar or pollen.

As is the case with many creatures, man is perhaps the bee's most dangerous enemy. Most people live in fear of a sting, and so they attempt to kill the perceived threat to their safety, even though the bees have made no attempt to sting. Education can do a lot to help people understand the bee and develop a respect for it. By teaching our children and encouraging our schools to include information about honeybees as a part of the curriculum, you can do a lot to help the public understand this important little creature.

Yes, there are things that each of us can do or encourage in our city officials, so that the bees have a fighting chance to survive and produce those wonderful products that account for over 270 million pounds of honey, beeswax and other products going to market each year.

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