I have to admit that lately I am a little addicted to the Burts Bees line of products. They are a little pricey but so far I think they are worth every penny. I love the baby wash, sunscreen, and all natural mosquito repellant. Anyway, my point is that some info on their website made me realize just how important the honeybee really is.
Did you know that every third bite of food that you eat depends on bees for pollination? Already we are hearing about food shortages so can you imagine if we lost 30% of the fruit and vegeatable plants that we rely on to feed our families? You may have heard about the Colony Collapse Disorder that is affecting bees in recent years; it is a mysterious dissapearance of the honeybee that can be linked to habitat destruction, misuse of pesticides, invasive species and global warming.
So what can be done to help? First you can plant wildflower seeds in your yard that might attract honeybees. They especially like the following: Calendula, Daisy, Purple Coneflower, Sunflowers and Sweet William Catchfly. Also they thrive in organic farms with fruit and veggie plants free of pesticides.
You can also buy local honey. It will taste better because it isnt mistreated to have a long shelf life so it will taste more floral. Also you are keeping trucks off the road and supporting local beekeepers so they can continue to help bees and polination.
Honeybees have been on this earth for 25 million years so lets not let them die off now! Plant something in your garden just for them and maybe even look into beekeeping. Its supposed to be an interesting hobby and you get to eat your own honey!
