Everyone knows that busy bees are happy bees. And happy bees are pollinating and helping to preserve our rich floral biodiversity. But what happens when their environment is threatened? You’ve all heard by now about the decimation of the honeybee populations over the last 15 years. Scientists have been baffled by what is causing their high mortality rate. Reported August 1 in ScienceDaily it was found that a combination of factors contribute to the diminishing population of honeybees in the U.S. and Europe.
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| Photo credit: Aussiegalls Photostream Creative Commons License |
Factors affecting mortality of honeybees include loss of biodiversity, climate change, pathogens, and now they’ve found that Nosema, a parasite, when coupled with exposure to low doses of insecticide lead to even higher mortality rates. This puts ever more stress on the colonies.
So what can you do to help the honeybees and other pollinators continue to do their jobs? One of the easiest things you can do is grow a native garden. Not sure what flowers you should grow? Check out the Pollinator Partnership website for downloadable full-color guides about plants to grow in your area.
What else can you do? Support legislation that supports floral biodiversity and pollinators. The week of June 20 was Pollinator Week that celebrated with events around the U.S. including a briefing that was held in conjunction with the Congressional Pollinator Protection Caucus (CP2C). Created in the House by co-chairs Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and Timothy V. Johnson (R-IL) the caucus was to increase understanding of the importance of pollinators. Rep. Johnson stated:“Our bill’s approach is to help States reduce roadside maintenance costs while providing better habitat for pollinators—similar to farmers being good conservationists while they produce our food.”
By planting more native plants and reducing road side mowing, the bill hopes to save money and to preserve the biodiversity of the land surrounding the roads and highways. Want more information on how to support pollinators? Visit the Pollinator Partnership, North American Pollinator Protection Campaign
Blog Author: Kimberly Warren
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