Cry the Beloved Honeybee

At the Wellfleet Eco-Expo last Saturday, Laura Kelley spoke about the plight of the honeybee. Apparently, colony collapse continues. Apparently, we lost one-third of the honeybee population over the winter. (Read about it here.) No need to be a rocket scientist to realize the situation is dire. The subject is one that definitely merits your attention, but I know next to nothing about it. Colony collapse may be due to widespread use of pesticides, as I reported in this blog over the fall. Since I'm not a honeybee expert, I asked my beekeeper friend to provide a few more details. Here’s Laura:

“No honeybees = no food. For the flowers we love, the plants we eat, and honeybees, we must be non-toxic inside and outside our homes.

Colony collapse disorder was labeled in 2007 after we lost half the honeybee population on the planet. One third of the honeybees worldwide didn't survive last winter. Honeybee keepers are breeding honeybees as fast as possible. More and more homeowners are interested in having hives in their back yards, which is great, but unfortunately we are not able to produce as many queens as needed to feed the human population worldwide. Almonds and apples will be the first edibles to become scarce at our local grocery stores, followed by citrus fruit, blueberries, and cranberries.

Over-development is a problem. Humans occupy the places honeybees used to live and feed. Planting anything that flowers will help the honeybees, for they need to forage.

The best thing we can do to help honeybees become more comfortable on earth is to change our life-styles and become completely non-toxic inside and outside of our homes and bodies.

Everyone who eats or owns land or purchases anything can help honeybees. How? Remember, your dollar is your vote.

Think about where you spend your money. Your patronage shows you believe in an establishment/corporation/local farmer.

Make conscious decisions before spending. Ask yourself, is this company doing the right thing to help our planet?

A lot of establishments claim to be organic or all natural, but are they truly?

We've got to support local farmers and businesses that make a difference. Your patronage will help honeybees because there will be less toxins in the air, water, soil, as well as in the plants that are harming them now.

The immune systems of honeybees have become compromised due to human impact and the overuse of toxins.

It’s up to us now. There are still some honeybees left. We do have a chance of survival, but we must change our habits today. Scientists predict humans have five years to live after the honeybees die, and then we will be eating only gruel (anything that is brown, rice, wheat, corn). Nothing green will survive very long.

Other natural pollinators and human pollinators are not as aggressive in pollinating as honeybees. Humans continue to populate, honeybees continue to loose population – the balance is off. We see what’s happening, we talk about it, but will we react in time? Will these changes be sufficient to reverse the fate of honeybees and ensure their survival?

It's all in your hands now. Since you've read this post and understand what you can do, the one question I have is, will you sign on or will you take part in harming the one creature that is absolutely crucial to the next generation?”