The Bee Crisis

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The Bee Crisis

What Bee Crisis?

When we asked members of the Gardener to Gardener community about the buzz in their own backyards last summer, most responses echoed the words of "franeli," one New Hampshire gardener: "I've seen plenty of bees this year. Pollination has been great for everything from blueberries to tomatoes."

But there were disturbing exceptions. "We live near the headwaters of the Rio Grande," reported "ctdahle," a Texas home gardener. "I have not seen a honeybee all year. None. My neighbor's apple trees are completely bare of fruit. We planted our usual array of flowers, which normally draw many bees. This year, none. Our poppies bloomed and faded laden with ungathered pollen." What's going on? Penn State bee expert Maryann Frazier confirmed that reports of pollination problems were few and far between last summer. (Even California's almond crop, which depends on honeybees, set new production records despite dire early warnings. Farm managers for two organic seed companies-Johnny's Selected Seeds in Winslow, Maine, and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Mansfield, Missouri-told OG that pollination was on track and they didn't expect any seed shortages or price increases related to honeybee problems.

"There seemed to be enough honeybees to go around this summer, and native pollinators filled in the gaps," Frazier notes. "But there are still big problems. We have to take them seriously."

Find out how to sustain and nurture our native bee population by visiting these conservation websites and publications:

The Xerces Society:
xerces.org

Natural Resources Conservation Service:
nrcs.usda.gov

Urban Bee Gardens:
nature.berkeley.edu/urbanbeegardens

Bee nesting boxes
xerces.org

General pollinator information:
nrcs.usda.gov

Xerces Society plant fact sheet:
xerces.org

University of California urban bee garden information and plant list: nature.berkeley.edu

The National Academies resources on pollinators:
dels.nas.edu/pollinators

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