HAVE YOU EVER thought about the role honeybees play in our world? Bees pollinate at least 130 fruit, vegetable, nut, ornamental and fiber crops in the United States, and contribute about $15 billion annually through improved crop yields and product quality.
Additionally millions of dollars are generated through the sale of hive products such as honey, wax, pollen, royal jelly and venom. When crops that need pollination fail to get pollinated, they don't produce. This can be easily seen in the vegetable garden when growing pumpkins, squash, or melons. A plant may form a small fruit, but it soon shrivels and falls off the plant if the flower was not pollinated.
There are many different types of bees, but the ones that are kept by beekeepers and have historically served as our best-known pollinators are the honeybees. Though called natives, they are really from Europe. They have existed for centuries in the wild, but with the recent problems, feral bees have basically disappeared.
There are other types of bees that serve as pollinators; solitary mason bees and bumblebees are two, but they are not kept by humans for honey production.
Bees are truly hard workers. They must collect nectar from about 2 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey. The average forager makes about one-twelfth teaspoon of honey in its lifetime, so the next time you add a couple of teaspoons of honey to your tea, consider how many bees worked to make those two teaspoons.
I've received several inquiries in recent months from gardeners concerned about the honeybees' plight. Though gardeners can't help much with problems such as mites or colony collapse disorder, there are still ways to help out. The first is to limit the use of pesticides in the landscape and garden. Bees are day foragers, so they are out and about during the day, visiting flowers and collecting pollen. Be careful not to apply insecticides during the daytime hours--if you must use them at all.
It's a common assumption that insecticides are the only pesticides harmful to bees, but that's not the case. Some fungicides such as Captan are harmful to them--particularly if applied when bees are gathering pollen and nectar. Even 2,4-D is listed as highly toxic, according to Ohio State University, if bees are present during application or one to two days following. 2,4-D is the chemical in a number of popular lawn herbicides used to control broadleaf weeds such as dandelions. The complete listing is available at ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2161.html.
Additionally millions of dollars are generated through the sale of hive products such as honey, wax, pollen, royal jelly and venom. When crops that need pollination fail to get pollinated, they don't produce. This can be easily seen in the vegetable garden when growing pumpkins, squash, or melons. A plant may form a small fruit, but it soon shrivels and falls off the plant if the flower was not pollinated.
There are many different types of bees, but the ones that are kept by beekeepers and have historically served as our best-known pollinators are the honeybees. Though called natives, they are really from Europe. They have existed for centuries in the wild, but with the recent problems, feral bees have basically disappeared.
There are other types of bees that serve as pollinators; solitary mason bees and bumblebees are two, but they are not kept by humans for honey production.
Bees are truly hard workers. They must collect nectar from about 2 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey. The average forager makes about one-twelfth teaspoon of honey in its lifetime, so the next time you add a couple of teaspoons of honey to your tea, consider how many bees worked to make those two teaspoons.
I've received several inquiries in recent months from gardeners concerned about the honeybees' plight. Though gardeners can't help much with problems such as mites or colony collapse disorder, there are still ways to help out. The first is to limit the use of pesticides in the landscape and garden. Bees are day foragers, so they are out and about during the day, visiting flowers and collecting pollen. Be careful not to apply insecticides during the daytime hours--if you must use them at all.
It's a common assumption that insecticides are the only pesticides harmful to bees, but that's not the case. Some fungicides such as Captan are harmful to them--particularly if applied when bees are gathering pollen and nectar. Even 2,4-D is listed as highly toxic, according to Ohio State University, if bees are present during application or one to two days following. 2,4-D is the chemical in a number of popular lawn herbicides used to control broadleaf weeds such as dandelions. The complete listing is available at ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2161.html.
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