Save the Bees and Ban “Neoinic” Pesticides

If you’ve been paying vague attention to the news over the last decade, you probably know that we’ve been seeing an alarming decrease in bee populations since the early 2000s. Considering that our produce doesn’t actually grow itself and bees are our primary source of pollination, this is a bit of a concern for future life on our planet. Various governments have thrown cabals of scientists at the problem and, while they spent the usual amount of time arguing with each other, recently we have begun seeing results from various studies.

The most widely agreed upon cause of colony collapse is neonicotinoid pesticide usage.

So, what are “neonic” pesticides and what have they been doing to both humans and bees? They were first developed in the 1990s by Shell and Bayer as a reduced toxicity alternative to current pesticides on the market that would only target pests and not helpful insects. Its base is a compound chemically similar to nicotine, which acts as a natural insecticide. FYI: I honestly don’t understand why people voluntarily smoke poison.

The first pesticide developed by Shell was found not to be photosoluable, meaning that it didn’t break down in sunlight and was not viable for use with human consumables, so it was never released for public use. The second, which has been commercially available since the early 2000s, is water-soluable and will break down slowly when left in the environment. Since then, two other varieties have been developed and virtually all GMO corn grown in the Midwestern USA is treated with one of these types of pesticide. (Yay! They’ve basically been adding nicotine to food!)

So now that we’ve established this pesticide as not the best thing in the world, although better than what we used to use, what is the impact of “neonics” on bee populations? It is true that they aren’t killed. However, when this type of pesticide is applied to plants and a bee lands on them, the bee loses its ability to learn and remember navigation routes from its hive to their pollen sources. Simply put, they can no longer find their way home.

If that wasn’t enough, the bees that do make it back to their hive with infected pollen have unwittingly brought back a slow acting poison. In low doses on plants the pesticide doesn’t kill bees, but when concentrated while making the honey that provides the hive with nourishment, it often becomes lethal. To put it plainly, the bees are making their own food poisonous, which begs the question… what about the honey and produce that the everyday human is eating? With our larger bodies and such small amounts there aren’t the lethal effects seen in bees, but what about the neurological effects that are keeping bees from remembering where their hive is? It would be interesting to find out if those who developed memory disorders have had a wide exposure to this type of pesticide.

The European Union has already banned this class of pesticide, but Canada and the United States have not yet done so. There are initiatives by environmentalists and beekeepers to ban neonicotinoids in the United States and they have even filed a lawsuit against the Enviromental Protection Agency. Until they succeed, and here in Canada, that still puts even the regular garden bee at risk because garden centers regularly spray their plants with pesticides. You could buy a “bee-friendly” plant in the spring that has already been sprayed with the same pesticide that has been harming them!

Help Canada take action by signing the Suzuki Foundation’s “Petition to Ban Bee Killing Pesticides”

Beeless Honey?

So, thought only bees could make honey? Think again! People have been making honey on their own for decades, but only now have we started to see an emergence into the public market.

With the risk to honey bees so high, demand for a more stable source of honey has been rising as well. Most of these beeless honeys use clover, rose hip, and alum as a base, but there are a few which use apples and other fruits as well. These honeys are Vegan, Gluten-free, and great for anyone with an allergy to traditional honey.

Bee Welcome!

Gorgeous flowers are popping up all over as the weather warms up and have bees to thank for all the wild ones. Bees are one of the most important pollinators we have. In fact, organic farms often plant tons of flowers and bee-friendly plants to help their crops grow. A visit to the University of California at Davis taught me a great deal about which plants worked best to attract pollinators and even increase crop yield by up to triple what you could expect without them.

In order to keep bees around for good, we need to provide pollinator habitats in our own gardens. So long as they have somewhere to gather food for themselves, they’ll continue to work hard and make our planet beautiful. Two ways to help bees out are to either create Bee House or provide bee food.

To make a Bee House for some of our local mason bees, check out these instructions online. It may take an entire season to attract bees to their new home, so don’t be discouraged. Make sure to place your bee house near your bee food garden. Build A Bee Box

The plants found in a bee food garden vary wildly, but one of my personal favourites to plant is sunflowers. They grow huge and are always a beautiful sight from the kitchen window, plus you get fresh grown sunflower seeds at the end of the summer. Daisies, marigolds, buttercups, monkshood, columbine, lavender, sage, and mint are all wonderful for attracting bees and the sage and mint perform double duty in your kitchen.

Colour plays a large part in attracting bees due to the way their eyesight works. Have you ever noticed a bee hovering near you and it just won’t leave? You were probably wearing a colour that was exactly like that bee’s favourite flower and it was wondering why you didn’t have any food for it! For the best results in attracting bees, plant flowers that are blue, violet, white or yellow.

Last, and most importantly, bees need fresh water. How many times have you seen a poor bee struggling to swim in an outdoor pool or other water source? Often these bees drown while just trying to get a drink of water! Don’t worry; there is an easy way to help them out.

Find a shallow dish or planter and fill it with different types of pebbles and rocks. You can find them at any garden store or even start collecting them yourself when you’re digging up the garden for planting. Arrange them so there are higher areas and lower areas in the dish and then fill it about an inch or two deep with fresh water from the hose.

Always leave a little bit of the rocks or pebbles sticking out of the water. This allows the bees to land and drink without getting their wings wet, which would keep them from being able to fly. As water evaporates, having different levels of rocks will allow you to go longer between needing to re-fill the water level.

Enjoy your new bee-friendly garden!