Central Massna

You may have heard or even noticed the substantial decline in honey bee populations over that last few years. It seems that over the past few summers, less and less of these essential insects have been spotted, whether you live in the city or a suburban community. There are a number of different world wide studies as to why this is happening, but nothing conclusive has so far been found. Some scientists are saying they are declining because of pesticides, encroachment on natural habitat, and even electromagnetic waves from cell towers. Whatever the causes may be, the decline in their populations have all the world concerned, and with good reason. The honeybees a beneficial and essential part of our whole Ecosystem, and without the bee, there are many different affects globally. Honey bees are among the very few insects that pollinate flowers. If you think about it, almost all the foods that we eat on a regular basis are pollinated by bees. This goes beyond just fruits and vegetables, but meat, and dairy products as well. You may not think this is true, but think about it for a moment. Cattle, dairy and beef, sheep, pigs, and other animals that we use as food eat grains and other plant products. Without bees to pollinate these crops, there is no food to feed them. Let’s also take a look at grains. Wheat, barley, rice and other grains are an essential part of our diet as well. Wheat is used for making bread, pasta, and many other staples. Try having a sandwich without the bread, or making macaroni and cheese without the macaroni. You may have already started seeing the repercussions of the decline in wild honey bee populations. Wondering why food is more expensive lately? Many consumers are very concerned and have started raising honeybees in their backyards with beekeeping supplies they can easily purchase online. It can be because farmers are relying more and more on commercial honey bee keepers to come in and pollinate their crops. Some keepers drive all over the country, taking their bees from farm to farm, just to keep up with the demand for pollination. Because of this, they have a lot of expenses, fuel, lodging, and even keeping their own bees healthy. Worker bees only live around forty-five days, the drones are put out of the hive every fall. The queen, the heart of the hive, can live up to five years, and produce her body weight in eggs every day. This translates to more that 1,500 eggs every day. All it takes is one of her brood, one worker that picks up a disease, or develops some kind of problem while out pollinating, to come back and basically wipe out a whole colony. These commercial keepers use products to help keep their bees healthy, but this is expensive as well. You can find out an abundance of bee information online. There are websites that offer facts about bees, others show the benefits of bees in our world. You can find more about the research that is going into trying to solve the problem of declining populations, as well as what you can do to help.