Disappearing Bees

We need bees; to pollinate our plants to produce our veggies. We have been lucky, the bees have always found us. I love to hear them buzzing in the cucumbers and squash, doing their job to help the cycle of growth.

But, as you are probably already aware, there is a problem with the bees. Colony Collapse Disorder is one of the things that’s killing off the bees. There’s lots of theories, but one thing is for certain, there aren’t as many bees and if we don’t have bees, we lose a majority of our food crops. It’s a scary thought.

So I figured, let’s get bees on the property. I thought I’d just make a few phone calls, maybe an email or two and viola, we’d have bees. Ha!!! Well, not so fast. I spoke to a couple of beekeepers today and first of all, they won’t come out unless they can put 100 hives on the property. I don’t think we need or can support 100  hives. Plus, the hives are getting sick and dying. One beekeeper I spoke with said he may not even get honey this year. The majority of his bees are dead and/or sick. He said he’s done everything right and it’s driving him nuts because he can’t figure it out. He’s having problems with parasites. Again, it’s a scary thought.

Ok, so how about we buy our own hive and box. We’ve taken some classes, read some books, have friends who have done it; why not us? Because we don’t have the time. We don’t want to spread ourselves too thin, as we need to focus on the garden and growing the veggies. That’s why I contacted these beekeepers in the first place. They are the experts.

Now where do we stand? Well, there are some other ideas out there and I will continue to pursue them. (One of the beekeepers I spoke with today was very helpful and gave me some info I need to explore before I give up.) In the meantime, I’ll plant more flowers to bring the bees to us and thank each one when they are visiting the garden.

Download this PDF on Bee Facts; two simple to read, nicely designed pages, for more, yet concise info.