BEES AND YOU

In addition to creating delicious honey, bees are essential to our agricultural system. Much of our food supply depends on bees and other pollinating inspections. Bees pollinate approximately 1/3 of the foods we eat.
“Pollination by managed honeybee colonies adds at least 15 billion dollars to the value of U.S. agriculture annually through increased yields and superior quality harvest.”- United States Department of Agriculture

Over the last decade bees have experienced a drastic decline due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), disease, mites, and environmental factors.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

You can help save the bees and other pollinators! Eight bee species were declared endangered over the past year. We can all work together to try and ease the burden of these pollinators.
What can you do to help the bees? Create a pollinator friendly garden with a variety of native flowers for the bees to forage year around. Lavender, Milkweed, and Salvia, are a few flowers that are healthy for the bees. Pollinators benefit most from native plans. The Xerces Society is a great resource to learn what plants are native to your area and beneficial for the bees.
Provide a water source for the bees and native pollinators. Bees need water just us like we do! In a basin place, small rocks at the bottom. Cover the rocks up halfway with water. This will leave a landing area for the bees when they come to take a water break. Bees use the water to cool down their hive during summer time. On a warm day, a hive can drink up to one liter in a day.

DO NOT use chemical or pesticides to treat your lawn or garden. Even organic pesticides that are meant to kill pest can kill bees!

“These treatments are especially damaging if applied while the flowers are in blooms as they will get into the pollen and nectar and be taken back to the hive where they can also get into the honey.”- Queen of the Sun.