Side Burn! - Lions Mane

Side Burn! - Lions Mane

Canon 5D Mk2

65 MPE Macro @ 5X

Ringlite Flash Handeheld

ISO 400

F9

1/200 sec

Cronulla NSW

Most of us have probably heard that the world’s bee population is declining – from Britain to New Zealand and throughout the United States, crops and wildflowers are being affected by this issue. Recently, scientists have had success in treating parasitic infection in bee hives, giving us new hope in halting the decline.

From wikipedia’s entry on pollinators: “Millions of hives of honey bees are contracted out as pollinators by beekeepers, and honey bees are by far the most important commercial pollinating agents, but many other kinds of pollinators, from bluebottle flies, to bumblebees, orchard mason bees, and leaf cutter bees are cultured and sold for managed pollination.” You can choose to become a beekeeper, perhaps by taking a beekeeping school course in your area, and becoming licensed to keep bees. There are lots of resources online with information for beginning beekeepers, places to buy beekeeping equipment, and forums in which you can post questions about bees. As a bonus, if you raise honey bees, the local pollen in the honey can help relieve allergies, however you may want to use caution in eating local honey.

Helping the bees out might be enough reason to take up the hobby, but another good reason is to help your garden flourish. Perhaps keeping bees yourself is just more work or time than you care to invest. There are other ways to contribute as well. Maybe you can host a hive for another beekeeper. Or, you can choose to provide environments that need less maintenance like a bumblebee nest box, which you can build (easier to build a bumblebee box in the US, as most places to purchase seem to be in UK) or just purchase a bumblebee home. Another common bee you can host is the mason bee – there are starter kits available, as well as other more attractive mason bee houses.

Finally, even if you don’t choose to host any bees in your space, you can provide a bee-friendly garden. Bees are attracted to blue, purple, yellow and white. Old-fashion shrubs with nectar-rich blossoms like lilac, honeysuckle and azalea are bee magnets. Heirloom flowers like cosmos, zinnia, aster and daisies lure them with the promise of pollen. Herbs such as mint, hyssop, salvia, lavender and thyme are covered with bees during bloom time. Select a variety of flowers which will bloom at different times throughout the year for a steady supply of nectar and pollen. There’s a wealth of bee-friendly options, so finding plants that work with your existing garden shouldn’t be too hard.

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