A, Bee, See
"If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live." Usually attributed to Einstein, there is no proof of his having said such a thing. Further, it probably isn't true...and we wouldn't pay much attention until it was too late anyway. But the point is that the honey bee population continues to be devastated by pests, pathogens, and pesticides as well as the now familiar "loss of habitat" which translates to man continuing to clear areas for his own unfortunate purposes...usually involving asphalt and concrete, which require very little pollination.
I discovered this bee patiently waiting for the lilacs to open. It is the first I've seen this year. Ironically, after returning, I read an article in the local paper noting that according to a recent survey of beekeepers, my state of Wisconsin lost over 60% of its hive population, while nationally the loss was 42%. Somewhat startling. I knew bad things were happening to bees, but this sounded alarming indeed. Further research reminded that this survey referred only to "domestic" bees living in hives where the problem causers (mites, fungus, disease, etc.) might be perpetuated. Nevertheless, it seems to me that a bee problem is a bee problem...my scientific proof lies in the fact that this has been a particularly good spring for wildflowers and I have seen far fewer bees than normal.
But really, who needs bees? Or butterflies? Or amphibians? Or elephants? Or whales? Or lions? Or any other creature in jeopardy? We've got google...and plenty of laptops, pads, phones, and now watches madly procreating, providing more vehicles than ever by which all we need do is simply sit back, pull up pictures and remember how cute and marvelous they all were.
A, Bee, See
"If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live." Usually attributed to Einstein, there is no proof of his having said such a thing. Further, it probably isn't true...and we wouldn't pay much attention until it was too late anyway. But the point is that the honey bee population continues to be devastated by pests, pathogens, and pesticides as well as the now familiar "loss of habitat" which translates to man continuing to clear areas for his own unfortunate purposes...usually involving asphalt and concrete, which require very little pollination.
I discovered this bee patiently waiting for the lilacs to open. It is the first I've seen this year. Ironically, after returning, I read an article in the local paper noting that according to a recent survey of beekeepers, my state of Wisconsin lost over 60% of its hive population, while nationally the loss was 42%. Somewhat startling. I knew bad things were happening to bees, but this sounded alarming indeed. Further research reminded that this survey referred only to "domestic" bees living in hives where the problem causers (mites, fungus, disease, etc.) might be perpetuated. Nevertheless, it seems to me that a bee problem is a bee problem...my scientific proof lies in the fact that this has been a particularly good spring for wildflowers and I have seen far fewer bees than normal.
But really, who needs bees? Or butterflies? Or amphibians? Or elephants? Or whales? Or lions? Or any other creature in jeopardy? We've got google...and plenty of laptops, pads, phones, and now watches madly procreating, providing more vehicles than ever by which all we need do is simply sit back, pull up pictures and remember how cute and marvelous they all were.