Yes, we need them! CCD (colony collapse disorder) needs to get figured out and addressed ASAP! I don't know what kind of bee this is, but it's hard at work.

I have all finds of bees visit my garden and they are a welcome and wonderful sight...lighting here and there, eternally working! Love them and have many perennials that they like. The bees and I cohabitate very well in the garden. :-)

I'M GOING IN!!

I don't see many honeybees around anymore.
What I see are those carpenter bees which drill precise holes in the underside of wood to lay single eggs in.

And bumblebees.
Which I read something about the other day. They can detect electrical charges left by other bees which have visited a flower. They also take advantage of electrical charges to have pollen adhere to them. They can tell when a flower has already been visited too and simply pass it by in favor of a non-harvested flower with pollen remaining.
Nature is so efficient.

I am glad my neighbors up the road have hives. Over the years I have seen a drastic decline in the number of honeybees that I see. I planted some Joe-Pye weed for them this year.

Bee and butterfly...best buds on a bud.

tj

Historically, I have always had tons of bees (maybe 100 or more..all at the same time!) in my garden. It goes on for about 6 weeks starting at the beginning of May. They come to visit my Ceanothus (California Lilac) hedge in the backyard. I get honeybees and bumblebees. I have noticed a steady decline over the years. This year, there weren't very many in comparison to years past. It makes me sad...and worried.

Flower, I worry about the lack of pollinators too. Not simply bees. For the fragrant hosta which bloom at night, something like the luna moth is critical too. And, from what I read recently, it is declining too.

I mentioned it in the H. Luna Moth thread and linked to a YouTube video about the caterpillars, cocoon, emerging moth living only ONE WEEK, mating, and the host plants for the eggs. I see that I'm in a good spot for hosting the eggs on hickory and thus pecan trees. I'd sooner have lots of luna moth caterpillars as those ugly bagworms messing up my pecan trees. If they are present, I would not want to harm them. But since they are nocturnal and the fragrant hosta are nocturnal, it sounds like a perfect match. IF they are around in late summer.

I remember being in the hosta garden last summer after full dark. Something landed on my white shirt and I held very still. I could not see it and it left quickly. I only hope it was a luna moth and not a bat.....although bats are good nocturnal pollinators as well.....also in decline.

I think to myself that we are killing ourselves when we have a single crop economy....with a single hybridized plant form. The blight which rotted the food supply in Ireland was on a single type of potato which produced the heaviest crop, but other varieties would have been unaffected...according to a book I read recently. However, with the other harvests going to England and not planted in the "family" plot, they needed volume to feed everyone. Not a blight in our case but without plants reproducing (not being pollinated), even our plant-eating protein food supply (beef hogs chickens) will have a hard time of surviving/reproducing. The food chain is in jeopardy. Where is the "tipping point" after which there is no stopping the dominos from falling.

The straw which broke the camel's back is a real thing. THAT is what I would call a "tipping point" for the camel.

Frightening trends for sure. It makes me sick every time I go to a hardware or superstore in the spring and see the massive display/discount on "wasp killer" three or four packs. Too many people don't get it, don't read the usage/warnings and just go high wild with harmful sprays.

Posted my feelings here.... copy paste (sorry had a couple margaritas) http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pepper/msg0617530529023.html?10

I believe that knowledge gives us a responsibility to inform others in ways they can understand. kudos to the bee and balance to our ecosystems.

dj

Too many times I hear someone say, "oh, I don't want that plant, it attracts bees". If it's someone I know, I immediately launch into my "protect the bees" speech. I can understand their concern if they are allergic to bee sting. If not, I use myself as an example, citing countless incidences where I've been almost nose to nose (well, not quite but you get the point) to a bee and it won't bother me if I'm respectful/mindful of it. I will wait the few seconds it takes for it to light onto another flower, then I go about my work. We co-exist very happily in my garden and to date I have not been stung by a bee.

I have been stung by a wasp, but that was my own negligence...I was trying to pull a dandelion right next to a tall sedum stalk and did not notice a wasp underneath until I had grasped it. I'm more watchful now. :-).

In August especially, it's a veritable bee and wasp orchestra in the backyard! I love it. I found out that the Japanese Fleeceflower (Fallopia) is a real wasp and bee magnet. I have two! In case anyone is curious, here's a pic.

This is how it looks in August/September in bloom. It stands well over 6 feet tall and provides a bit of shade for some hostas in the area. :-). Aren't I clever? Lol. I'm ensuring I have pollinators in my garden - it's a real magnet!

Makes perfect sense to me to draw the pollinators into the garden. Our Mobile Botanical Garden likes to feature native plants from the area. I stocked up on milkweed last year but the harsh winter killed many of them. I may have space for some JoePie weed. My 100 foot of 7 foot tall star jasmine is definitely not native but it just finished blooming and the aroma was heavenly.( I found a birdnest in it last fall. I think I'll find more this fall too.) Now I have ONE Maid of Orleans jasmine blooming and it is even sweeter.

I know they say hummingbirds like hosta blooms, but I saw only ONE so far at a hosta flower.

There is also a smaller/shorter version of. Joe Pye and it's called Little Joe. A very good grower, height about 3-4 ft. FYI

More Than Honey is a 2012 Swiss documentary which I found very interesting, I leave you the link down below for the trailer.

Here is a link that might be useful: More Than Honey

This is definitely scary. The USDA and Penn State have been researching for years with either inconclusive results or the conclusion that the CCD (colony collapse disorder) is caused by a combination of factors, including the use of a pesticide in the hives to treat the mites that are thought to be a possible cause of CCD. Some fungicides which are used to treat seeds can travel through the growing plant and end up in the nectar. (I love Wikipedia) So even those of us who practice organic gardening can be part of the problem. Actually, it seems impossible to not be part of the problem.

One article I read called it beemageddon.

This is so not fun to think about.

My drop in the bucket contribution is to use no chemicals on my 1/4 acre yard. But throughout the summer I can hear the crop dusters zooming over the nearby fields. Now you will all gasp - I have 5 hostas with HVX and I'm just ignoring the problem because I don't want to use Roundup. (Pleaase don't try to talk sense into me, I won't do it.)

But thank you for starting this topic. I need to go do something cheerful now.