Now I do agree loss of bees is serious and should be looked into, but bumblebees serve the same purpose, and other insects along with the wind pollinate plants as well. The main problem would be with tree fruit crops that need cross pollinating such as apples. Here's a short list of fruits and veggies that would be just fine if there were no bees tomorrow, and this is just off the top of my head:
Corn, beans, peas, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant. Hope this makes you a little less worried.

Plenty of bees here. Bumblebees, wasps, hornets, etc. Already thinking about getting out the ladder to rid the house of the nests on the second floor.

It is also true that lack of bees really doesn't make a whole lot of difference. I don't want to see them go extinct, but very little really requires bees to pollinate.

You may have heard the quote about humans going extinct shortly after the bees, but it's bogus. Still, don't want bees going extinct, but for all the fuss I have been hearing in recent years I don't see any shortage of them in my yard.

The Colony Collapse Disorder affects primarily mobile hives for commercial growers. I have not heard of it affecting local wild bees and there are plenty of those around my place.

tj

It is like the Sherlock Holmes story where the dog didn't bark at midnight. All this clover in bloom, nary a bee, no bumblebees, even. It seems bizarre and wrong. Plenty of wasps and yellow jackets, but those I wouldn't miss if they were gone. :-) My 5 acres are very wild and organic (except for an occasional fight with poison ivy) so it isn't anything I am doing.

Marcia

Its good to know we will not all die of starvation tomorrow but when something as consistent as bees disappear within a few years, that can't be good.

The bees are not disappearing though. The commercial hives have had some issues apparently, but the wild bees don't appear to have the same problem.

It is very dangerous to conclude there is a problem with the native bee population simply because they aren't present in numbers in one's own yard in a given year. As far as I know from the research the problems with bees is limited to bee keepers (honey bees) and even then the claim they are in decline is only substantiated by the bee keeper's association which has a monetary interest in getting more people to be bee keepers. The University of Wisconsin has said whatever might be (or might not be) happening elsewhere doesn't appear to be happening here.

This idea that humans will all starve to death if the honey bees die off is simply absurd, they aren't even native to our country.

My wife loves hollyhocks and we have a lot of them growing on our rural Wisconsin property. They've been blooming for better than a week but for the first time ever, I've not seen a bumblebee; not one. I Googled the subject and found an AP dispatch from October of last year that most news sites picked up. An example is this one from MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21193772/. So, according to Mr. Justaguy, I'm living dangerously when I say that native bumblebees are disappearing, but, I once saw many honey bees and, as recent as last year, I saw bumblebees. Now I see none! My faith is not by sight but . . .

A quote from the article:
Bumblebees are responsible for pollinating an estimated 15 percent of all the crops grown in the U.S., worth $3 billion, particularly those raised in greenhouses. Those include tomatoes, peppers and strawberries.

Not sure about strawberries, but neither tomatos nor peppers require insect pollination as they have perfect flowers. That the article confuses this tells me it is another fluff piece scaring people and short on verified facts.

Plenty of bumblebees buzzing around my yard although I have seen far fewer lady bugs the past 2 years than previously. Are these going extinct? :)

"The commercial hives have had some issues apparently, but the wild bees don't appear to have the same problem."

Seen 2 (two) bumblebees this year. Normally the monarda looks like its alive with bees. Seen 2 monarchs also. I can't believe what I read when my eyes tell me different & this has been developing for some time. If some company paid for a study to conclude the bees are fine & then blabbed it to the press, that doesn't make it true.

The last report I read on this was from the University of Wisconsin (don't have a link, sorry). Perhaps things have changed, I am certainly not a bee expert, but the report said that whatever the cause(s) of bee colony collapse being reported elsewhere it wasn't a serious concern in Wisconsin.

As far as the bumble bees, the reason I said not to put much stock in what one sees in their own yard in any given year is because it just isn't a very large sample size. In my own yard there are a lot of bumble bees this year. The presence of them in my yard doesn't mean there is no decline overall, but at the same time the lack of them in someone else's yard doesn't mean they aren't doing fine either.

I would suggest that anyone concerned about this issue look to the U of W extension service for the most reliable information.

The point about sample size is well taken.
But I think that many of us who have been involved in the natural world have seen too many changes in too short a time & tend to be suspect of denials & rationalizations we get from agencies that are supposed to be on the alert for these things or the companies that profit from them. There was a report on the German news channel this eve about a new insecticide in Germany that is wiping out bees wholesale. Europe is alot more "green" than the US. If it can happen there.........

I live about 25 miles north of Madison, WI and I have tons of bumble bees and they are HUGE! I've also seen some honey bees so I was excited. I haven't seen many wasps and I'm glad. Those things just hurt so badly when you get stung.

I'm still waiting for my hummingbirds. They just tore up the road so I think these quiet little creatures will bypass my house this year.

Monica, do hummingbirds still come this time of year? I'm asking because I had a hummingbird feeder out this year - put it out too late in June instead of April, and I have not seen one hummingbird. I just took it down a couple days ago thinking I will try again next year, earlier in the season.

That was the birds. Now for the bees...I have plenty in my yard this year. Bumble Bees and honey bees visit my salvia daily, and the wasps come out every time I pull out the hose. As long as they don't bother me, I don't bother them.

I live in Milwaukee and have noticed a lack of bees through the first half of the summer. My cucumbers normally attract bees as soon as they flower but not this year. The honey locusts on my street were filled with pods when I was a kid but I canÂt remember when I last seen a pod on them. I was thinking about starting a bee hive but they are not allowed in the city. We have plenty of bees now but I am frustrated by not having any bees until the end of July I am hoping that when my apple tree flowers next spring there will be some bees to pollinate it.

They are plentiful in my garden. PLenty of flowers for them....
k