Celebrate our Buzz-Worthy Friends for World Bee Day!
Their yellow, wiggle like jello, and most are not a fellow...they are our friendly (and much needed!) bees!
DID YOU KNOW?
- There are 20,000 bee species in the world. Only around 4,000 species call North America home. The only continent without bees is Antartica.
- Only seven species make honey.
- Not all bees live in hives. Many are solitary and find their home in plants and rock crevices.
- Not all bees are yellow (Gasp!)--some are green, blue, even purple!
The most popular bee is the honey bee and with good reason--it makes the sweet nectar we enjoy so much! But when it comes to the alarming decline in bee population, native bees, such as carpenter bees or mason bees are suffering perhaps more than the honey bee.
In the US alone, 74 million crops depend on bees. We're talking our food supply, and it's in serious jeopardy! It was reported on May 17th by a Massachusetts beekeeper that an estimated 60% of the bee population didn't survive the winter!
The time to act is now. Here's what you can do:
- Plant native, pollinator-friendly plants in your yard or in containers on your patio or rooftop. Flowers such as Black Eyed Susans, cone flower, lavender, asters and roses are great for bees!
- Place a bee watering station near your flowers/plants. Take a saucer and line with rocks, glass gems or marbles and add water until your stones are almost covered. Don't completely submerge as you don't want to drown the bee, leave the tops dry so they can land there.
- Insecticides, herbicides and pesticides are incredibly harmful to pollinators! Let your lawn do it's natural thing and we'll all be better for it.
May 20th is World Bee Day and a great time to start your actions to save the bees!
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