Let's Hear it for the Honey Bee

   

 Honey Bee on Zucchini Flower.  Photo by Steve Apps

 Honey bees.  Makers of honey.  Wonderful, sweet honey. Mostly ignored by most of the population. Despised by some—they sting you, don’t they?  But honey bees, along with all the other bees that flit around, are essential, not only for the honey they make but for their role as pollinators.  Some 75 percent of North American plant species require an insect, mostly bees, for pollination.  These include

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fruit crops such as apples and cranberries, as well as many vegetable crops.

 

For several years, my farm garden saw diminished yields of cucumbers, squash and pumpkins.  Two years ago, I harvested but a handful of squash and only one pumpkin.  Then last year, everything changed.  My vegetable yields were back to normal.  Why I wondered?  My neighbor had taken up beekeeping, and his honey bees were regularly visiting my vegetable garden.

 

Travel by an orchard and you’ll likely spot what looks like boxes piled on end. These are beehives used for pollination. Same if you ride by a cranberry bog, where honey bees are rented from a beekeeper to pollinate their crop.

 

Honey bees are not native to North America.  They came from Europe with the early settlers in the 1600s. Unfortunately, honey bees as well as many of the native bees, all essential pollinators, are in decline.  The use of insecticides to kill crop pests also kills bees.  Additionally, honey bees often face viruses and other diseases that can raise havoc with a beehive.

 

For me, I am more than pleased that my neighbor has beehives.  Having them nearby has surely helped my garden return to normal production.  And, on top of it all, my neighbor came over the other day with a jar of honey.

 

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Let’s applaud the honey bee for all the hard work it does.

 

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To purchase my books, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or purchase from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.  and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.