In 1940, the Protection Act passed for the Bald and Golden Eagles. These skyward scavengers suffered from DDT exposure which affected their eggs in a very bad way. Although they are no longer on the endangered species list, they will be forever protected.
What will it take to protect the honey bee? I believe we must first secure and protect their foraging grounds which are their sources of food.
The links on this website may contain affiliate links. This means that I may receive a commission if you decide to make any purchases using my affiliate links. Read Disclaimer.
The 3 Things that Must happen to Save the Bees
Thing #1- Protect Honey bees
The first thing that must happen to save the honey bees is to list them as a protected species. How serious are we about our food sources? Honey bees play a huge role in securing food for us. Let’s not wait until honey bees are listed on the endangered species list.
The Gopher Tortoise
The Gopher Tortoise is currently protected under Federal Law by the Endangered Species Act. That means that you cannot kill one for any reason, make one a pet, or probably even relocate it. The Gopher Tortoise is a keystone species, meaning that its existence makes it possible for other species of animals to live and thrive. The holes that they dig become homes and refuge for a number of other critters.
What’s the honey bee if not a Keystone species? Without honey bees, human beings WILL NOT SURVIVE. Without forage grounds, honey bees will not survive. Yet land clearing is not letting up, it’s becoming more and more prevalent.
Don’t misunderstand, there are definitely people and organizations that are trying to make a difference. The Honey Bee Conservancy is one example of a group trying to encourage native growth areas for bees to forage.
There are countless individuals who take it upon themselves to grow Pollinator Gardens to attract pollinators. This is exactly what we need: more people who are willing to contribute to the cause by their own free will. And pollinator gardens are the easiest, first-step options that most people can do.
Thing #2- Protect forage fields
The Second thing that needs to happen is to protect honey bees’ foraging grounds, i.e. the Wildflowers.
When the first European settlers in American started moving out west, they had to figure out how to get rid of the Native American plains Indians that were already living there.
Some of the frontiersman figured out that if they killed the majority of the bison, the staple food supply of the Native Americans, then they would not be able to survive. They were right. So they wiped out the bison which wiped out the plains Indians as a result. A genocide that I personally find more than despicable.
So why are people so surprised and shocked today that honey bees are declining? They need food to eat you know! Honey bees cannot survive on high fructose corn syrup alone. They need minerals, vitamins and nutrients from their food sources known as wildflowers; some people call them weeds.
There are specific areas that are crucial to the survival of waterfowl. These areas protect feeding grounds, nesting areas, and even mating grounds. Unfortunately, areas like this are protected after the fact. In other words, when it was almost too late. Birds like herons, egrets, and tern are perfect examples of this.
This type of habitat protection is exactly what must happen for honey bees foraging grounds BEFORE it becomes worse than it already is. I honestly have no idea how to act upon something of this magnitude. Where does one go to appeal to someone to do something legally?
Until I figure it out here’s the best and easiest solution that you and I can do right now. As mentioned earlier, we can plant our very own pollinator gardens. This means that we are in control. And by this I mean a NO-SPRAY area.
Photo by Jonathan Hargus
My property, in the North Central Georgia mountains has lots of wildflowers most of the year. I have not planted anything at all and it’s already a pollinator sanctuary. But even so, I fully intend on planting a wider variety of native plants.
I hope that you can do the same thing. You may not have acres and acres of land. Do you have a small area where you could grow something in a raised bed? Even window boxes would be something.
When you do plan your pollinator garden, I have the best place you can order seeds from. Go online and lookup Prairie Moon Nursery. They have over 700 native varieties to choose from.
Check them out here.
Photo by Jonathan Hargus
Thing #3- Say no to toxic sprays
The third thing that must happen is that we must STOP spraying anything that ends with -cides. That goes for pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. There’s probably more that I am unaware of.
First, I gotta say, why are toxic sprays even legal? Whose bright idea was that anyway? Well, I guess that’s not something I need to focus on. What I want to focus on is a world that doesn’t feel the need to spray things we eat or wear.
I have heard that there are many sprays such as herbicides that are not that harmful. Really?! Herbicides are supposed to kill. How is that not harmful?
Photo by Jonathan Hargus
The active ingredient in RoundUp is something called glyphosate and many illnesses are attributed to this spray. If you don’t know much about Roundup then I recommend clicking on one of the linked phrases above. Even worse, it’s deadly to honey bees.
Monocultures are crops of only one type of plant and as a result, all it takes is for one single pest or parasite to move in and have the feast of its life. Permaculture has the solution to this and uses natural means to keep pests at manageable levels.
Essentially, there is great news. Planting our own pollinator gardens means that we decide our own management methods that do not include harmful sprays. You and I are in control of making things way better.
That means we don’t have to wait for others to jump on-board. We can act immediately. Even if it’s winter we can start planning our pollinator garden.
You may or may not have noticed that I have linked a few words to literature on Amazon. I want to take a moment here at the end to refer you to a few more. Here are some books about how to support pollinators. Each lead to Amazon.com.
The first one is Pollinators of Native Plants. This book “profiles over 65 perennial native plants of the Midwest, Great Lakes region, Northeast and southern Canada.”
The next one isBees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide. This book covers 99 native plants crucial to pollinators and has very high reviews.
Bringing Nature Home: How to sustain wildlife with Native Plants, educates the importance of ecosystems and their need for balance of forage and pollinators; and how you can make this happen where you are.
With this one, Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide, Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies, you learn the focus on protecting the bees and the butterflies. Here is another great book to add to your bookshelf as long as it doesn’t stay there.
My final recommendation today is 100 Plants to Feed the Bees: Provide a Healthy Habitat to Help Pollinators Thrive. Imagine setting aside a small or large area of your property for the enjoyment of strolling through and hearing birds chirping, bees buzzing, and butterflies buttering. Then, sitting down on your nice new park bench, and reveling in the fact that you created a protected wildlife habitat. A place that honey bees and other pollinators can rely on for food.
One last tip for how you can improve your own landscape is by learning Ecological Landscaping from a professional. Learn more at the link below to find your own niche in the world of saving the bees!
I hope that you have enjoyed today’s post. Please let me know what you think and if you have or plan on making your own pollinator garden. Where do you live? What did you plant?
As for me, I plan on getting some seeds from Prairie Moon Nursery this year. I also want to add some of the aforementioned books to my own collection. One last book that I cannot leave out is one that I have mentioned many times: American Honey Plants by Frank C. Pellett.
Until next time remember,
~Weeds are Wildflowers, let them Bee!~
Jonathan Hargus/Beekeeper Extraordinaire
I am going to be ordering some seed from Prairie Moon Nursery. They have several packets of seed that are specifically for pollinators! It’s really cool because on their website you can click on “Components” and read exactly what varieties they put in each seed mix. Their Pollinator-Palooza for example has 47 different species of seed. I can’t wait!