Honey Bees
Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 3:05 pm
They are in a bad way and we need them to pollinate our food. Here's a great link for anyone wanting to help them out. Most of the herbs we would use in cooking or magic anyway. 
http://www.donnan.com/bees-in-the-garden.htm
They theorize that no one factor causes CCD, but rather the combination of several factors impacting honeybee populations at the same time. These include varroa mites, diseases such as the recently discovered Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), pesticides and poor nutrition. This decline also affects other pollinators (other bee species, butterflies and moths, some beetles and flies, bats and hummingbirds), and has been well documented in Great Britain and the Netherlands as well as the United States. The loss of pollinators could have significant consequences for the world’s food supply. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and to a lesser extent, legumes such as peanuts and soybeans are dependent on insect pollination. The crops impacted make up about one-third of our diets.
There are a number of steps you can take in your own yard to attract pollinators and keep them safe while they are visiting. One of the most important things you can do is to plant a diversity of flowering plants to provide the pollen and nectar they depend upon. A combination of flowering trees and shrubs and perennial and annual flowering plants provides a range of flower shapes, colors, sizes and fragrances. Adding some native plants to the mix will make your yard more inviting to native bee species such as mason bees. Try to have something in bloom from early spring through late fall so there is a constant supply of pollen and nectar. It is best to avoid double flowers because they produce little, if any, pollen. Plants that are especially attractive to pollinators are listed at the end of this article.
http://www.donnan.com/bees-in-the-garden.htm
They theorize that no one factor causes CCD, but rather the combination of several factors impacting honeybee populations at the same time. These include varroa mites, diseases such as the recently discovered Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), pesticides and poor nutrition. This decline also affects other pollinators (other bee species, butterflies and moths, some beetles and flies, bats and hummingbirds), and has been well documented in Great Britain and the Netherlands as well as the United States. The loss of pollinators could have significant consequences for the world’s food supply. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and to a lesser extent, legumes such as peanuts and soybeans are dependent on insect pollination. The crops impacted make up about one-third of our diets.
There are a number of steps you can take in your own yard to attract pollinators and keep them safe while they are visiting. One of the most important things you can do is to plant a diversity of flowering plants to provide the pollen and nectar they depend upon. A combination of flowering trees and shrubs and perennial and annual flowering plants provides a range of flower shapes, colors, sizes and fragrances. Adding some native plants to the mix will make your yard more inviting to native bee species such as mason bees. Try to have something in bloom from early spring through late fall so there is a constant supply of pollen and nectar. It is best to avoid double flowers because they produce little, if any, pollen. Plants that are especially attractive to pollinators are listed at the end of this article.
