Sweet No. 1 - Encaustic beeswax painting by Michelle Pryor Art - click image to view more
It’s called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), and if you haven’t thought much about it before, you should.
At an alarming rate and high number, honeybee colonies around the world are dying off, especially in the large crop areas of the United States. While there are suspicions as to why this is happening (pesticides and viruses play a role), the true culprit has not been confirmed.
What does this mean to you?
Do you like to eat? Honeybees are responsible for gathering pollen and distributing it among crop flowers. Without honeybees, crops are less productive. Without productive crops, food supplies face shortages. With shortages in the food supply… well, you get the picture, I hope. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one in three bites of food that we eat benefits from honeybee pollination. To add to the issue, the growing human population and demand for more food is requiring more work from the bees.
This is not just a farmer’s problem; it is everyone’s problem. Farmer’s aren’t the only ones who can help with a solution, either. There are simple things that you can do to help honeybees thrive and steer the boat in the right direction.
- Plant flowers that attract honeybees: By building a pesticide-free, bee-friendly garden, you can give the wingers a place to stock up on pollen. Read up on bee-friendly gardens and which flowers work best. Some stores like Whole Foods also sell packets of seeds with flowers specifically for this purpose.
- Buy local honey: Brands that are shipped in from other countries are often treated to delay crystallization. Buying local not only supports your beekeepers who produce it, but did you know that eating locally-sourced honey reportedly helps alleviate allergies? (Be sure to read up on that topic more before diving in with your spoon, please!) You can scan labels in the store to find out where your honey comes from, and in the U.S., The Honey Locator will show apiaries in your state.
- HelptheHoneyBees.com: Ice cream maker Häagen-Dazs is leading a charge to make people aware of CCD and its effects. They’ve even created this entire site dedicated to the cause, which is packed with information about how they are, and you can, help. Gooserock Farm has a page of incredible tidbits and Biobees.com has a free printable of 10 things you can do to help the honeybees.
- Learn: There are myths surrounding honeybees that make them the target of unwarranted attacks by humans. Pesticides in your garden are one of the greatest threats to honeybees at all times. Beeswax candles can help reduce air pollution in your home. These and other tasty nuggets of info are awaiting you on the interwebs. Get concerned and get informed.
- Did you know there are Etsy sellers who make products with beeswax from colonies that they raise themselves? Check out Michelle Pryor Art, PeaceBlossom Candles, and Honeyrun Farm to start off.
Tina Jett is an artist, writer, photographer, and world-explorer. Her husband describes her with the phrase, “It’s like she lives in a coloring book.” See how that vision influences the work on her 
This year at SXSW in Austin we were at Hey Cupcake. My kids were complaining about the bees swarming around all of the sweet things people were eating. I told them, “At least there are still bees to bug us.” He looked confused so we went a little further into the conversation. A few people around us started listening in. Last week there was a bee in the backyard and I here him say, “Don’t swat at it…we are lucky the bees are still here.”
Great article. Very important.
That’s so great that people were listening in. Sometimes I feel like corralling all of my family members together and making them watch all the documentaries that have changed my ways. Lots of times, the problem is also just getting the correct information and awareness out there.
I’ve read some on this before. Interesting post. It’s great to remind people of some of the important reasons to be responsive to the environment.
Lou
It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of daily life and forget about problems like this one. Thank you for the reminder!
I’m glad you’ve written about this! Everyone should be aware of the importance of bees to understand the problem. We buy local honey, royal jelly and pollen. My favorite honey soap is from amethyst soap on etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62663948/complexion-bar-large
Also, a great book to get you thinking about bees differently is:
A World Without Bees by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum.
I’m reading a book on bees in ancient myths. Perhaps we’ve lost respect for bees and the environment in general as we’ve moved further and further away from myths and stories that center on the importance of natural world. Thanks for the wonderful post!!
I totally agree that we’ve moved away from the importance of nature in our modern world. I like to think that there is a rumbling of a shift in that thinking, though. At least, that’s my hope.
Bravo! I plan to get hives in my yard and do the local honey thing in the meantime.
“Perhaps we’ve lost respect for bees and the environment in general as we’ve moved further and further away from myths and stories that center on the importance of natural world. Thanks for the wonderful post!!”
@Laura Yes we have. More stories and posts like this please!
That’s great! I don’t know if I’d ever do the hives on my own, but I’m all for supporting local ones. We’ve got a great beekeeping supply shop here in town that offers up local honey products in addition to the basics for tending to your own hives. Good luck with your bees!
Glad you shared this important information with us all since bee colonies certainly are the most vital part of our food chain and food cycles.
Since I am into ‘slow food’ practices, I always buy food produced, grown or raised locally, which includes local honey created from just a few miles away from where I live in the Hudson Valley region of New York. My gardens are completely organic – I don’t even use manure since I don’t know if the horses ate GMO oats – lol.