A bee at work!

[muileag]

Reading about your experience made me smile, LPC
I certainly hope your sightings mean that the bees have come back to your area!

[norseman]

Originally Posted by knightofalbion

I wouldn't say that, Norsey. They are gentle creatures, totally dedicated to their hive service. They only sting as a last resort.
Many a time I've handled a bee, wouldn't try it with a wasp though. Now...

Not my meaning of warrior, KoA.
I meant that bees fight the good fight for Mother Earth.

[Tobi]

Originally Posted by in progress

I can't say I've been experiencing a shortage of bees either. I switched out an ornamental grass planting in my yard for a native prairie planting about five years ago and the difference in insect visitors was dramatically increased. It was amazing! And now more dragonfly activity as a result of that. It made me realize how sterile the cultivated varieties are in comparison to natives. The native bee balm is blooming right now and things are "buzzing"!

There's a lot in that, in progress.
I was clearing what are called "weeds" from the bottom of my garden, then had a re-think, as that "weed" I was removing had bumble bees flying everywhere about it as I was trying to do the job.....I woke up, stopped doing what I was doing, and fetched a bucket of water instead. Watered it, and have looked after it ever since. I then examined it with a magnifying-glass, and saw the most exquisite tiny orchid-shaped pink flowers. What a beautiful plant. And the nettle is the same (only with white flowers) and the bees love them.
Why the heck do we call them "weeds"....they are actually indigenous hardy plants which bees appreciate and need.

[samantha360]

I live in a city and while everyone has flower beds there isn't a bee population which is understandable. But when I go back home to where I would always get stung and they're not really around it makes me sad. Hopefully we can reverse this and have the bees come back. They're important!

[Tobi]

Samantha, are you sure there aren't any bees in the city?

I was watching a film about Colony Collapse disorder a while ago, and the healthiest colony of bees belonged to a city beekeeper. The bees were doing fine there (think this was London) They had a much richer variation of flowers than in agricultural areas (where you might get field after field of the same crop, and flowering "weeds" wiped out by herbicides.)

[LPC]

Gosh, this thread has come quite a fair way since I posted a photo of a bee! Tobi, I think I may have seen the same film. Although at first sight it seems strange that the strongest bee colonies should be in towns, it is actually logical, since bees are very susceptible to pesticides - which are used on a large scale by farmers in the countryside.

It may take quite a few years for bees to recover from the recently banned pesticides, but the prospects are a little better than a few years ago, when some people were even suggesting that annihilation might occur.