Honey (about bees) a sweetener for Tea

[Guest guest]

     Um....I don't know that this is always the case.  I know a beekeeper

personally and he says bees are extrememly sensitive to and avoidant of

" sprayed " areas.  I don't know what other beekeepers do to " treat " their hives

for mites, but my acquaintance told me that many of them buy quantities of

powdered garlic.  It's scattered on the hive so the bees can brush thru it as

they leave and enter.  He says this is done to either treat or prevent mite

infestation in his own hives.  He says this form of treatment seems to be

effective and is not in itself toxic to the bees.

 

     It is a type of treatment, of course, but is considered more " natural " .  He

says bees, though they are survivors and fairly " tough " , they are also fragile. 

Any product that is a type of " 'cide " for other insects or whatever, is usually

also toxic to bees, as well.  They can't exist where there are pesticides and

won't forage for nectar or pollen in areas that have been sprayed.

 

     Whether people consume honey or not, bees are very important to our

environment.  A HUGE percent of fruits and vegetables must be pollinated and

bees are still a main source of pollination.  If we lose them, it's a grave

danger to our food supply in so many ways.

 

     Sorry, this is something I feel pretty strongly about.  I live in the

midwest ( " the Prairie State " ). the poet, Emily Dickinson, once wrote that you

only need " one clover and one

bee--and reverie... " to make a prairie, but, sadly, " If bees are few " , the

reverie alone won't REALLY cut it! 

 

  --Laura B. (Ha! No pun intended on my initial!)

 

 

(Posted previously):

Even if the fields are not sprayed the

bee keepers are having to spray the bees for mites that are killing

them.