Bee Gardening: Facing the Decline of Honey Bee Pollinators or Colony Collapse Disorder

Urban farmers as well as large-scale farming companies are taking actions to prevent the disappearance of bumble bees in California and the rest of the world. They have realized that our food supply depends on honey bees and bumblebees. It will be at risk if we cannot have these pollinators to pollinate our crops and blooming plants. Yes, California's farmers have to deal not only with the drought but also with the death of these amazing insects.

For a number of years now, Colony Collapse Disorder has become a critical issue in that it has been covered by the press and social media. Californians are realizing that they need bees. We need them to preserve the future of every single plant that blooms. In California, we could see bumblebees everywhere we turned. But in the last few years, especially since the 1990s, they have been reduced because of the colony collapse disorder. What would we do without blooming plants?

We all know that the Central Valley of California is the fruit basket of the world. It makes sense that the president visited Fresno and Firebaugh last week. Politicians are working hard to try to find a solution to the drought. We all know that 'fruit grows where water flows.' Without water and pollinators, we will have no fruit, no fresh fruit in the Summer. Agriculture remains a multi-billion dollar business in California.

Scientists are trying to find the cause of the honeybee colony collapse. Some of them state that the cause of the collapse is due to the extreme use of neo-nicotine pesticides. Others state that the apocalypse is due to the conversion of grazing lands, prairies, and other wildflower-rich habitats into new neighborhoods, streets, and parking lots. They also state that vineyards and orchards represent the ideas of monoculture which does not sit well with the idea of sustaining the hard-working honeybees and bumblebees. The bumblebees work all over the field because they cannot communicate with other bumblebees when they find a rich source of foods. All over the Central Valley, the land that used to be farming land has been paved and built on. Fig trees are removed and replaced by apartments, homes, and mcmansions. Builders buy farming lands way ahead of the time they set aside to develop them into new business areas.

Some scientists have discovered that pesticides are to be blamed for the disappearance of bees. Neo-nicotinoid-based pesticides are a major problem in most developed countries where agriculture is dominant. In California, and especially in the Valley, farmers use pesticides to grow the crops. Mexican workers and airplanes spread them. Those scientists have found out that these poisons kill pollinators that suck in the nectar of affected plants. These honeybees and bumblebees are just doing their job. They have no idea that they are sucking poisons. They are ready to complete a job that has been done by their ancestors way before farmers realize the importance of these insects.

Other scientists have also found out that climate change may be the cause of the apocalypse too. So diseases, climate change, habitat loss, and pesticides may have a lot to do with the elimination of the pollinators.

So what can farmers do? What can Californians do? What can the rest of the world do? What's clear is that all of us want to eat. Our food supply keeps us alive. Our species would starve and vanish without food.

All of us can engage in farming for Native Bees. In our garden, in the backyard, on our farm, we can have bee plantings. We can use pollinator-friendly practices everywhere we can. This way, we can help the bees pollinate our crops. By planting bumblebee friendly gardens, we can give these critters a chance to survive. There are amazing wild flowers for native bees. Become an urban pollinator. Farmers can reserve a portion of their lands to plant attractive plants for bees. These hard-working critters need a lot of food to continue working. Think about lavender, big sage which attracts hummingbirds and monarch butterflies. Goldenrod is an attractive bee plant. Tansy Phacella is a great pollen / nectar source for several spring bee species. CA Phacella is attractive to bumblebees. Male bees sleep on the flower heads of Sneezweed. California lilac is good for bees too.

As for me, I have already started my own effort to sustain these pollinators. Once the drought is over, we will have enough pollinators to pollinate the crops that make California or especially the Central Valley, the fruit basket of the world.