bees & pollinators

Butterflies and bees tend to get top billing when it comes to identifying pollinators, likely because people tend to be less enthusiastic about wasps, moths, and flies. But these creatures also play a vital role in helping plants reproduce. Learning to identify them, and where they like to get their pollen, is an important part of supporting them.

The “king of butterflies" is rapidly disappearing. In just the last 20 years, the monarch butterfly population has declined by 85 percent in this country—and the numbers are even worse in the West, which has seen a 99 percent drop in numbers.

A healthy Honey Bee population contributes to our health and environment in many ways, not least of which is the way they pollinate fruits, vegetables, and nuts. But Honey Bees, which were domesticated and brought from Europe in the 17th century and have been intentionally managed since, aren’t the only pollinators out there. Often left out of the conversation are the countless other bee species that make your juicy late summer tomato dreams a reality.

Spring is nature’s way to renew itself, and bees are no different. By springtime, the honey stores bees feed on are dwindling along with the numbers of bees, which means there’s much to do to prepare for summer.

After deciding to become a beekeeper I began reading everything I could about bees. I find them fascinating. For starters, all worker bees are female. Male bees are called drones whose only job is to mate with a queen after which their genitalia fall off. (Men always squirm a little when I tell them this.) Other than mating and foraging for food, most of the colony's complex activities such as raising young, storing food, or even making a new queen, all take place inside the hive.

I am often asked why, five years ago, I decided to become a backyard beekeeper. Thinking back, I cannot remember a single defining reason other than my deep concern for the fate of honeybees (apis mellifera), which have been dying out in droves, and the conviction that anyone who can keep bees should keep bees. I'd also observed that I was seeing far fewer bees in my garden, and this troubled me greatly.