Some areas of California (where I live) have been having record breaking summer heat this year, which is only making the honey bee problem worse. My local extension office has an article explaining how honey bees are stressed by temperatures over 100 degrees. Apparently when the temps get too high, the worker bees stop foraging for pollen and start trying to find water to bring back to the hive.
Photo by autan
Those of us living in urban spaces have a responsibility (I think) to help support the bee population. Urban sprawl, pollution, chemical pesticides, and the wide-scale introduction of pretty but pollen-free exotic plants are all bad news for bees.
One thing we can do during the height of summer is to have a water source–such as a bird bath–readily available. You can also check out this post I wrote with more tips to attract and support bees.
Have you had success attracting bees to your garden? What did you do that works?
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Fern,
The news this year has been filled with reports about the disappearing bee population and scientists are at odds as to the reasons why. I hope more people comment about their experience related to this topic and tell us what they have seen.
hello!
we are hosting a fundraiser for a documentary on the honeybee and colony collapse disorder. i thought you might be interested. for more details you can visit our website at http://www.projectbutterfly.org or http://www.vanishingbees.com
cheers,
midori
Hey Midori, thanks for stopping by and providing those links, I’m off to check them out…