Celebrate National Pollinator Week, Save Honeybee Lives!

Aren't flower gardens beautiful this year?  Recent rains boosted plants struggling during dry weeks and colorful blossoms now reward gardeners and passersby.  Greenhouses and garden centers at private and big box stores report lively sales as consumers choose plants to provide beauty for humans and forage for honeybees and other pollinators, but there is a dark side to buying plants.  Before reaching for another Shasta daisy or other enticing plant, pause to consider its source and whether it will be healthy food for foraging pollinators or an addictive, deadly enticement.  Yes, deadly. 

Local retailers offer blooming plants treated with Neonicotinoids

Environmental protection group, Friends of the Earth, revealed in a June, 2014, study that neonicotinoid pesticides were detected in over fifty percent of sampled "bee friendly" plants sold by major retailers in eighteen Canada and US cities.  Neonicotinoid pesticides are chemically similar to nicotine and a research report recently published in Nature indicates pollinators, including honeybees, prefer food laced with this substance, which kills insect pests, but also kills non-target species, like honeybees and bumblebees, attacking their central nervous systems, causing paralysis, then death.  Some companies, including Home Depot and BJ's Wholesale Club, now require wholesale growers to label neonicotinoid-treated plants and Lowes Home Improvement stores, over the next four years, plan to phase out selling products that contain neonicotinoids.   

Neonicotinoids kill pests, but can be deadly to helpful pollinators

Heart & Sole Gardens is honored to host honeybees and not only do these unpaid farm laborers increase crop yield, they share delicious honey and provide entertainment and instruction as we observe their lives.  During a recent visit to the garden center at a local retailer, I happened to meet a grower delivering neonicotinoid treated plants.  When I asked about the label, the grower assured me the chemicals are safe and greatly reduce the number of pesticides growers use to "protect" the plants.  Although this grower's company labels plants, as mandated by their retailer, other growers selling through different venues may not label plants treated with neonicotinoids, making consumers responsible for seeking that information. 

Approved by EPA, currently banned in European Union

As we chatted, I observed four pollinator species foraging among the store's blooming plants, all of which held labels that identified the presence of neonicotinoids.  After years of observing pollinators at work, I noted these bees were almost frantically feeding, quickly flying from bloom to bloom, rather than pausing to forage before seeking another food source, as pollinators do at Heart & Sole.  Were these bees "buzzed" from the insecticide or was it my imagination?  I hope someone will conduct a study about foraging behavior with emphasis on plants treated with neonicotinoids.  

The bumblebee's jerky movements made it difficult to capture a photo

With a strong national emphasis underway to increase awareness of the importance of all pollinators, including honeybees, proponents like President Barack Obama, are alarmed by reports that, since 2006, US honeybee colonies show an annual decrease in number.  As experts look for pollinator death causes and solutions to prevent future losses, what can we, as individuals, do to support honeybee health?  For starters, consider the following:

*Begin by celebrating National Pollinator Week, as designated by the non-profit organization, Pollinator Partnership, and the US Department of Agriculture.  For 2015, National Pollinator Week is June 15-21.  

*If any NC citizen suspects honeybee pesticide poisoning, the first course of action is to contact the NC Department of Agriculture.  An inspector will test and evaluate the hive and report results to the beekeeper.  Contact information for the Apiary Division is: NC Dept of Ag Apiary Division  

*When purchasing plants from a major retailer or private greenhouse, check to see if there is a label indicating the plants were treated with neonicotinoid pesticides.  If there is no label, ask the supervisor or owner.

*Designate part of your garden as bee forage and grow plants from chemical free heirloom seeds.  

*Visit bee expert Gunther Hauk, either virtually at Spikenard Farm or at his Virginia honeybee sanctuary where he and his wife, Vivian,  lead tours and conduct biodynamic beekeeping classes for novices and advanced students. 

 *Avoid using lawn chemicals and allow wild bee forage, like clover and dandelions, to bloom.

*Join a local beekeepers association and support those who host honeybee colonies.  Enroll in a local beekeeping class, such as the one offered through Heirloom Restaurant or volunteer to help a beekeeper friend as you learn about these extraordinary creatures.

*With every bite of fresh fruits and vegetables, pause to be grateful to the tiny pollinators who made it possible to enjoy those treats.

***Visit Seedtales 
For more information about pollinator health, neonicotinoid issues, relationships between farmers and beekeepers and what is being done in North Carolina to protect pollinators.