I have clover in my yard. Five years ago, I saw only one honey bee the entire summer. I’m not great about mowing as often as I should so there is usually plenty of clover in the spring. I have not seen a honey bee in my yard for the entire five years until this year; I saw a honey bee about one month ago and I saw one yesterday. I try to go for a two to three mile walk each day; from my house to the Sequatchie Memorial Gardens, around the cemetery, back up past my house to the top of the three hundred foot high hill I live on, and then back down to the house. There are several clover patches bordering my walk, but for five years, I have not seen honey bees.
This year I have seen a few. One week ago I counted two in a patch about a half mile from the house. Yesterday, I saw a total of four, including one in my yard. Yesterday, in the same clover patches, I counted 21 bumble bees. Today’s walk yielded a count of four honeybees and seventeen bumble bees. Seeing even a few gives me a little hope. There have always been bumble bees in clover, but it seems strange that they outnumber honey bees by so many.
The reason I mention this is that I miss honey bees. I wonder what chemical soup we have invented to wipe them out. I read an article about something called neonicotinoids which seem to be linked to the disappearance of our friends, the honey bees.
It is my intention to post my honey bee count frequently. Please let me know if there are bees where you live.
Here is a link to a Reuters Article about the loss of honey bees: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/15/us-usda-honeybees-report-idUSKBN0DV12120140515
Thanks,
Jim
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