Here's an even easier one: Stop killing dandelions. They're prolific and provide a ton of early nectar. They cost nothing and make for a quite nice tea or syrup later in the season. I've even seen...
Here's an even easier one: Stop killing dandelions.
They're prolific and provide a ton of early nectar. They cost nothing and make for a quite nice tea or syrup later in the season. I've even seen people selling dandelion greens alongside kale in farmers markets.
I'm convinced America's war on the dandelion is half of the problem of hive collapse.
That and stop using pesticides and herbicides on your lawns in general. Most people don't even play in their lawns anyhow, they're functionally equivalent to garden gnomes for 9/10 houses
Both are good to do in combination as well. Also, get rid of the grass on your lawn and replace it with clovers. I don't like clover honey, but bees love clover, and it helps them survive, plus it...
Both are good to do in combination as well.
Also, get rid of the grass on your lawn and replace it with clovers. I don't like clover honey, but bees love clover, and it helps them survive, plus it needs less water and is less of a major allergen.
I rather love dandelions. They don't seem to be super prolific where I live, but I don't know if that's the climate or because people try to weed them out. I have yet to try eating dandelion...
I rather love dandelions. They don't seem to be super prolific where I live, but I don't know if that's the climate or because people try to weed them out. I have yet to try eating dandelion greens, but I'd like to try them. I'm not sure how many weeds are tasty, let alone edible, but I think it would be interesting if more people were eating them. I like the idea of a zero-effort garden that your neighbors would be happy if you harvested from.
Right now my front lawn is basically 100% weeds. That is to say that we aren't watering or caring for it; we only pull weeds if they're particularly egregiously large so as to not irritate the neighbors. So we basically have a completely native plant yard that took no effort. Does it look perfect? Not at all. But I kind of love it. Especially the mossy bits.
Meh, I figure if it's something that managed to find it's way into my yard by itself then pulling them would just be delaying the inevitable. So is pulling out those bigger weeds, for the most part.
Meh, I figure if it's something that managed to find it's way into my yard by itself then pulling them would just be delaying the inevitable.
So is pulling out those bigger weeds, for the most part.
Meh. The studies that article relies on use "may" a lot and even state that while the non-native honeybees could do XYZ, studies into it have "failed to find consistent field evidence" that it...
Meh.
The studies that article relies on use "may" a lot and even state that while the non-native honeybees could do XYZ, studies into it have "failed to find consistent field evidence" that it actually occurs and chalks it up to there's-no-evidence-because-it's-hard-to-do and so just extrapolated out what may be a problem or could happen if the evidence they can't actually find was true.
Again, nothing conclusive to justify the blanket statement of "don't buy honey in North America". Some evidence of honey bees outcompeting natives in the Canary Islands, the reverse in Patagonia.
Again, nothing conclusive to justify the blanket statement of "don't buy honey in North America". Some evidence of honey bees outcompeting natives in the Canary Islands, the reverse in Patagonia.
There's still the fact that so much of the attention of "save the bees" is taken up by honey bees, that people forget about native pollinators. Buying honey isn't a conservation practice, it's for...
There's still the fact that so much of the attention of "save the bees" is taken up by honey bees, that people forget about native pollinators. Buying honey isn't a conservation practice, it's for you.
All the save the bees calls I saw were to plant flowers for pollinators and don't use pesticides, nothing about "buy honey." Regardless, the primary point here is you say "Don't buy honey, it...
All the save the bees calls I saw were to plant flowers for pollinators and don't use pesticides, nothing about "buy honey."
Regardless, the primary point here is you say "Don't buy honey, it hurts native bees." and then none of the sources you have for such a statement actually justify such.
You're right, but I think it's something to keep an eye on because it could turn out to be a bigger problem, but we just don't have enough evidence yet. It is true that European honey bees are an...
You're right, but I think it's something to keep an eye on because it could turn out to be a bigger problem, but we just don't have enough evidence yet. It is true that European honey bees are an invasive species in many places though.
I'd also like to say that some of your comments have come off as dismissive.
I don't disagree, it is something to keep an eye on, but the honeybee industry, for lack of a better term, has been around at capacity for so long, that if a collapse of major disruption of native...
I don't disagree, it is something to keep an eye on, but the honeybee industry, for lack of a better term, has been around at capacity for so long, that if a collapse of major disruption of native pollinators was going to occur, it would have by now. The honey industry is pretty much saturated, so there isn't going to be a doubling of bees/hives to exacerbate any issue that may or may not be present.
That's because they have been dismissive. You've made statements as if they are fact with no consensus or evidence to back them up. Stated that the honeybee is invasive which is a definition used specifically for a species that causes harm to an ecosystem, when all evidence thus far shows they are merely a non-native species, a designation for things not from here, but also not cause for concern.
Huh, I didn't know that. Also found this excerpt saying the same thing. So really, if i want honey -- which I have started using more for tea -- I should try to buy honey from Europe, since at...
Huh, I didn't know that. Also found this excerpt saying the same thing.
So really, if i want honey -- which I have started using more for tea -- I should try to buy honey from Europe, since at honeybees are at least native to Europe. Right? Is there such thing as native NA bee honey?
No native honey sadly. Edit: In North America, apparently there's some in South America! https://tildes.net/~enviro/1f92/early_spring_brings_a_hungry_gap_for_bees_heres_how_you_can_help#comment-ce4l
I've made dandelion syrup...while not exactly the same it does fit pretty much every case I would normally use honey for. All you need is 1-2 enthusiastic children to gather a few cups full of...
I've made dandelion syrup...while not exactly the same it does fit pretty much every case I would normally use honey for.
All you need is 1-2 enthusiastic children to gather a few cups full of dandelion flowers and some sugar. Once you have a sufficiently large patch of dandelions that's barely a scratch.
In case you're thinking it, native bee do not produce honey. You can provide them places to nest, grow early blooming flowers/trees and don't mow your lawn until after May to give wildflowers time...
In case you're thinking it, native bee do not produce honey. You can provide them places to nest, grow early blooming flowers/trees and don't mow your lawn until after May to give wildflowers time to bloom and provide early food for pollinators.
There is native-to-the-Americas honey, FWIW: https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/melipona-honey-yucatan-mexico Worth trying if you ever get a chance, it really is its own special thing.
Oh neat, didn't know about them as they're native to South America. Wonder if they were every up here in the distant past? They're stingless and the honey doesn't crystalize as easily.. the more I...
Oh neat, didn't know about them as they're native to South America. Wonder if they were every up here in the distant past?
They're stingless and the honey doesn't crystalize as easily.. the more I read the more it seems better. Can we replace the European ones with these please?? :)
They're native to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica – none of which are part of South America. I'm so tired of people assuming North America == the US and Canada.
they're native to South America
They're native to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica – none of which are part of South America. I'm so tired of people assuming North America == the US and Canada.
Yeah, sorry, probably should have said South and Central America. Only said SA because I had looked up the distribution of Melipona bees and they're in a good portion of South America.
Yeah, sorry, probably should have said South and Central America. Only said SA because I had looked up the distribution of Melipona bees and they're in a good portion of South America.
They'd probably do great in Hawaii, and maybe parts of Florida. I'd love to see them in California, but it may just be too far north. Here's hoping, though!
They'd probably do great in Hawaii, and maybe parts of Florida. I'd love to see them in California, but it may just be too far north. Here's hoping, though!
Thank you so much! I'm in the Bay Area, California. I already have a native wildflower bed on my tiny balcony in my apartment. It also looks like our building is letting the dandelions grow on the...
Thank you so much! I'm in the Bay Area, California. I already have a native wildflower bed on my tiny balcony in my apartment. It also looks like our building is letting the dandelions grow on the lawn in the common area in the back, which is super pretty.
I also have little shallow dishes with water and little rocks for the bees to rest on and not drown when they're thirsty.
I didn't think about having water available, that's a good idea. I should have known that, bees and wasps seem to love the birdbath at my mothers house.
I didn't think about having water available, that's a good idea. I should have known that, bees and wasps seem to love the birdbath at my mothers house.
Try replacing your lawn with a meadow of native wildflowers. I did that recently and the pollinators absolutely love it. You'll also get all sorts of cool critters coming to rest their, like birds.
Try replacing your lawn with a meadow of native wildflowers. I did that recently and the pollinators absolutely love it. You'll also get all sorts of cool critters coming to rest their, like birds.
I absolutely would if I had a lawn.... I live in an apartment with the world's tiniest balcony, already filled with succulents and native to my area wildflower beds.
I absolutely would if I had a lawn.... I live in an apartment with the world's tiniest balcony, already filled with succulents and native to my area wildflower beds.
Here's an even easier one: Stop killing dandelions.
They're prolific and provide a ton of early nectar. They cost nothing and make for a quite nice tea or syrup later in the season. I've even seen people selling dandelion greens alongside kale in farmers markets.
I'm convinced America's war on the dandelion is half of the problem of hive collapse.
That and stop using pesticides and herbicides on your lawns in general. Most people don't even play in their lawns anyhow, they're functionally equivalent to garden gnomes for 9/10 houses
Both are good to do in combination as well.
Also, get rid of the grass on your lawn and replace it with clovers. I don't like clover honey, but bees love clover, and it helps them survive, plus it needs less water and is less of a major allergen.
The come in a variety of colors, too!
https://www.rareseeds.com/store/plants-seeds/flowers/dandelion-seeds
I rather love dandelions. They don't seem to be super prolific where I live, but I don't know if that's the climate or because people try to weed them out. I have yet to try eating dandelion greens, but I'd like to try them. I'm not sure how many weeds are tasty, let alone edible, but I think it would be interesting if more people were eating them. I like the idea of a zero-effort garden that your neighbors would be happy if you harvested from.
Right now my front lawn is basically 100% weeds. That is to say that we aren't watering or caring for it; we only pull weeds if they're particularly egregiously large so as to not irritate the neighbors. So we basically have a completely native plant yard that took no effort. Does it look perfect? Not at all. But I kind of love it. Especially the mossy bits.
The hardest part is making sure to pull out invasives. But the natural chaos of a natural meadow is beautiful.
Meh, I figure if it's something that managed to find it's way into my yard by itself then pulling them would just be delaying the inevitable.
So is pulling out those bigger weeds, for the most part.
Another thing, stop buying honey if you live in North America. Honey bees are an invasive species that outcompete native pollinators: https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2021/June-July/Gardening/Honey-Bees
Meh.
The studies that article relies on use "may" a lot and even state that while the non-native honeybees could do XYZ, studies into it have "failed to find consistent field evidence" that it actually occurs and chalks it up to there's-no-evidence-because-it's-hard-to-do and so just extrapolated out what may be a problem or could happen if the evidence they can't actually find was true.
Here's another one: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-problem-with-honey-bees/
Again, nothing conclusive to justify the blanket statement of "don't buy honey in North America". Some evidence of honey bees outcompeting natives in the Canary Islands, the reverse in Patagonia.
There's still the fact that so much of the attention of "save the bees" is taken up by honey bees, that people forget about native pollinators. Buying honey isn't a conservation practice, it's for you.
All the save the bees calls I saw were to plant flowers for pollinators and don't use pesticides, nothing about "buy honey."
Regardless, the primary point here is you say "Don't buy honey, it hurts native bees." and then none of the sources you have for such a statement actually justify such.
You're right, but I think it's something to keep an eye on because it could turn out to be a bigger problem, but we just don't have enough evidence yet. It is true that European honey bees are an invasive species in many places though.
I'd also like to say that some of your comments have come off as dismissive.
I don't disagree, it is something to keep an eye on, but the honeybee industry, for lack of a better term, has been around at capacity for so long, that if a collapse of major disruption of native pollinators was going to occur, it would have by now. The honey industry is pretty much saturated, so there isn't going to be a doubling of bees/hives to exacerbate any issue that may or may not be present.
That's because they have been dismissive. You've made statements as if they are fact with no consensus or evidence to back them up. Stated that the honeybee is invasive which is a definition used specifically for a species that causes harm to an ecosystem, when all evidence thus far shows they are merely a non-native species, a designation for things not from here, but also not cause for concern.
Huh, I didn't know that. Also found this excerpt saying the same thing.
So really, if i want honey -- which I have started using more for tea -- I should try to buy honey from Europe, since at honeybees are at least native to Europe. Right? Is there such thing as native NA bee honey?
No native honey sadly.
Edit: In North America, apparently there's some in South America!
https://tildes.net/~enviro/1f92/early_spring_brings_a_hungry_gap_for_bees_heres_how_you_can_help#comment-ce4l
I've made dandelion syrup...while not exactly the same it does fit pretty much every case I would normally use honey for.
All you need is 1-2 enthusiastic children to gather a few cups full of dandelion flowers and some sugar. Once you have a sufficiently large patch of dandelions that's barely a scratch.
Oh man, that's really sad to learn. Is there a way to help breed/grow native pollinating bees?
In case you're thinking it, native bee do not produce honey. You can provide them places to nest, grow early blooming flowers/trees and don't mow your lawn until after May to give wildflowers time to bloom and provide early food for pollinators.
Here's a guide to create nests (bee houses) from Xerces, an invertebrate conservation group: https://www.xerces.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/12-015_02_XercesSoc_Nests-for-Native-Bees-fact-sheet_web.pdf
Edit: Oh and some bees evolved to visit specific flowers (host plants). These links can give you some ideas on flowers to grow:
https://jarrodfowler.com/specialist_bees.html (Eastern USA)
https://jarrodfowler.com/pollen_specialist.html (Western USA)
https://jarrodfowler.com/bees_pollen.html (Central USA)
There is native-to-the-Americas honey, FWIW:
https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/melipona-honey-yucatan-mexico
Worth trying if you ever get a chance, it really is its own special thing.
Oh neat, didn't know about them as they're native to South America. Wonder if they were every up here in the distant past?
They're stingless and the honey doesn't crystalize as easily.. the more I read the more it seems better. Can we replace the European ones with these please?? :)
They're native to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica – none of which are part of South America. I'm so tired of people assuming North America == the US and Canada.
Yeah, sorry, probably should have said South and Central America. Only said SA because I had looked up the distribution of Melipona bees and they're in a good portion of South America.
They'd probably do great in Hawaii, and maybe parts of Florida. I'd love to see them in California, but it may just be too far north. Here's hoping, though!
Thank you so much! I'm in the Bay Area, California. I already have a native wildflower bed on my tiny balcony in my apartment. It also looks like our building is letting the dandelions grow on the lawn in the common area in the back, which is super pretty.
I also have little shallow dishes with water and little rocks for the bees to rest on and not drown when they're thirsty.
I didn't think about having water available, that's a good idea. I should have known that, bees and wasps seem to love the birdbath at my mothers house.
Just make sure that it's shallow enough that they don't drown!
Hi neighbor 😄
Hi right back!
Try replacing your lawn with a meadow of native wildflowers. I did that recently and the pollinators absolutely love it. You'll also get all sorts of cool critters coming to rest their, like birds.
I absolutely would if I had a lawn.... I live in an apartment with the world's tiniest balcony, already filled with succulents and native to my area wildflower beds.
Seems like you're already doing all you can then. Don't worry about it too much.