Is It Bad? Don't Know - But Observed This

[Jim O'Bryan]

While walking around barefoot in the yard, I make sure to not step on any bees. Well after 2 weeks of looking, I haven't seen any!

I called some local beekeepers I know and asked, "How bad is the health of the bees this year?" Answers were unanimous, When they have bees in the hive, they see them. When the hive is down, they rarely see a honey bee."

So then I start to count "pollinators" like the yellow jacket above. They include, butterflies, some wasps, birds, and other insects. Over the course of a week, a couple hours a day, I was only able to count 32 other pollinators, in a yard of flowers. I found this disturbing.

In 2020 it was estimated that 49% of the honeybee population died. While the number seems extreme, it is only a 9% increase. The numbers are not around for 2021 yet.

Without pollinators, the future is bleak.

How many honeybees in your yard?

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[Mark Kindt]

The honey bees appear to be at the Carlyle building on plants that have not fully flowered yet. I witness report.

[pj bennett]

My yard is predominantly white clover (very little grass), so there are more honey bees and pollinators than I can count. Plus, I grow echinacea, honeysuckle and other flowers that attract birds n bees.

Also, no chemicals of any kind are ever used.