By Rhishja Larson •
October 27, 2009
Bats may be considered a spooky Halloween mascot, but they are actually one of the most beneficial animals on the planet: 70% of the world’s bat species feed on insects - and one bat can consume up to 1,000 insect pests in an hour. Bats also play a critical role in pollination and seed dispersal.
Despite the fact that bats occur nearly everywhere on earth (except for arctic and desert extremes), 60 species of bats are listed as endangered. And in the U.S., an estimated million or more hibernating bats of six species have been killed by White-nose Syndrome (WNS) in nine states since 2006.
To help raise awareness for bats, here is a compilation of 10 facts about bats - and a diverse photo gallery of bat species celebrating the surprising cuteness of these creatures. Enjoy!
By Kay Sexton •
July 22, 2009
As things currently stand, British beekeepers fear government intervention and ‘meddling’, being told to move or destroy hives if they are seen as potentially infected or too old to meet current standards, and they can’t see why they should sign up for a scheme that has no discernable benefit to the beekeeper.
There is a growing movement to assess the value–in dollar terms–of “ecosystem services” such as storm protection (from salt marshes), pollination of crops (from bee colonies and insects), natural predation of harmful insects and parasites (by birds, bats and other animals), fertilizer from animal feces, fish in the oceans, clean water and air, and cooling/greenhouse gas-controlling forests, etc.
This movement has been gaining steam–especially with the recent [...]
By Joe Mohr •
June 26, 2009
Colony Collapse Disorder is still with us
…though not getting the same press it did the last couple of years. According to a joint survey conducted by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the Agricultural Research Service’s Bee Research Laboratory, 29 percent of honey bee colonies vanished between September 2008 and April 2009. That number is better than previous years…but not much.
I think it’s time to give back to the insect that has given us so much over our lifetimes (they pollinate 1/3 of our food supply). Here are 5 things you can do to help the bees:
1. Provide bees with a safe beneficial place to thrive.
Leave a patch of wildflowers and plants for bees to enjoy.
Leave the dandelions in the ground. Dandelions are probably the most beneficial flower for bees in the early spring. Check out this info from the Daily Green for a list of other plants bees love.
Make a bee post for bees to reside. Drill a variety of holes up to a half inch in diameter into the side of a thick piece of untreated timber. Attach a roof to deflect rain, smooth down the entrances to the holes thoroughly so there are no sharp splinters, and attach it to a sunny wall or fence. Keep the post in a dry, cool place in winter and bring it out in March. (Another bee house idea is shared here).
FYI, don’t build bee homes with new fence posts from home and garden centers. They are unsuitable because they have been treated with chemicals. Speaking of chemicals…
By Lisa Wojnovich •
May 31, 2009
Honey bees are disappearing. The story has been in the news on and off since 2006, but for one reason or another, most people have paid little attention. And the situation is significantly dire.
By Kay Sexton •
May 19, 2009
Forget the disaster movie scenarios of tsunamis, changes in the Earth’s magnetic core, the arrival of aliens or the mutation of some native species to giant size—our biggest risk is that we lose those small, aerodynamically impossible, stripy creatures so famous for their eccentric flight and delicious honey as well as their wax.
By Kay Sexton •
November 29, 2008
Summers have been more silent in recent years because the bee population has been falling at an alarming rate – in Britain it fell by a third between last year and this, and right across Europe the decline is similar and disturbing
By Lucille Chi •
November 11, 2008
While we’re on the topic of biodiversity studies, take a look at what Sustainable Table has to say. It covers global food and farming issues and presents some interesting resources from around the world, to read and reach out to, for your family, community, schools and businesses:
- United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Provides a good general overview of the concept of biodiversity.
- Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Heritage
Discusses the principles and values of genetic, species, and the importance of ecosystem diversity.
- The ARK USA
Brought to you by Slow Food, The ARK is a project designed to preserve foods that are at risk of becoming ‘extinct’ – including rare varieties of fruits and vegetables, heritage breeds of animals, and foods created using increasingly uncommon methods of production.
- The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
From the American Museum of Natural History, the Center integrates scientific research, education, and outreach so that people, themselves major catalysts in the rapid loss of biodiversity, will become participants in its conservation.
By Meg Hamill •
November 6, 2008
Britain’s government has been warned that the country will enter into an “agricultural disaster” unless more money is put towards discovering what is killing the country’s bees.
Protesters from the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA), dressed in traditional, white beekeeper suits, delivered a petition signed by more than 140,000 people to Downing Street today, calling for £8 million funding research into causes of the bee decline.
Over the past 12 months, one in three of Britain’s honey bee colonies – amounting to nearly two billion bees, have been lost. These losses are the greatest yet for the UK. The causes of the massive die-off are unclear, and the apiarists fear there is nothing to prevent a similar devastation in the year to come. The beekeepers claim that the Government is doing nothing to prevent it from happening.
By Beth Bader •
July 1, 2008
© Kuleczka | Dreamstime.com
We’ve got some sweet posts for the week ahead. This week is Honey Week at Eat. Drink. Better. in tribute to bees and all they do for us, including that delicious honey. To kick it off, I want to share a cool bee fact and a recipe.
Did you know?
- California’s almond orchards are the location of the largest pollination event annually. Nearly one million hives (about 50 percent) of the US honey bees are brought to the almond orchards each spring.
- The apple crop in just New York requires about 30,000 hives.
- 50,000 hives each year are needed for Maine’s blueberry crop.
- According to the USDA, one-third of our diets rely on insect-pollinated plants. 80 percent of this pollination is done by bees.
Recipe for Honey Curried Cauliflower follows the jump.
