Whole Foods is inviting you to share the buzz

Without bees, breakfast would be bland, lunch would be limited and dinner would be dismal. Bees pollinate more than 100 types of crops in the US, from the almonds in your granola to the berries atop your favorite dessert. Yet US honey bee colonies are declining at an annual rate of 30% or more.

As an industry leader in natural and organic foods, Whole Foods Market® is passionate about raising honey bee awareness, taking action and helping our communities “bee the solution.”

Click here for the rest of the story.

Whole Foods in CT is demonstrating how much of our food is pollinator dependent

This is what your grocery store looks like without bees.

Published: June 12, 2013

Whole Foods Market® partners with The Xerces Society to “Share the Buzz” and protect pollinator populations

By Whole Foods Market

PROVIDENCE, R.I., JUNE 12, 2013 — /PRNewswire/ — One of every three bites of food comes from plants pollinated by honeybees and other pollinators. Yet, major declines in bee populations threaten the availability of many fresh ingredients consumers rely on for their dinner tables.

Read more here: 

Talk on native pollinators at Merryspring, April 9 at 12:00 noon

Catch the Buzz on Native Bees

Local gardener and photographer Amy Campbell will lead a presentation on native bee species at Merryspring Nature Center on Tuesday, April 9 at 12:00 noon.Campbell’s talk, titled “Native Bees: A Magical Mystery Tour,” will use vibrant and colorful photos to introduce the audience to some of Maine’s important and indigenous bee species. Her presentation will also explain the difference between bees and other similar-looking buzzing insects, dispel rumors, and stress the necessity and benefits of attracting native bees to the backyard landscape.Campbell is a Maine Master Gardener, nature photographer, and honeybee keeper living in Rockport. Recently, she has completed a certificate program in Native Plants and Ecological Horticulture at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay. This talk is part of Merryspring ‘s 2013 Winter Talk Series, co-sponsored by The First and  Allen Insurance and Financial.   Admission is free for Merryspring members, with a nominal fee of $5 for non-members.

 

Maine Gardener: Bee proactive: Plant smart

Today 3/24/13 The Maine Sunday Telegram published this article
By TOM ATWELL

Bees are in trouble. All bees, not just the European honeybee that is suffering from colony collapse disorder but also the native bees, of which there are 250 species in Maine, including the bumblebee….

BEES NEED DANDELIONS “… it is a crop that was brought over here in the 1620s to provide food for the honeybee. It has a flower that continues all through the year, but primarily in late April and early May.”

Willows and maples as two trees that have early-blooming flowers that bees love AND crocus and scilla

DO NOT SPRAY.

Here is the link to the full article: 

Here is a list of  BEE-FRIENDLY PLANTS listed in the article:

EARLY SEASON

Acer (maple)

Amelanchier (shadbush)

Anchusa (bugloss)

Bergenia (pigsqueak)

Crocus

Malus (apple)

Prunus (cherries and plums)

Pulmonaria (lungwort)

Salix (willow)

Viola (violet, but perhaps not pansies)

MIDSEASON

Agastache (anise hyssop)

Asclepias (milkweed)

Borago (borage)

Echinacea (coneflower)

Liatris (blazing star)

Mentha (mint)

Oreganum (oregano)

Rosa (roses)

Spiraea (spirea)

Tagetes (marigold, especially single French types

LATE SEASON

Aster (many wild asters)

Clethra (summersweet)

Cosmos (pink cosmos)

Gentiana clausa (bottle gentian)

Echinacea (purple coneflower)

Phlox (summer phlox)

Rudbeckia (yellow coneflower)

Solidago (many wild goldenrods)