In recent years, honey bees have been dying at alarming rates due to a variety of factors including:

• loss of habitat
• monocropping
• pesticides such as neonicotinoids
• genetically modified crops
• pollution
• diseases and parasites (e.g., varroa mites)

Honey bees are important pollinators. About 1/3 of our fruit and vegetable supply depends upon bee pollination. Honey bees are the most efficient pollinators for most crops. Other plants pollinated by honey bees supply food for insects, birds, and small mammals.

Buy organic - organic farmers care about bees

Practice organic gardening - pesticides are detrimental to bees

Plant bee forage - grow more herbs and flowers

Buy local honey - support your local beekeepers

Adopt a hive - or become a beekeeper

If you encounter a bee swarm, please call a local beekeeper to collect them. The beekeeper will humanely capture them and give them a new home. Heathly bees produce swarms - it's how they reproduce the colony. Such bees are survivors, and should be saved. Left to their own, most swarms perish. Swarms may be lucky and find a hole in a tree, but all too often they may inhabit your chimney, sprinkler box, toolshed, etc.