Jazianzza wanted me to tell you something that she feels a bit awkward about. National Honey Month in Sept. was started in 1989 to promote both beekeeping as well as honey. The thing that Jazi wants to share is that it isn’t the honeybees that are endangered because of pesticides, loss of habitat, and the climate crisis; all pollinators are dealing with the same issues, and she felt it important to let others know that her “peoples”, the honeybees, are in part responsible for her relatives having such critical challenges. While they have the benefit of being taken care of by humans, wild bees don’t. Unfortunately, the honeybees end up competing with the native bees for the shrinking food supply. All bees face the same dangers, but Jazi’s wild bee family is taking the brunt of it. This article explains it well.
Don’t get me wrong, please. I absolutely love bees. While beekeepers have tens of thousands of bees that they have a relationship with, my awe-inspiring experiences are with individual bees who allow me the opportunity to be with them, one at a time. I just think it’s important that we realize who is endangered and see what we can do about that.
There are a lot of obvious things we can do to help Jazi’s relatives. We can avoid using toxic chemicals and plant a lot of pollinator-friendly flowers. And please leave your dandelion “weeds” intact because they are a wonderful food for bumblebees. I’ve laughed out loud watching bumblebees divebomb a dandelion, making it sway this way and that as it takes its fill. In addition, if you look on Etsy, for example, you will find lots of ideas to help house native bees by putting “wild bee homes” in the search bar.
Regarding wild bees, I’ve had the honor of beginning a friendship via email with an extraordinary woman named Krystle Hickman. She’s a native bee conservationist and brilliant photographer, TedX speaker, community scientist, and marvelous artist. My friend John, an entomologist, kindly put me in touch with her. I was already a fan of hers after a friend shared an article about Krystle in the LA Times last year. https://www.latimes.com/
Lastly, and having nothing to do with bees but everything to do with the mental health and creativity of children, my chiropractor turned me on to a very cool idea. His wife found these journals https://
To everyone in our hive, thank you for your support. The book can be bought on Amazon as well as through your local bookstore. If you could be so kind as to leave a review, it would be helpful. Speaking of reviews, we received a beautiful review from Kirkus Review, a professional review organization that libraries and other organizations trust. If you want to check it out, you can go here: https://www.
Wishing you a month of delight in the little things.