Bringing Back the Buzz

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Bringing Back the Buzz

Before you take that next forkful of food, be thankful. Or rather, bee thankful. Every third bite of food we eat, as well as most of our clothing, some beverages and many medicines, could not be produced without the essential pollination provided by bees, according to research entomologist Stephen Buchmann.

But native bees and other pollinators are in crisis. Their populations are plummeting due to habitat destruction and fragmentation, and due to the widespread use of pesticides on farms and lawns.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that more than 50 pollinator species are threatened or endangered; wild honeybee populations have nose-dived, declining by 25 percent since 1990. Not only does this spell peril for pollinators and plants, but it also negatively affects the human food supply. Pollinators are critical in the production of more than 150 food crops in the United States — from apples to alfalfa. Honeybee shortages in California caused by parasites and pesticides required almond growers to import bees to pollinate their crop. Worth $800 million, that's nothing to sneeze at.

It's no exaggeration when researchers point out that our food — and our future — relies on pollinators. The good news is that you can take steps to encourage pollinator populations in your own back yard. The steps are simple, and the rewards are fruitful. While you're helping them, they'll be helping your fruit and vegetable crops be the best they can bee. For example, studies have shown that ample bee pollination can increase strawberry fruit size by 40 percent. To attract more pollinators: