Helpful Links: The Great Sunflower Project

                                                                             photo:  Free Digital Photos.net

Albert Einstein has been quoted as saying that if the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.  No more bees, no more pollination, no more men!.

It has been called into question whether this quote is actually attributable to the famous physicist, however the importance of bees to our food supply and the environment is certain. 



Aside from making honey, bees pollinate more than 90 percent of our flowering crops, such as:

apples, asparagus, broccoli, celery, oranges, grapefruit, and other citrus fruits, peaches, kiwi, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, cherries, melons, squash, avocados and soybeans. 

Alfalfa, which feeds cattle and other livestock, depends on bees for pollination.

The biggest threat to the honeybee population is Colony Collapse Disorder.  This is a phenomenon in which worker bees from a beehive or bee colony simply disappear.  Cases of Colony Collapse Disorder have been reported throughout North America, across Europe and into Asia.  

The reason for the occurrance of this  syndrome is not yet fully understood but possible causes include:

fungal infection
Mites
Insect diseases
Environmental Stresses:
  pesticides
  malnutrition
  migratory beekeeping
  cell phone radiation
  genetically modified crops with pest control characteristics

A combination of two or more of the above possibilities. 

While we don't yet know what is causing the problem, we can try to do our part to support the bees:

Plant bee friendly plants and flowers (sunflowers are a mega-favorite).


If you have an area where you can allow flowering weeds to grow, they provide quality nutrition for bees. 

Minimize pesticide use. 

Gretchen LeBuhn, an associate professor of biology at San Francisco State University, has launched "The Great Sunflower Project", a study designed to help discover what is happening with the bees.  The Great Sunlower Project will distribute free sunflower seeds to people who sign up and agree to report back on bee activity once the flowers bloom.  The program currently has about 55,000 participants in all 50 states plus all territories and provinces in Canada.