The honey bee is in trouble. Last winter 44% of managed honey bee colonies didn’t make it through the winter. Commercial honey bee colonies are managed by professional beekeepers who travel around the country with their bees on a truck, pollinating our food sources. This is a fascinating process. But if these hard working little pollinators aren’t making it through the winter, pollinating our food crops will get increasingly harder and more expensive.
Eating organic is an easy way for you to help the honey bee.
Many of the insecticides used in conventional crops contain neonicotinoids. Studies have shown that bees prefer pollen laced with neonicotinoid insecticides, and that they will choose this pollen source over other sources. This means that even if the crop is not pollinated by bees, any bees in the vicinity can still be impacted due to insecticide drift from the conventional crop. Neonicotinoid insecticides can be harmful to bees because they disorient the bee, causing them to become weakened and confused. This doesn’t outright kill the bees, but does lead to weaker hives that may not survive the next challenge to the colony.
So next time you’re faced with the choice between non-organic and organic fruits, veggies, herbs or nuts, you know what to choose!