This blog is still all about the food we eat, but I believe I have your attention? Okay, we are talking about the pollinators.

 Those pesky bees that flit and fly from bush to flower. Turns out, they are very, very important to our food supply.  Honey bees are usually the first concern and thought process when we think of the enormous loss we are seeing to our known bee colonies. After all, they are the direct supply to the honey we love. But you also have to consider the other bees as well.  The bumble bees, hornets, butterflies and even the bats. They play an integral part in pollinating those flowers that in turn will help grow fruit and vegetables. From the coffee we are addicted to in the morning, to the salads we grab from the deli’s at lunch time, to the chocolate cake and ice cream we sneak in while watching TV at night, it is all dependent on the bees doing their job.  The pollinators move the pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower, therein securing the biologic functions needed to keep our gardens growing. If this little lecture reminds you of elementary school science class, it should. We did learn all of this when we were kids. So, I have to ask, why, if we have this information, are we planting big green lawns and using bee killing chemicals when we can instead, plant flowering bushes, flower beds, and vegetable gardens.

Next time you stop in at Starbucks to grab that mid-afternoon cup of energy, remember, it is the bees doing their job in this world that made that cappuccino possible.