On todays episode we are going to talk about the importance of Honey bees and how they can improve our Urban landscapes.
Plants require pollen from one flower to another in order to fertilize and produce a fruiting body. With out these pollinators production drops significantly. According to a 2011 United nations report on bees of the 100 crop species that provide 90% of the worlds food 70 are pollinated by bees.
There are over 20 000 known species of bees in the world and generally fall into categories of species based on their physiology, life cycle and habits. There are Bumblebees, Stingless bees, Honey bees and African Honey Bees.
Honey bees are commonly used for agricultural pollination and are critical for the success of whole crops such as almonds, apples, grapes and strawberries to name a few. Often in the country you will find hives tucked against fields. It was reported by the United Nations that Honey Bees account for approximately 200 billion dollars worth of crops world wide in 2005.
In the first few years gardening in my yard my production was low. This was likely due to the low concentrations of pollinators. In my garden I was thrilled last year to find mason bees. Mason bees are solitary bees and generally only produce what they and their brood need to survive. Anecdotally I noticed an increase in production from my garden after their arrival.
That said I would like to bring some Honey bees onto my property.
Resources:
The Bee Vlog YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBeeVlog/featured
How to make Mead
Alberta Beekeepers
Honey Love Urban Beekeepers
Species of Bees
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee
General information on Bees and beneficial flowers:
http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=146
UN report on Bees:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=37731#.VJcWhDCHc
Honey Bees Basic Physiological Requirements
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in868
Are Honey Bees Aggressive
Government of Alberta Beekeeping resource page
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/prm13239
Back Yard Bees Website
http://www.backyardbees.ca/free/faq
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of gardening with my parents and brothers. This channel is about low cost organic urban gardening in zone 3. I am by no means an expert gardener however I love to share my experiments and journey garden year round. Please feel free to join the conversation and if you think you might like this channel subscribe. Have a great day!
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