I got a surprise the other day when I was in a lawn taping one of my segments.

I looked down only to find a honey bee gorging himself on a white clover flower. The real surprise was when I counted over a dozen of these honey makers without moving from that spot.

Honey bees, if you aren't aware of, have slowly been decreasing in their numbers for several reasons. If you were in the same lawn a few years ago, I would guess you would be hard pressed to find even one honey bee. The latest disaster to the bee population has occurred when for no reason, the honey bees in a hive up and leave their wooden structure for places unknown. Yep, there are so many unknowns when they experience what they call Colony Collapse. Some say its pesticides, some even call it environmental stress but whatever the cause, we still are losing bees to this disorder.

Its ever so important that individuals are aware of this problem because there are a few things they can do to help a little. One is to be careful on the use of pesticides especially insecticides. If you are spraying any plants that attract bees, do so in the early morning or late evening when the bees are fewer in number on those plants. This is especially important in the use of the insecticide SEVIN. If you have to use Sevin, at least use the liquid spray rather than the dust. The bees will collect the dust thinking it is pollen, take it back to their hive where it can kill the total colony.

Finally I encourage homeowners to start their own hives if they have the interest and location. Contact your local beekeeping organization or County Agent for more information on getting your own hives started.