Helping the Bees

Last year in America, a third of the honeybee population disappeared, which came after losing a third of the population the year before. This is happening all over the world. Without some serious intervention, we are looking at the very real possibility of the extinction of the honeybee.

There are many theories concerning the reasons for their decline, none of them yet confirmed. But, regardless of the official reason, one of the theories that has a real impact is the loss of habitat. As more and more houses are built, and suburban sprawl widens, the subsequent deforestation rids the bees of tree cavities to nest in. The fields, once filled with flowers, turn to sterile, chemical-laced lawns, and the few flowers that do get planted in yards often do not provide food for the bees.

Some simple things one can do to help honeybees is to refrain from using pesticides and herbicides on lawns and to plant flowers that attract and nourish the bees. Some of the bee-favored flowers are Asters, Clover, Marigolds, Poppies, Sunflowers, Buttercups, Clematis,
Crocuses, Echinacea, Foxglove, Geraniums, Hollyhocks, Hyacinth, Roses, Sedum, Snowdrops,
Tansy, and Zinnias, plus many vegetable plants, herbs, and flowering trees and shrubs.

The decline of the honeybee has created a serious problem for everyone, for we are losing a key pollinator. Without pollination, our very food supply is threatened. One way to help ease the pressure off the Honeybee is to aid the Blue Orchard Mason Bee, by making homes for them to nest in. They are very industrious pollinators, a single female bee pollinating over 1000 blossoms a day! The male Blue Orchard Mason Bee cannot sting and the female rarely stings, they are not aggressive and safe to have around your home. They are great to watch and a perfect project for families to work on together, as it is very easy and enjoyable.

Here is a link to instructions for making your own Blue Orchard Mason Bee house. It is important to get the houses up soon, as the bees are starting to wake up and will be seeking homes. If you don't have time or really don't want to make your own bee house, here is a link where you can purchase one. I am making mine this week and will post a picture once I get it set up!

Let's do our part to help the creatures whose homes and food we have taken away, and whom we cannot live without!

DoAn
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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 


All artwork and text © Copyright 2005-2009 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

Humans and Honeybees: a long history of cooperation

Did you know that humans and honeybees have been working together for thousands of years?

In 1934 images were found in a limestone cave in Spain depicting humans honey-hunting. This is the first painting discovered in Europe that illustrates humans collecting honey. The image shows a human hanging on ropes suspended over a cliff-face. The human is reaching into a nest of bees taking honeycombs while individual bees swarm around. Another figure stands below holding a bag with a long handle where the honey is collected. It is estimated that this painting was made between 2000 and 8000 years ago.

Bee-keeping is depicted in Egyptian temple reliefs as early as the 5th Dynasty (2445-2441 BC). The reliefs show that beekeeping was well established in Egypt by the middle of the Old Kingdom (3rd millennium BC). Records from at least one tomb workers' village during the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) indicate that the workmen there kept bees and this was likely true of other communities throughout Egyptian history. Bee-keeping is also depicted in some 18th and 26th Dynasty tombs. Bees were certainly of great importance in providing honey, which was used both as the principal sweetener in the Egyptian diet and as a base for medicinal ointments. The Egyptians also collected beeswax for use as a mold-former in metal castings and also for use as a paint-varnish. Read the book Sweetness & Light by Hattie Ellis for more fascinating history of the relationship between humans and bees.

As humans focused more on development and less on the environment, suburban sprawl has destroyed many of the natural habitats of bees. It seems like it might be a good time to think about giving back some of the living spaces we took away to bees again. I looked into ways that people with very small amount of land can provide living space for bees. I was glad to find that it is very simple and doesn't end up with someone having swarms of bees taking over their yard! The National Wildlife Federation has some tips on how to build bee houses here.

You can create homes for Orchard Mason Bees who are very helpful in pollinating plants. Ochard Mason bees are not aggressive and rarely sting, so they are safe to keep in your back yard, or porch, or outside your window, if you don't have a yard. You can also create houses for bumble bees, which are native to North America and very important pollinators. I found a site by Dave Pehling that gives simple instructions on creating a bumble bee house, but you can search for other sites quite easily that give instructions on how to make houses for them. If you are not handy at all, there are also sites on line where you can purchase pre-made bee homes.

In the spring I will be setting out both Orchard Mason Bee and Bumblebee homes and I will be sure to share the results with you then. Please consider continuing the long-standing relationship between humans and bees by creating a home for them. After all, it seems like it is the least we can do after taking away so much of their natural habitat. The plus is that we can live together and share the benefits from each other as a result!

If you find this interesting and would like to learn more about the honeybee and other teachings from nature, please consider donating to DoAn Art. I am currently raising money to attend a residency at the Vermont Studio Center where I can synthesize this kind of information into artwork to share with society. It is my hope that by sharing my teachings and paintings from nature, I might help inspire others to seek ways to make our world and all the beings on it a beautiful place to live.

DoAn
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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 


All artwork and text © Copyright 2005-2011 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.