B(ee) is for Beneficial

The media has brought awareness to the importance of the Honeybee and to a noticeable population decline. Apis Melifera is the pollinator of over $7 BILLION in agricultural products. With a decline in the Honey Bee, so goes our vegetation and domestic/international products. My little backyard-hive was quite helpful to the vegetable gardens around the neighborhood. We have received numerous reports from area homes having higher than normal yields.

Another CRITICAL element with retaining Honey Bee colonies is to keep a non-Africanized population in your area. Think Urban Sprawl - sort of. Low populations of native bees can allow Africanized bees to easily take over, ESPECIALLY in the southern United States. AHB

An Africanized honey bee (left) and a European honey bee work on a honeycomb. The Africanized bee, smaller than its European counterpart, has apparently now made its way into Georgia. SCOTT BAUER, USDA AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE Extracted Link