Our Disappearing Garden Friends
February 23, 2008 by Linette Gerlach
Filed under Beneficial Insects
Last weekend I wrote about Bee Colony Collapse Disorder, this Sunday 60 Minutes is running a segment called What’s Wrong With The Bees? If you’re interested in finding out more on this subject check it out. I hope to watch.
On a related subject Garden Rant has a post on the reappearance of a disease that’s wiping out the bat population.
Many people don’t like bats, but they’re an important part of our ecosystem. I enjoy watching them fly around our barn catching mosquitoes on hot summer nights.
I worry about all of this too. I miss having frogs/toads .. I don’t have a water feature my garden is so small really .. and we can not have still water with the Westnile virus problem.
I love bats .. not up close but they are a very important element in nature .. I’m sorry to see so much of individual “key” parts that work in unison to maintain the sensitive balance of nature as a whole.
Good post !
Coming from Texas, with the influx of Killer Bees from the South, this has been a hot topic for us. But the disappearance seems to be more prevalent than the introduction of another type of bees.
We forget how important of a balance bees and bats and certain species have on the world. The implications of the lost bee population for farming and our food is not being pressed hard enough on society.
Thank you for sharing.
I have been concerned about the bat issue, because bats help with the pollination process of many of our desert plants. Some cacti and succulents are pollinated strictly by bats, so those will suffer the most.
Many beekeepers in our area have lost colonies to BCCD, yet others have not been touched. I don’t think most people know just how serious the loss of bees will be to our food supply if this problem isn’t solved. Thanks for posting on this subject.
Aiyana
Thanks for the heads ups about 60 minutes. I’ve been thinking about this bee thing since reading your post!
Well, I missed 60 Minutes since I went on an Eagle Watching tour today. Oh, well.