Category Archives: Honeybees

How Bayer’s Bug-Killer Got Hitched to Monsanto’s Weed-Killer

Adventures Down the Rabbit Hole It was a spectacular June affair. Monsanto was Matron of Honor for Roundup (Lizzie Borden of Weed-Killers), and Bayer was Best Man for Neonics (Godfather of Bug-Killers). The Department of Justice was Justice of the … Continue reading

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Last Monarchs. . .First Honeybees

Early November, Lowe’s Home Improvement was selling agastache ‘Purple Fortune’ almost bloomed out and looking like a ragamuffin, for one dollar. Like the perennial optimists we gardeners are, I rose to the challenge and bought two. Yes, I can coax … Continue reading

Posted in butterflies, fall bloom, Honeybees, Uncategorized, wildlife in autumn | 2 Comments

The Bee Report

We owe the beleaguered honeybee and his friends Bam! Statistics on honeybee survival leave you reeling. Take a look at some news items released this year. (Bold italics my emphasis.) From Reuters in May, 2015 comes this alarming report: “Honey … Continue reading

Posted in butterflies, Hobby Beekeeping, Honeybees, Native pollinators, Neonicotinoids, wildflowers, yellow flowers | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What Is Killing the Honeybee? Part IV

Brinksmanship? Ignorance? Greed? Inertia? “It is ironic to think that man might determine his own future by something so seemingly trivial as the choice of an insect spray.”– Rachel Carson, Silent Spring Back in the seventies, Bob and I helped … Continue reading

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Who is Killing the Honeybee? Part III

Two Beekeepers Tell Their Stories Betty and Steve are neighbors of mine. Of course, in northeastern North Carolina, where farm fields stretch for miles, neighbors can be a half hour or more away. Like other beekeepers I’ve met, they are … Continue reading

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Who Is Killing the Honeybee? Part II

Pesticides and Who? Us Gardeners? Have you ever wondered why some nursery plants you buy look so perfect and stay that way all season? (Assuming they live through the season in your garden — they don’t always make it in … Continue reading

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Who Is Killing the Honeybee? Part I

Not I, says the gardener. Not I, says the farmer. Not I, says the Pesticide Maker. Not I, says the Garden Center. Certainly not I, says the EPA. Is there a problem? asks Congress. In the past six years an … Continue reading

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