The Central Valley of California could still use more water, but there has been enough this winter to cause thousands of acres of irrigated almond orchards to burst into flower for a couple of weeks this past February. And with the blossoms came the beekeepers.
Modern humans, facing a potential crisis of enormous proportions, have begun to recognize the importance of honeybees to agriculture and the stability of the global food chain. But long ago, in ancient Egypt, humans considered the honeybee sacred. Can we learn anything from that?
Honey bees and other pollinators are in big trouble. President Barack Obama wants to help save them with a new protected bee habitat corridor along I-35 spanning the US from Laredo, Texas to Duluth Minnesota. Catherine Winter, who lives in Duluth and keeps bees herself, tracked down some other bee enthusiasts to talk about the president’s plan and their own efforts to protect the pollinators that help feed us all.
A new plan announced by the US government would restore seven million acres of lost habitat for the monarch butterfly and other pollinating insects like honeybees, and scientists says the plan comes not a moment too soon for the troubled insects.