Humans aren’t helping to protect bees, creatures critical for pollination

Editor:

This past winter the honeybee population had a severe massive die off. Statewide, beekeepers are reporting 50%-70% percent loss of beehives.

The warm, cold, warm, cold weather pattern wrought havoc on beehives. Last summer’s drought caused massive losses for commercial beekeepers. I’m sure the few remaining native honeybee colonies didn’t fare much better.

Pollinators (honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies …) need our help to survive. There are no longer hedgerows of wild flowers and plants for them to feed off of. You don’t see fields of Monarch Butterflies anymore.

The local surrounding fields and lawns no longer have dandelions and flowers growing in them because everyone wants green manicured lawns, and weed-free gardens and fields without doing any work.

Modern culture and science has made life easy, use this pesticide, use this herbicide to quick fix your problem. Buy the new coated seeds that kill insects and save time on your garden. Buy the convenient trees and plants from the Big Box stores that use treated seed and trees. Many of these pesticides are illegal in NYS, but if the seeds are coated out of state and then brought in, it is perfectly legal.

Some of these pesticides and insecticides used on our fruit and vegetables have a half-life up to 1,000 days in the ground. That means even after the crops are gone, those chemicals will remain in the ground, and leach into the ground water for years and years, and have the potential to keep on killing pollinators. What are we doing to ourselves and future generations, not to mention the environment?

Does anyone think it’s kind of funny that last year during New York’s pollinator protection week, (big press release by the Governor), New York State employees were mowing fields of wild flowers over on Route 63? During the fall when golden rod was blooming, NYS again started mowing fields, instead of waiting 1 or 2 extra weeks so the pollinators could obtain and store their winter food supply.

It’s hard enough trying to keep bees alive with all that nature throws at them, let alone mankind and all of his modern chemistry.

Scott Wengewicz

Shelby