Counting Bees

In the past couple of years, you might have heard that bees are suffering from a mysterious ailment called colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon where worker bees, in significant numbers, suddenly disappear from a colony.

A variety of culprits have been fingered in causing this syndrome including pesticide use, parasites and diseases.

Scientists decided they needed a method to determine the numbers and spread of different pollinators. To accomplish this, a new survey was launched, enlisting and empowering local citizens to report observations about bees in their own backyard or deck, called The Backyard Bee Count.

The study recruits citizens across the United States and Canada to plant sunflowers and observe bees visiting the flowers during a 15 minute time period twice a month, and record their findings online. Sunflowers were chosen as the standard plant because they are easy to grow and are very attractive to bees. 

The first Backyard Bee Count took place July 16. The data so far has shown that in some parts of the country the bees are doing very well, but in other parts like Florida, where pesticide use is widespread, the bees are not nearly as numerous.

The typical observer saw 2.6 bees every 15 minutes on their sunflowers. Up to 20 percent of volunteers observed no bees at all.

I participated and counted a dozen bees on sunflowers during the designated time period in my own backyard, which showed that this part of the country is above average 'bee friendly.'

Keeping tabs on bees has become an important tool in studying this essential aid to our food supply, which relies extensively on bee pollination.  

Anyone can participate in The Great Bee Count. To sign up, go to www.greatsunflower.org, plant your sunflower seeds and start counting!