Where Have All the Bees Gone?

All my life I have had a phobia about bees. When one of these creatures comes in close proximity of me, I freak. If one happens to get in the car with me while I'm driving, I quickly pull over and open all the doors to let it out, because I know that otherwise, I'll have a car accident.

However I was recently watching a TV show that has changed my attitude towards bees. Bees, apparently, are disappearing. And that could be catastrophic for us. Here's an article that presents the same basic information as was on the television show. And now that I'm taking notice, it does seem I have very few bees around my place this year. Grant it, my vegetables (apart from those in the greenhouse) haven't started flowering yet, but certainly I have lots of flowers that should attract bees. The BC Honey Association claims that up to 80 percent of the bees that over-wintered in that province this past year have been lost, and similar numbers are being reported in other parts of the country. Since at least one-third (some estimates are as high as 90 percent) of our food is a result of bees pollinating the plants, this is very scary stuff.