The off season is a good time to expand your knowledge of the bees that 
aren't honeybees.

There are some who think that North America would be better off without 
honeybees, since they are an "invasive" species, and these people cheer with 
every bit of bad news about honeybees.

They say that wild bees will come to save the day, if honeybees, and their 
big, bad keepers will just get out of the way.

I've been telling them that they have the cart before the horse; they are 
mixing cause and effect.

In actuality the wild bees are suffering too, and in many cases are worse 
off, since they have no protectors and keepers. The reality is that the need 
for beekeepers to become pollinators, even migratory pollinators, has a lot 
to do with the disappearance of the wild bees. Of course that is not the 
only cause; the concentration of agriculture into monoculture situations is 
also one of the most important reasons.

In fact, wild bees are even in trouble in parts of the world where honeybees 
are native.

Wildebienen, a comprehensive German web site about non-honeybee bees, brings 
out the great losses of wild bees that are occurring. The site documents 
(with beautiful photography) the various wild bee species that inhabit 
northern Europe and offers information on how to protect and enhance them.

Of particular interest to me is the elaborate "bee houses" that are 
springing up around Germany to provide nests for solitary bees. I've made 
some beehousing with drilled wooden blocks, but nothing like these 
comprehensive and beautiful works of art.

Those who keep honeybees and those who care about wild bees are natural 
allies, and should be working together to protect ALL our pollinators.

At any rate, "Wildebienen" is our featured website on our pollination blog, 
and it will give any interested person many hours of enjoyable learning.

Dave Green
http://pollinator.com/blog/

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