Hard-working honeybees in Contra Costa need your help

National Honeybee Day on Aug. 15 is a time to celebrate the insect responsible for more than a third of our food supply. If not for honeybees, crops like almonds and other nuts, fruits and many vegetables would not be pollinated and bear fruit. Even herbs, coffee beans and clover that feeds our cows would not survive without the honeybee.

And, of course, there is also the honey made by the busy insects in 2.5 million hives across America.

Troubling population drop

But as we take time to honor the honeybee, beekeepers want us to understand the dangers the population faces. The number of hives has declined by half since the 1960s and ’70s.

“I got into beekeeping for environmental reasons,” said Clayton resident Bassam Al-Twal, who is on the Planning Commission. “We are losing bees every year, and they are so important for our food chain.”

The major factors in the declining population are pesticides, loss of habitat and the Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that came from China in the 1980s and affects only honeybees. Asian bees have evolved to have a symbiotic relationship with this mite, but the European bees (which we have in the United States) have not adapted. The University of Maryland is conducting a large study on this pest.

According to Al-Twal, the murder hornets in the press recently are not yet a threat to U.S. honeybees. These hornets are 10 times the size of honeybees and do kill them, but so far they have not appeared beyond a few in the Northwest.

Don’t blame the bees

The Mt. Diablo Beekeepers Association (MDBA) is dedicated to supporting honeybee hobbyists and professional beekeepers, as well as educating the public about the benefits of honeybees. They receive more than 100 requests a year for presentations to groups of adults and children.

Mike Vigo, president of MDBA, says people should not be scared of bees.

“Bees don’t want to sting you. They are vegans, only eating pollen and nectar,” he said. “The insects that bother your picnics are most likely yellow jackets. Yellow jackets can be aggressive and sting or bite multiple times. Bees, on the other hand, can only sting once and then they die. They only sting if they accidently get stepped on or swatted at or get stuck in your hair or clothes.”

In 2006, MDBA had only 80 members; they now have more than 400. The members share resources, and their goal is to increase the number of honeybees. They also provide volunteer swarm collectors like Al-Twal.

“When a hive gets too big, the bees will create a new queen and kick out the old queen,” Al-Twal explained. “The old queen and her bees will swarm together in one large group, protecting the queen in the middle, to find a new location for a hive.”

Sometimes they choose an undesirable spot, from a human perspective, and need to be moved. Swarm collectors are trained how to do this safely by capturing the queen. The rest of the bees will follow her to a bee box, which can then be brought to a local beekeeper.

A little help for our friends

Vigo would like to spread the news about ways to help the beneficial honeybees, including planting ornamentals such as lavender that bees use for food. Ask your local nursery staff for other options. It’s also important to avoid using pesticides.

Another step is buying local honey at places like farmers markets and local hardware stores or nurseries. The honey sales help the beekeepers continue to do their work to promote these hard-working insects, and eating local honey can help people with seasonal allergies.

For more information, visit diablobees.org. To learn more about National Honeybee Day, visit honeylove.org.