Earth Day: A great time to lay plans to keep the buzz in our gardens and fields!

Today is Earth Day when nature is awakening and signs of spring abound. Flowers are opening across the landscape and soon the countryside will be resplendent with fruit trees in full bloom. We enjoy the profusion of scents and colors but rarely do we ponder why they exist. If you stand in an orchard or watch a patch of roadside flowers on a quiet afternoon, you will soon discover the answer. You will hear a soft buzz and see small insects of all shapes and sizes flitting between blossoms on their endless quest for nectar and pollen to feed their young. As they are doing this, they are at the same time performing a vital service to the plants by moving pollen between flowers and making it possible for fruit and seeds to form. When they do this, they are generally referred to as “pollinators.”

Lately in the news, there have been lots of stories about the importance of pollinators, namely bees. But why is this such a hot topic today?  Well, the bees (as well as of the other pollinators) are vital to our food systems.  However, the honey bee that has been historically used by farmers to pollinate their crops is under threat from a pervasive malady called Colony Collapse Disorder.