To the Editor:
Bee keepers are predicting that there is a 70% chance that honeybee populations will crash this year. Honeybees face a number of obstacles and it is thought that 2025 is a make or break year for their continued meaningful existence.
Honeybee populations have been in a steady decline over the past decade or so and this is of concern considering that world wide food supplies are predicted to decline by 35% without robust bee populations to pollinate crops.
We can all help both honeybee and native bee populations by keeping our yards, farms and countryside as pollinator friendly as possible. Plant flowering plants that attract both native and honeybee species. Anything that helps the honeybees also helps our native bees. Mark success by watching to see if the bees show up in your yard. It will be useful information.
On a happier note: Weren’t the redbud, dogwood, and lilac blossoms spectacular this season? The trees bloomed at the expected or average time for our area of about April 15. While we may not know exactly why the trees bloomed so profusely this year, it is likely due to late winter and early spring night time temperatures which were not cold enough to damage tender flower buds.
–Jim Parr, Keizer
