Save the honeybees, You can help.

Since 2007, there has been a high percent of honeybee hive die-offs (30-70%) occurring in US and parts of Canada.  This syndrome is called Colony Collapse Disorder or Honeybee Depopulation Syndrome.  European beekeepers have observed a similar phenomena in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and initial reports have also come in from Switzerland and Germany, albeit to a lesser degree, while the Northern Ireland Assembly received reports of a decline greater than 50%.  This means that more than 50% of the honeybees who went out foraging have not returned to their hive, making the hive vulnerable to attacks of hive pests.

The actual cause of Colony Collapse Disorder is not yet confirmed, but some possible causes are malnutrition, immunodeficiency, toxic chemicals such as pesticide and antibiotics, and climate change.

Why is this at all important?  Well, many agricultural crops worldwide are pollinated by bees, and the disappearance of bees will initiate a series environmental issues.  Fortunately, many scientists are working hard to find out and eliminate factors that could be causing Honeybee Depopulation Syndrome. Plus, there is something simple you can do: plant flowers in your garden.

The best type of flower to plant for helping population of honeybee is the sunflower, and there is an organization, The Great Sunflower Project, that distributes seeds of sunflowers for free.  By planting flowers in your garden, you are helping make sure that honeybees are getting enough nutrition to repopulate and stay alive.

In addition to planting your own flowers during summer season, you can also encourage your member of Parliament to increase public funding on honeybee research.

If you have any good ideas about how you can help out the honeybees, you’re welcome to comment.

Learn even more about colony collapse disorder and how you can help on HowStuffWorks.com.