Rescue remedy for bees
Buy a honeybee a Christmas present this year. It’ll only set you back $5 and you could really make a difference.
A Wildflower Seed Rescue Remedy for Bees has been put together by Wild Forage and Wildflowerworld.com. The mix contains seeds of 17 bright and cheerful flowers – marigolds, conflowers, forget-me-nots, corn poppies and the like – that will seed down and spring back into life each year. An asset in your garden, orchard or hedgerow, but a lifesaving source of nectar and pollen for NZ bees.
By planting these wildflowers in your garden or backyard, you not only provide passing bees with a valuable foodsource, but money from the sales goes to the National Beekeepers’ Association of New Zealand to help fund research and other useful things.
Honeybee numbers are on the decline, plagued by diseases and parasites like the varroa mite. More food equals healthier, stronger bees with more resistance to their various nemeses.
Most people think honey when they think of bees, but the scope is much broader than that; without bees as a pollinator, we could say goodbye to much of our agriculture. About a third of what we eat relies on bee pollination.
So do your bit for New Zealand honeybees and brighten up your section with some wildflowers. It may not seem much, but it makes all the difference to your friendly, neighbourhood bee.
The seeds can be bought at the informatiion tent at the Hamilton Farmers’ Market, on River Rd, every Sunday morning.
