Sunday, July 5, 2009

Bees

I like bees. I even feed them from time to time (sugar water, like I give the hummingbirds). But they're dying. (Not the ones I feed, but in general.) If you haven't heard about that, check out this article.

Recently I had the task of emptying the trash in the large trash cans in front of our local Walgreens. (I used to work there.) On one particular day there were a lot of bees flying around the cans. More than usual. As I emptied the trash I noticed what the bees were going after - soda pop cans and cups that had been discarded in the trash. Some of the bees even somehow managed to get into a styrofoam cup that still had its lid and a straw.

I "freed" all the trapped bees before I tied up the full trash bag.

Then I started to wonder. High-fructose corn syrup. Those sodas were loaded with it. We're pretty sure that crap is bad for us humans. I wonder what sort of effect it has on the bees.

Now, don't get me wrong. As much as I hate high-fructose corn syrup, I am not saying that it is responsible for killing the bees. What I am saying is that it sure isn't keeping them healthy. And what is it doing to the honey that the bees produce?

This is one more reason why we need to eliminate the use of high-fructose corn syrup.


These bees are trying to steal the "nectar"
from the hummingbird feeder.

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