It’s the end of the month which means it’s time for the monthly recap of bee related news. Some of the bee news stories that stood out this past month were stories of people helping to enrich the environment of the honeybee.
In Norway, for example, the capital city of Oslo is creating a “bee highway”. Environmental groups, local companies, and urban beekeepers are creating the first of it’s kind refuge and safe passage through the city. Food, water, resting spots are made available along terraces, patios, and rooftops. In addition to rooftop hive boxes, several varieties of pollen producing plants have been installed along the route.
Here in San Diego, a local woman had a similar idea on a smaller scale. Candace Vanderhoff transformed the backyard of her North Park home into a “bee shelter”. In addition to providing bee watering dishes and food, she has also planted an array of pollen producing plants in the hopes of helping out the native bee population.
Safe havens were not the only stories that stood out this past mnonth. There were a few other bee related news stories that are best classified as “Odd Bee News”.
Early in the month came the story of a Montana driver who tried to transport a swarm of bees in an M&M box inside his car. As you can imagine, chaos ensued. Police apprehended the driver after receiving a report that there was a man driving erratically with thousands of bees flying around the inside of the car.
Another odd story comes to us from the state of Washington. A Seattle woman who noticed dying bees near her home came up with an unusual rehabilitation program. Alexandrea Pilloud has been picking up confused bees and feeding them Mountain Dew. After the bees ingest the sugary soda, she then proceeds to give them a back rub before relocating them on flowers. Perhaps it’s not the most scientific approach to saving the bees, but it scores big points for creativity.
The last odd bee news story is as inspirational and amazing as it is odd. It’s the story of a Massachusetts Woman who was saved by her dog after being attacked by bees. Diesel the dog and his owner were attacked by a swarm of bees while out on a walk. Both the dog and the owner suffered over a hundred stings each. What is remarkable about this story is that it was the dog that led the owner to safety. Both the dog and the owner were hospitalized, but thankfully survived.
Know of an odd bee news story that we may have missed? Be sure to share below and tell us all about it.
