Why They’re Important
More than honey, honeybees and wild bees are pollinators of much of our fruit and vegetables. The list includes most of the fruit and vegetables we enjoy and also herbs, some plants used for textiles and animal feed. Almonds, apples, apricots, avocados, blueberries, green beans, broccoli, canola, cauliflower, cucumbers, clover, cotton, kiwis, lemons, limes, Lucerne, nectarines, onions, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, plums and Soya Beans are apparently according to the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Australia (2008)100% dependant on honeybee pollination. It appears that more than 1/3 of our food is thanks to honeybees.
“The beauty of the seed is that out of one you get millions. The beauty of the pollinator is that it does the work of turning that one into a million. And that’s the real economics of abundance, of renewability, of economics of mutuality. That to me is the real economics of growth. Because life means growth and abundance.”
What You Can Do
These are great guides:
- Flowers Across Melbourne (Guide for selecting the best Australian suited flowers and plants to benefit the bees, pollinators and your garden)
- For Northern NSW region go to Bee Attracting Native Flora for Bellinger Shire
- Download the Bee Friendly: A Planting Guide for European Honeybees and Australian Pollinators by Mark Leech. An excellent resource for all gardens.
‘Ask before you Buy’ Ensure plants have not been treated with Confidor, Gaucho, Sharpshooter or other Neonicotinoid pesticides. Look up our Be Bee Friendly flyer for other common brand names of neonicotinoid pesticides and Educate your local nursery about the dangers to bees of these pesticides and support smaller nurseries which have a better connection with their suppliers.
Create BeeFriendly Garden signs for your front garden to advertise what a Bee Friendly garden is.
Don’t use ‘Ides’ in your garden (Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides
Try garlic spray for aphids instead of pesticides. Learn about companion planting where particular plants grown together flourish and are stronger.
Natural Pest & Weed Control shows how to encourage pest predators in your garden.