GARDENING
BEE FRIENDLY Inviting a bee for lunch in your garden is good for your landscaping— and the environment. BY L I N DA B R O O K S
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he effects of climate change, continued deforestation, and the use of pesticides depleting our pollinator population is not news, but it’s beginning to hit home in my garden. No matter what I’ve tried, my fruits and vegetables have not
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been producing as I expected. Then, it dawned on me—what happened to all of my bees? Agriculture and bees, the most efficient pollinators, are dependent on each other. Thirty percent of our food—every third bite we take—is the result of something being pollinated.
A search led me to learning about bee species. Over 4,000 species of bees are native to North America, of which 1,600 are native to California. And, of the 20,000 species of bees worldwide, solitary bees make up 90% of all of the bees spread out over all continents