Post Office Snubs Honey Bees With Pollinator Stamp
June is National Pollinator month, and Friday, June 29th the Post Office, in conjunction with the Pollination Protection people will be issuing the stamp series shown here. Note: There are no honey bees on any of these stamps. None. The MOST important pollinator in North America didn't make the cut.
What's wrong with this picture?
We all know that pollinators of all kinds are threatened. Loss of habitat, pesticides in the environment and urban expansion to name the worst of the causes, have taken their toll on natural pollinators. Books have been written about the problem. Non-profit groups by the score are working to reduce these problems. Even the government is getting involved by funding, though limited, research to save the pollinators.
But what about honey bees? Well, the government is getting involved there too ... FINALLY! Senator Barbara Boxer from California has just submitted a multi-year, multi-million dollar funding proposal to stop the bleeding in the honey bee world. The lions share goes to the USDA Honey Bee labs and other USDA facilities, but at least there's more than there was. There's a similar bill in the House and one can only hope they get their collective heads together and come out with a compromise everybody can live with ... especially the honey bees.
In the mean time ... Birds, bumblebees, bats and butterflies get the stamp. But maybe, finally, honey bees will be getting something better.
The Beekeeper writes about colony collapse disorder and the beekeeping life. read more.
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