Seeing a dramatic decline in bumblebees and other flying insects in my area

[dogindia]

Would love reports back from other locations. Am about to call universities and public gardens to alert them. Any feedback from you will be so helpful. Please state your location and what you are observing. If we lose the native bees we are really in trouble.

I am just 15 miles north of New York City.

[bvar22]

1. The Coal Mine Canaries are dying.

This is cause to be alarmed.
In Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes, the lakes and rivers are placarded with warnings about consuming fish caught in Minnesota waters.
Frogs are being born deformed.
Bee populations are dwindling.

We left Minnesota in 2006.
The "Coal Mine Canaries" are all very healthy here, West Central Arkansas, Ouachita Mtns.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x5729

We now grow our own vegetables, raise our own chickens, and have 2 colonies (expanding to 4) of Honey Bees.

[uppityperson]

2. NW WA and we have a whole lot of different flying insects

Little bees with a bit of fuzz, honey bees, big fat bumble bees, dragonflies. It's nice to see them all. Oh yes, yellow jackets also.

[asdjrocky]

3. Central Ca here (San Joaquin Vally)-

and I have a pretty good mix of yellow jackets, big black bumble bees, some honey bees and also a lot of Dragon Flys. I think the fact that I have a big trumpet vines on one fence helps. Also, I've planted some flowers in my garden as well.

Even though I have a lot of flying critters, it's not as much as I remember as a kid growing up in this neighborhood. Too much pavement now, not enough flowers.

[dogindia]

4. I just a report back from mountain around Palo Alto California...bees there

that is great and great to hear your all reports.

[Raven]

5. I'm in Southwest New Hampshire...things seem to be normal here.

I see lots of bees around my flowers and butterflies.

[Vinca]

6. I'm also in southwest New Hampshire and we had lots and lots

of bumblebees on our rhododendrons this year. My husband spotted a couple of honeybees in the garden, too. Why can't the darn mosquitos, black flies and deer flies go extinct?

[elleng]

7. Missing honeybees a big deal, all around the world.

http://www.nowpublic.com/the_case_of_the_missing_bees

[hippywife]

8. South of Tulsa, OK

and we have loads of flies (gads do we have flies!), wasps, mud daubers, dragonflies, etc. but not many honeybees. But then I don't plant too many flowers. There are just a few marigold plants in the garden. We'll see what happens when they and the squash, melons, and pumpkins blossom.

[wildeyed]

9. I still see plenty of carpenter bees.

Those are the big ones that don't sting. But fewer regular honeybees than past years, I think. I am in Charlotte, NC.

[snacker]

10. Linden trees...

attract honeybees. When they are in bloom, the trees are loaded with bees. A landscape guy recently told us that many beekeepers plant linden trees. We have a couple of lindens in our yard, and I can attest to the fact that they are buzzing with bees when they blossom.

[EstimatedProphet]

11. I've seen a lot of wasps and yellowjackets

Not many bees, but my flowers haven't taken off yet either. Saw a yellowjacket beating up on a cabbage moth the other day; it was interesting to watch.

[bhikkhu]

12. Plenty of bees in southern OR

At least by appearances...I've seen several varieties - big black ones the size of a thumb, black with a fuzzy yellow band, and large and small regular "honeybees". In my front garden there are flowering Locusts, which have been swarming with all kinds. Sorry I don't know the proper names.

[Shoelace]

17. send some up our way - Willamette Valley

just reported below, not ONE Bumblebee now. They were all over the place about a month ago. I wonder if the farmers in the valley have finally used enough pesticides to do them all in here.
I don't see them anywhere where they should be - Deepwood gardens, Bush Park gardens - nada!
Glad to hear they are down there though. They are my very favorite along with Butterflies, etc.

[EstimatedProphet]

13. I saw a bumblebee last night

Made me feel good!

[tigereye]

14. just the last week or so I have seen more bees, the fuzzy ones as well as the

"standard" honey bee - prior to that and last year I had seen very few. Also those little bees (we used to call em sweat bees) I also have some wasps, unfortunately. I didn't see many wasps last year. I was reading somewhere that there are many other pollinators besides "typical bees" that folks don't tend to know are pollinators and tend to swat.


My echinachea are in bloom, so that might have something to do with it... I also have seen more butterflies, Red Admirals and Monarchs.



I also see dragon flies often at the pool I belong to. I love watching them - what amazing creatures they are...

[XemaSab]

15. FYI: the big black ones are carpenter bees

and they WILL nest in your unpainted fence. x(

Not ON it, IN it. x( x(

[Shoelace]

16. not one Bumblebee here in our part of Oregon

I did see several about a month ago and in fact saw the "mama" bee too.
Now, even with my Lavender in full bloom, not one Bumblebee anywhere in sight.
I did count 4 honey bees on these lavender blooms which have always attracted multitudes of all bees in past years. I let the clover in our lawn bloom to attract bees. Counted a total of 2 bees in them.

I so miss my little garden friends and they always used to fly around me, feel the love and we had a good thing going. Am very sad for this loss.
We live in Salem, Oregon which is the heart of the Willamette valley.

[japple]

18. My flower garden is swarming with bees. They are after

the lavender, 4 o'clocks, and other fragrant flowers, and my vegetable garden was pollinated because everything is producing, in spite of the drought, with a little help from our watering it.

[Kittycat]

19. We're low on bumblebees, but honey bees seem to be doing okay.

We have plenty for them to pick at in the yard/flowers. Finally saw our first bumblebee about 1.5 weeks ago (Far West Chicago Suburbs).

[EstimatedProphet]

20. Recently I've seen wasps

They seem to be doing some of the pollinating too. And I have seen many bees.