All over the United States and beyond, the honey bee population has been in constant decline, and they are disappearing at an increasing rate. Much of this loss has been due to a parasite, but bees have also suffered habitat loss and poor management practices. Commercial bees serve as pollinators for $10 billion of crop production each year. This is not to mention their impact on non-commercial plant life and the ecosystem.
According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Georgia rated in the top six states for number of honey bee colonies in 2017 with 119,609. If you aren’t a beekeeper, you may feel helpless, but each Georgian with a garden or a license plate has the potential to help in the preservation of the honey bee.
As mentioned previously, part of the reason for the honey bee decline is loss of habitat, which means you can help the honey bee by providing more habitat in your own garden. Plants that may attract more bees are flowers that are native to Georgia such as daisies and honeysuckle. Sometimes single-flower plants have more pollen, so avoid hybrid varieties sporting multiple flowers. Basically, the more flowers the better, so plant a wild flower garden. You’ll have plenty of honey bees checking it out, and these types of flower gardens require less maintenance.
If you want to further help the honey bee population, you can donate to Georgia’s Bee Association (GBA) by purchasing a special “Save the Honey Bee” license plate. The Association has already almost sold enough plates to make up for the cost of this project. After they make up for costs, $22 of the $25 paid for the plate goes to saving the honey bees through education efforts of the GBA about how to encourage honey bee population growth.
Many Georgians are doing their part to save the honey bees by providing more habitat and purchasing honey bee license plates. The plates were only released in June 2019, and the GBA has just about recouped their costs, so the full benefit can be applied to saving the bees. Now, you have two ways to do your part in saving the bees. You can plant a bee-friendly garden, and you can get the specialized license plate.
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