Bees are instrumental in the survival of humans. Of all the insects in the world, bee’s are the only insect that produces food that humans consume. There are 20,000 different kinds of bees around the world. However, for the past decade, bees have been dying off at about 30% a year.
Beekeepers reported losing 44% of their colonies between April 2015 and April 2016.
While there are a couple factors for explaining the die off of bees at such a rapid rate, the main one is pesticides. Scientists have completed research that has pointed to a type of insecticide called neonicotinoids which are typically used in commercial farming, and kill the bees.
In 2015 the White House asked federal agencies for help in restoring 7 million aces of habitat that is friendly for bees and other pollinators, to help restore the diet of bees. They also asked to help set a budget to help the monarch butterflies, who’s population is also dropping.
Because of the significant and steady drop in the bees population, it has become a crisis. Everyone needs to do their part in helping to save and bolster the remaining population of the bees.
Cheerio’s is trying to do their part to save the bees, saving us all in the process, by letting people order free wild flower seeds through them and their partner, Veysey’s Seeds. While they ship you the surprise flowers, the list posted on their website of seeds that you could be sent, are as follows;
- Forget-Me-Not, Chinese
- Wallflower, Siberian
- Poppy, California, Orange
- Coneflower, Purple
- Aster, China, Single Mix
- Poppy, Corn
- Coreopsis, Lance Leaved
- Flax, Blue
- Baby Blue, Eyes
- Gilia, Globe
- Indian Blanket
- Tidy – Tips
- Coreopsis, Plains
- Sweet Alyssum, Tall White
- Hyssop, Lavender
- Daisy, Fleabane
- Forget-Me-Not
- Aster, New England
- Bergamot
Setting their goal at giving away 100 million seeds to Canadians, Cheerios is helping make the talk about bees wildly mainstream. In hopes that people will plant wildflower gardens not effected by pesticides and giving the bees a safe place.
With their advertisements on their Cheerios boxes, featuring Buzz the Bee missing from the front, asking the question, ‘where is Buzz?’ It opens up the conversation to many different people, and markets that saving the bees is a responsibility of everyone.
Bees are hugely important to quality of life, and if bees die there will be mass starvation. Bees help pollinate a huge amount of food that we rely on for survival. We can’t stand aside and let the bee population dwindle to the point of no return.
If you’re not Canadian, you should still obviously try to do your best to save the bees. Plant your own wildflower garden, even if it’s just in a little box on your balcony or window if you live in an apartment building. Bees need to be saved, and everyone needs to do their part. Show your support for what Cheerios is doing, and participate in the #bringbackthebees, if you’re able to request your own packet of seeds.
