Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Helping Honey Bees

You guys know I have a sweet spot (pun intended) for honey bees. They are one of natures greatest workers and their livelyhood is seriously theatened by Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Without honey bees humans would have to find manual ways to pollinate plants at costs that could rise into the billions very quickly. Thankfully, by spreading the news about the honey bees people are starting to take action to ensure these little guys are with us a very long time. Some companies are even geting involved in the cause because what's good for the honey bees is good for business.

Did you know that one of out every three bites of food an average American eats is directly attributed to honey bee pollination? Wow! We need honey bees more than they need us or so we used to think. Prior to the rise of CCD, honey bees had been doing what they'd always done - pollinate flowering plants like strawberries, peanuts, and mangos. Almonds are 100% dependent on honey bees for pollination and are even shipped to almond orchards in California each spring to pollinate millions of trees.

But what does Haagen Dazs have to do with honey bees? Everything! More than 50% of the ingredients used in their ice cream come from plants pollinated by honey bees. No honey bees means no ice cream. And even though I don't eat ice cream, many people love it and couldn't imagine life without it. So we have to save honey bees in order to save ice cream.


Back to Haagen-Dazs. How are they helping honey bees? In 2008 they partnered with Penn State University and the University of California at Davis to help with research, outreach, and student training. Private companies helping public universities with research initiatives is not new. This much needed funding not only helps the cause but also spreads the word about programs that benefit the greater good.

How can you help? Learn all you can about honey bees and Colony Collapse Disorder. Scientists are still trying to figure out what causes CCD while working tirelessly to stop it before it's too late. Extinction of the honey bee is not something anyone wants but it could soon become a reality.

You can also help the cause by creating a bee friendly garden. We always have lots of bees in our garden and even though Mom yells at me to leave them alone when I try to play with them, I know they won't hurt me because they are my friends. Haagen-Dazs has instructions on planting your own garden here.


You can also eat ice cream! Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream was created to honor the honey bees that make so many foods possible. By purchasing this ice cream you are helping fund the research that will hopefully save the bees.

Haagen-Dazs also has a cool tool on their site to make a bee. It's not a real bee but a special Haagen-Dazs bee that you can email to your friends. You can create your own special bee by selecting its hair, head, eyes, mouth, body, and collar. (Note: I tried to make and send a bee and it didn't work. I'm going to try again later, but if you successfully make and send one please leave me a comment.)


Mom doesn't really eat ice cream but she loves honey bees as much as I do. She doesn't know what she would do if they disappeared and neither do I. With your help, we can save the honey bee. A world without honey bees would not be a sweet world. Please do your part to keep these guys pollinating the world. Catch the buzz at http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/.

26 comments:

Sequoia & Petunia & Emma said...

Mmmmm a yummy way to help! We were trying to build the bee but couldn't get it to work either.

Stubby said...

Hi Sequoia & Tuni! I wonder if the busy are too busy pollinating to be emailed! BOL! I'll try again later and then tomorrow because I really want to send bees to all my friends.

Stubby xoxo

Tweedles -- that's me said...

I love bees, and I am going make some bee houses for them to sleep in.
Andddddd, all our plants will be bee friendly!
Yes, that is what were gonna do!
love
tweedles

THE PUGLET said...

This is so cool. No one here really eats ice cream either, but we like that HD cares enough about bees to make a special flavor just for them.

We don't live too far from UC Davis (I lost my boy parts there!) and my human knows a bee keeper guy who gave us a small beebox. I'm not really sure on the details, but the hive lives down by Half Moon Bay.

We're going to try the make-a-bee thing now!

THE PUGLET said...

PS> the bee thingy didn't work for us either.

Smushie Ranch said...

Hey Sir Stubbs! We loves the honey bees! We have lots and lots of bee hives around here. During the winter, the bee farmers move their hives near our house. It's amazing to watch them.

Hugs,
Gunther

Pugelicious said...

I loooove icecream (and honey).

Paula said...

Stubby; Love all your posts but this one is the bees knees. I know about saving the Honey Bees because of CCD. My gal pal and I, are building Monarch and Hummbird habitats in our yard and her grandson last year started a Honey Bee colony of his own. Is involved with the Honey Bee Growers Association ....etc. I have even been to visit that HD link before.

I am afraid of the Honey Bees dircetly around my house because Smokey is a snapper at them. This year I am moving my flower beds / habitats a bit farther away from the pug play areas as I am not sure either him or Bandit would survive a sting. Getting an epi-pen and have Benadryl on hand for them also.

I also love honey, but it is much more important than for food. It truly has a life saving attributes to it. Burn victims at trauma centers are covered in honey because of its antiseptic properties.

Oh what a fabulous post, we would be in so much trouble without Honey Bees, food and health wise. I am going to snag your post for on FB, hope you do not mind.

Punchbugpug said...

We had a HUGE honey bee swarm come into our yard a few years ago. I mean HUGE, they were "hanging" in the small tree by our driveway and everyone was freaking out. Luckily we knew of someone who has hives and was interested in saving this swarm! We put in a phone call and witin minutes he came over and safely took the entire thing away. He did have to cut one small branch, but who cares! It was amazing to watch!

Kelly said...

These are GREAT ideas to help the honeybees, Stubby!

We want to plant some special flowers for them this year... and momma is totally going to use this as an excuse to eat icecream!

Oh, and THANK YOU for emailing me that new Walgreens thing! That is SO cool and JUST what I need! pleeease let it come to Oklahoma soon!!!

xoxo
Pearly

Anonymous said...

I have heard about this. There is also worry as the killer bees are coming up through the lower states and taking over healthy colonies. :p

I think there was a bad virus as well that killed alot of honey bees off.

I love honey, i try to use it alot in my cooking.. and i love ice cream. Go Haagan Daaz! :)

agent99 said...

eat ice cream to help the bees? why of course we'll help!

Love
Gen & the Foo

Stubby said...

Hi Tweedles! That's so cool that you're going to make houses for the bees to sleep in. I'm going to ask Mom if we can make some too because most of our bees sleep in an old bird house.

Stubby xoxo

Stubby said...

Hi Puglet! Sorry about your boy parts. You truly live in the center of all the action. I really need to get to California so that I can experience all the cool things.

Your human knows so many cool people. A real beekeeper? Awesome! And you have a beebox too? You are so lucky!

Stubby xoxo

Stubby said...

Hi Gunther! That's so cool that the farmers move the hives near your house in the winter. I would love to see all those bees up close.

I think I'm going to have to take a road trip to California to visit you guys and Puglet. I am really missing out on so much (except snow).

Stubby xoxo

Stubby said...

Hi Debbie! Mom tells me that most people and even some pugs like ice cream. I've had Frosty Paws before and they are kind of like ice cream.

I don't think I've ever had honey before but it sounds delicious. The bees are the bomb!

Stubby xoxo

Stubby said...

Hi Paula & gang! That is so cool that you and your friend are building monarch and hummingbird habitats. I can't wait to see the pictures.

I would love to visit a honey bee colony and I'm putting that on my list of things to do this year.

Mom gets freaked out just like you do with the bees. Moving the flower beds is a great way to make sure the bees have their own area and the pugs have their own.

Thanks so much for snagging my post and putting it on FB. Mom was so excited when she logged on this morning.

Stubby xoxo

Stubby said...

Hi Punchbugpug! I bet that swarm was simply amazing to see. Thankfully you knew someone who could take care of it and it sounds like everything turned out okay.

Stubby xoxo

Stubby said...

Hi Pearly Poo! I'm so happy your momma is going to plant some bee friendly flowers this year. I hope you get to help her and that you will post pictures on your blog.

It seems like everyone is using the honey bees as an excuse to eat ice cream and that's great. The bees need all the help they can get.

Stubby xoxo

Stubby said...

Hi Lex! I read about the killer bees a couple of years ago and it was very scary. It's amazing what can happen when things get out of control.

I also remember hearing about the honey bee virus when Mom and I watched the documentary "The Last Beekeeper" last year. The documentary was excellent and talked about many theories of CCD.

Stubby xoxo

Stubby said...

Hi Gen & The Foo! I knew you guys would be on board with the ice cream eating. Maybe we should have an ice cream party. That would totally rock!

Stubby xoxo

Archie and Melissa said...

hi stubby!
oh thank you for showing us new ways we can help the honey bees!

xoxoxo
m & e

MeTooMaybe said...

Hello,

I work for Haagen-Dazs, my name is Crystal. I just happened to come across your post about the Honey Bees, and I noticed your comments about our Bee Mail feature not working. I have passed on the information to our website manager. As soon as the problem is resolved I will let you know, so you can send your bee mail.

Regards,
Crystal
Haagen-Dazs

Stubby said...

Hi Melissa & Emmitt! I bet you guys have a lot of honey bees at your house because you're so sweet!

Stubby xoxo

Stubby said...

Hi Crystal! Thanks for stopping by. I'm so glad you've informed the website manager about the problems with the bee mail. My friends and I are so excited to send bee mail so I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Stubby xoxo

Jamila said...

Hi! I came across your blog because I am having trouble sending a bee to my friends. Did you ever get a response from the company?