Earlier this week I accompanied the kids on a school field trip to the Museum of Science in Boston. We reached a point where a woman was giving a demonstration on electricity and electromagnetic currents. One by one as each of the kids in my group took turns placing their hands upon this large metal sphere and watching their hairs stand on end, I could not help but notice an exhibit just inches away from where I was standing.
I peered into a thick clear protective plastic orb and discovered this little fellow.
I had read about these little guys in Time Magazine. They were going to save us all.
I came up close and personal to something that had piqued my curiosity for so many months. It was no larger than a quarter.
The exhibit was sleek, exciting, filled with demos, hands-on fun and videos. It certainly made folks excited about this kind of science. I on the other hand didn’t quite know what to think.
I had a staring contest with the thing. There was only one but videos showing many. How their brains would be built. How these would be smart. How these could do a “simple” job of pollinating our crops and much more.
My heart sank.
Would this truly one day replace this?
I encourage you to look into supporting research into the issues that currently plague our honeybee populations and fellow pollinators. As a beekeeper, I am trying to do my best to be a voice for these amazing insects. I can’t imagine a world without honey, without certain pollinator dependent crops, and without the dancing of bees from flower to flower in my garden.
We can’t lose the focus on saving the bees. There is never a better solution than one that already naturally belongs to the earth.
For more information about beekeeping please check out this section of my blog.
5 thoughts on “A World Without Bees”
While fascinating, it deeply feels like the wrong angle to approach the issue of bee-scarcity. Save the actual bees to pollenate our… well our everything, and use the robotics technology to create a car that can drive me around while I take a nap instead. Everybody wins.
That was good, Kp !! 🙂
Monsanto is looking into colony collapse. I think we are in deep trouble if we leave it to them. I think its all their chemicals that are killing the bees. Science is a wonderful thing but mechanical bees just does feel right!
I know, I do share the same concerns as you. Luckily there are many European scientists who are seriously investigating these issues. I caught the show, What's Killing Our Bees, last summer. It was nice to see some progress happening in the UK. Thanks for checking in. Hope you are warm up there!
That is just downright scary. I am entering my second year as a beekeeper and can't talk enough about the importance of bees. It was encouraging to see about 150 people at the free beekeeping classes offered through our extension office and local beekeepers club. I truly believe there is power in knowledge!
Brenda