100 Word Challenge: Honey

In March of this year, for the first time, a species of bumble bee was declared endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, once abundant in 28 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, has seen its numbers drop nearly 90% since the 1990s and is now in danger of extinction.

Loss of habitat, disease, pesticides and parasites are linked to the bee population decline.

According to reports, bees and other insects, provide an estimated $3 billion in pollination services in the U.S. Plainly stated, without these pollinators, many of our commercial food crops, forests, fields and scrubland will suffer, and the costly and laborious task of hand pollinating will be necessary.

Prior to the designation of the Rusty Patch bee, seven species of Hawaiian yellow-faced bees were placed on the endangered list in 2016.

One way we, the public, can help is to plant native flowers to attract bees. For me, living in Florida, the means coneflowers – both yellow and purple varieties – herbs like mint, thyme and basil; and yellow crossandra.

Join me in planting bee-friendly flowers. We can make the world a little more colorful, a little sweeter, and maybe save a species.

“The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.”
~ Henry David Thoreau

This week’s word is:

Honey

What to do:

Using “honey” for inspiration, write 100 Words – 100 exactly – no more, no less. You can either use the word – or any form of the word – as one of your 100, or it can be implied. Include a link in your post back here, and add your story to the Mister Linky list. If you don’t have a blog, you can leave your submission in the comment section, or as a Facebook status post. Remember to keep spreading the love with supportive comments for your fellow Wordsters.