Don't Worry, Bee Happy

With all the depressing news lately, if a bit of good news comes my way, I will take it. One bit of good news is that bees are making a comeback . Colony collapse, and pesticide death of bees has been in the news the past several years.  It seemed as if they were one of the canaries in the gold mine, whose demise foreshadowed other losses in nature.

From the article in Global Citizen, (the statistics are from 2017):
"The US bee population grew 3% in the first quarter of 2017 to 2.89 million, according to a survey by the USDA.
And the number of hives lost to Colony Collapse Disorder declined by 27% compared to the same period a year ago. This trend continued between April and June as well.
Further, the varroa mite, the number one threat to bees, was found in 42% of hives, down from 53% during the same period last year.
While it might be too soon to celebrate, these improvements show that both bees and beekeepers are adapting and could be turning the tide on the massive losses that have been sustained over the past two decades in the US."

On a personal note, as long as I can remember, there were bee hives on our family's land.  They weren't actually our bees; the hives belonged to people who were beekeepers, who paid "rent" in the form of honey. The bees loved the alfalfa fields full of purple blossoms, and we loved the high quality, mild-flavored honey. It was a win-win situation. Until two years ago, when the bees died. The beekeepers also had hives on other land, and none of them were doing well. They got discouraged and dropped out of the bee business. For the first time in living memory, there were no bees in the "bee pasture".
As far as anyone could tell, the bee deaths were caused by careless use of pesticides by neighbors.
Fast-forward two years, there are again beehives on the land.  The pesticide use had been addressed.  People were using less toxic varieties, and agreed to warn the beekeepers if any fields were being sprayed.
Also keeping bees in the pasture are the local high school FFA club, who are doing beekeeping for a class project.
A few weeks ago my sister, who lives in the opposite end of the state from our old home, texted that she had just received a new box of bees.  I did not know you could order boxes of bees. Beekeeping had been her husband's hobby, and after he passed away I expected that she would give up the bees. But she decided to keep them, and is adding a hive.
There are also urban beekeepers; a nephew and his wife, who live in Colorado,  keep bees in their back yard. Their honey is used for making mead, which I guess is enjoying a resurgence among the home brewing set.
People are becoming bee-friendly, planting flowers which produce abundant nectar.
Bees and honey have even come up in the liturgy lately. I have said previously that honeycomb was mentioned in Luke 24-42 in some translations; "...And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb."
And from the Exsultet on Holy Saturday, "On this, your night of grace, O holy Father, accept this candle, a solemn offering, the work of bees and of your servant' hands.....a fire into many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light, for it is fed by melting wax, drawn out by mother bees to build a torch so precious."
A few weeks ago, when the Notre Dame fire was in the news, mention was made in the news stories of the beehives on the roof, which had not been harmed by the fire.  This somehow seemed like a sign of hope. 
The news of bees making a comeback can also be interpreted as a sign of hope, because it came about be people becoming conscious of the effect of toxic pesticides, and changing practices. Also of people making room for bees and the plants which support them in their environment.