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VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL: Frank S. Walker President, Norfolk Beekeepers Vice-President, Nature Matters 501(c)(3)  mail@norfolkbeekeepers.net

We as consumers rely on bountiful fruit and vegetable crops, and Virginia agriculture depends greatly on the honey bee for pollination. Honey bees account for the majority of all insect pollination for over 80 food crops in Virginia. Without such pollination, we would see a significant decrease in the abundance and affordability of fruits and vegetables.

DID YOU KNOW? Foragers are the oldest worker bees in a hive and are the only honey bees that most people ever see going from flower to flower. These bees are all females and make up the largest number of bees in the colony. They forage for food (pollen and nectar from flowers), build and protect the hive, clean, circulate air by beating their wings, and perform many other societal functions.

DID YOU KNOW? It takes about 556 workers traveling over 55,000 miles visiting 2 million flowers to gather enough nectar to make 1 pound of honey. The average worker honey bee makes 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. That is 5 drops of honey! Amazing!!

DID YOU KNOW? Virginia Beach officially became a certified Bee City USA affiliate on November 20, 2020, as one of only six Virginia cities to achieve this distinction. This certification was granted by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Bee City USA‘s mission is to “galvanize communities to sustain pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants and free of insecticides”. The City of Virginia Beach committed to improving bee and pollinator habitats through landscaping efforts and through the reduction or elimination of pesticide use. Will you Pledge to Plant for Pollinators in 2023?

What YOU Can Do

• – Include native plants in your home landscape.
• – Choose plants that are rich in pollen and nectar to support all kinds of pollinators.
• – Use fallen leaves as winter mulch in your garden beds. ​
• – Wait until spring to cut down hollow stems in your gardens.
• – Reduce the use of pesticides (synthetic and organic) in your landscape.
• Learn more: https://www.vbgardencouncil.com/community%20service

DID YOU KNOW? Homeowners and small business owners often spray our honey bees and other pollinators! Occasionally you may see a large mass of honeybees in your yard, perhaps on a branch or fence.  This is called a SWARM and represents the old queen and thousands of worker bees looking for a new home. They are not aggressive or looking to sting you! This is a natural way honey bees reproduce to ensure their continued survival. PLEASE do not spray insecticide and kill this vital natural resource. The safe and most responsible thing to do if you see a swarm of honey bees is to call a beekeeper. For FREE, we will send a beekeeper to your home to collect these bees and place them in a hive where the bees will continue to pollinate our fruits and vegetables and make honey!

Homeowners and Business Owners spraying our honey bees has an immediate and long lasting effect on our ability to produce the food crops we all enjoy and want in our diet!!!

Norfolk Beekeepers is a Partner in Education with VA Beach Public Schools, and Nature Matters is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit striving to connect children, teens and families to NATURE through fun, learning and stewardship. Together, we are on a mission to address honey bee and pollinator conservation, education and local sustainability – We Need You!

Don’t you think there’s something undoubtedly alarming about research which shows that over 40% of insect pollinators are highly threatened globally, including our honey bees? Pollinators are responsible for nearly one in every three bites of food you eat, yet at the same time, 40 million people in the U.S. live in food-insecure households.

Glenwood Elementary is the most recent Partner with Norfolk Beekeepers and together we established an apiary near the raised bed gardens and green house behind the school. Principal David French was presented a beekeeping suit by the PTA and he has assumed the role as lead Apprentice Beekeeper. Principal French and first grader Brinley Lambert conducted their first hive inspection in May 2022. Their tireless efforts are appreciated!

Mr. Chris Freeman, the VBPS Environmental Studies Program Coordinator has been a long-standing Partner with Norfolk Beekeepers. Seniors Angelina Faunda and Ryleigh Greeves are among a number of his students enrolled in the Environmental Studies Program at the Brock Environmental Center where they assist manage the apiary on the property. Angelina and Ryleigh are interested in horticulture and beekeeping as well as being fully engaged and performing hands-on real world relevant work, where their voices can be heard and they can be a voice of positive change in Virginia Beach. These students are solving tomorrow’s problems today using science and sustainability as a foundation for change.

The art of gardening is not only a form of relaxation, but also of creating positive change for our environmental health. With every haven each of us create for bees, we make clear our stance on their importance, we designate ourselves as their allies, and we become leaders in the movement to create a world that is nourishing to the very creatures that nourish us too. Gardening is no longer a hobby – it is becoming a grassroots movement to promote and protect the honey bee.

Please start by communicating the importance of planting and maintaining native plants to your friends, neighbors and colleagues and how they also can help educate the public on the important role bees play in our world and our local communities when it comes to food sustainability. The lifestyle you save may be your very own!

You do not have to have a hive in your backyard to be a beekeeper. A beekeeper promotes, protects, and educates others on the importance of our pollinators and is highly vocal for people not to spray our swarms and feral honey bee colonies.  

Please Pledge to Plant for Pollinators!

Frank S. Walker

President, Norfolk Beekeepers

Vice-President, Nature Matters 501(c)(3)

mail@norfolkbeekeepers.net