Bee Good Products

Support your local beekeepers

Set up bee hotels for solitary bees

If you see a lethargic bee feed it sugar water

the fact that we find honey yummy and nutritious is part of why we keep bees, true, but the truth is we mostly keep them to pollinate our crops. the vegetable crops you seem to imagine would still magically sustain us if we stopped cultivating bees.

and when you get right down to it… domestic bees aren’t confined in any way. if they wanted to fly away, they could, and would. they come back to the wood frame hives humans build because those are nice places to nest.

Every place has different types of bees. Every place has different types of plants/flowers. Those hyped-up “save the bees” seed packets that are distributed across North America are garbage because none of those flowers are native in every habitat. Don’t look up “how to make a bee hotel” and make something that only bees from the great plains areas would use if you live on the west coast.

Look up what bees you have in your home! Here’s a great (excellent) resource: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/630955-Anthophila

This is every bee that has been observed and uploaded to the citizen science network of iNaturalist. You can filter by location (anywhere in the world! This is not restricted to the US!), and you can view photos of every species people have added. Here’s the page for all bees, sorted by taxonomy, not filtered to any specific location [link]. Have you seen a bee and want to know more about it, but you don’t know what kind of bee it is? Take a picture, upload it to iNat, and people like me will help you identify it–and it will also become part of the database other people will use to learn about nature!

Some native Texan bees I’ve met!

A sweat bee! [link to iNat]. These flowers are tiny, no larger than a dime.

A ligated furrow bee! [link to iNat] They burrow and nest underground.

A longhorn bee! [link to iNat] I don’t know where they nest, but I often find them sleeping on the tips of flowers at night (so cute!)

But, because so much $$$ is tied into the continued production of food, governments and food production companies will do whatever they can to mitigate the effects of colony collapse and other honeybee health issues. What can you do to help honeybees? Buy and eat food. Easy, right?

What is being done to protect native bees? Well,

1) Scientists and researchers are feverishly trying to get them listed as protected species and absolutely failing (see @thelepidopteragirl’s post about colleagues of hers: [link]).

2) Scientists and researchers are trying to get pesticides known to have devastating effects on bees and other pollinators banned and absolutely failing ([link]).

3) Scientists and science communicators (like me now, apparently) are trying to spread this information about native bees and their importance so more people can do little things like plant native flowers (lookup North American species for your zip code here: [link]), change how often they mow their lawns ([link]), and vote out the assholes who are profiting by destroying our environment ([link]). Success on this one: TBD, and by people like us.

As a gift to the honeybee lovers out there, please accept this photo of one making out with a stinkhorn mushroom:

Bee on the lookout for our new Fall themed Soaps! Your for sure gonna FALL in love with them! A list of special ingredients can be found on our website!

As awareness to the bee crisis increases, so does the initiative to help bees! Luckily theres plenty you can do to help! Pollinator gardens have taken off recently, here’s a few tips on how to get started with your own!

Research plants that are good for bees! 

Bees love plants with high concentrations of nectar and pollen, theres plenty of resources available to help you choose which would be best for you!

Plant flora native to your area!

While there are many plants that bees love, avoid planting invasive species. A simple search can pull up all the native plants to your state/region. These plants will be easier to maintain and also won’t disrupt the balance of your area. 

Avoid harmful pesticides/plants treated with neonics!

Neonictoids are pesticides present in the seed, they’re the most common pesticide in the world and they’re extremely toxic to bees. Avoid using harmful pesticides and all neonics.

Be aware of what conditions your plants need to flourish

This one seems kinda obvious but many beginners forget to check when/where to plant something and it results in dead plants. Luckily it’s spring for most of us and a good time to establish your garden. be aware of the season you should be planting your seeds in (it usually says when/where to plant on the seed packet).

These are just a couple of tips to help you get started! For more information on how you can help bees, check my other post!

Honey bees

Bumble bees

Solitary bees

Carbohydrates