• The2b@lemmy.vg
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    2 days ago

    Remember that honey-producing bees are terrible pollenators compared to the specific pollenators who don’t produce honey. The honey producing bees being kept by everyone are artifically outcompeting the specific pollenators, which are what we really need to be supporting.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Okay, but how do I personally monetize non-honey making bees? Sure, the general ecology needs this, but what’s in it for me, right this instant?

      • hedge_lord@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        A bee petting zoo! Bumblebees are very cute and very fluffy. Having a petting zoo would help people get I touch with nature, and if the guests are too belligerent about it then the bees will just sting them. I think that bumblebees might also not die after stinging, and if so they’d learn how to fight humans. When the time is right you can unleash a swarm of cute fluffy bees trained in anti-human warfare. You could use them to crush any competition. If you still want more money you can become a bee-based supervillain and rob banks or something.

      • boonhet@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        All you can do is add to pollen I guess. Plant seeds of native plants that bees love. Indiscriminately in random places.

        Maybe someone else has some better ideas.

        • EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          2 days ago

          Tear out the lawn and re-wild the yard? Wild flowers, clover, etc. Less watering and mowing, and not just bees will love it - all kinds of insects and wildlife from birds to deer.

          • boonhet@lemm.ee
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            2 days ago

            I meant around town and such, but yeah, wild yards are cool too. Easier to maintain flowers and clover and stuff.

    • conditional_soup@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      I was watching some of my native plants and noticed a fair amount of house flies crawling on them. So, I looked it up. It turns out that flies as a group are the second most important pollinator behind bees as a group.