Everyone is familiar with honeybees, the honey they produce and how they pollinate flowers and crops. In fact, they’re the queen of pollinators, contributing to a substantial percentage of the foods we eat. What people may not know is that honeybees are not native to the United States; they were brought over by English settlers as early as 1622.
There are 20,000 native species of bees in the world, 4,000 in the U.S. and around 700 in the state of Idaho. The majority are ground nesters. Rapid human growth is threatening their habitat as earth movers scoop them up to make way for new businesses and subdivisions.
Dr. Ron Bitner is a renowned bee expert who has traveled the world studying bees. Now he’s working with the University of Idaho, Oregon State University and the USDA bee lab in Logan, Utah, to document bees in Idaho to see what can be done to keep them healthy.
Outdoor Idaho has linked up with Bitner, academics, farmers and others to produce Beyond the Buzz (airing Thursday, Oct. 17, at 8 PM and Sunday, Oct. 20, at 7 PM) to highlight the status of Idaho’s bee populations. The program will be available for streaming the next day at video.idahoptv.org and on the PBS app.
Producer/director Forrest Burger was surprised to learn what kind of grassroots efforts are underway to help Idaho’s bees. “Not only do you have Dr. Bitner and higher educational institutions documenting bees, but you also have some farmers and local government agencies doing their part to help sustain healthy bee populations in the Treasure Valley. It’s impressive.”
Outdoor Idaho is made possible through funding from the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, Idaho Central Credit Union, the Idaho Forest Products Commission, the Carr Foundation, the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the W.R. Duck Foundation.