National Honey Bee Day

 

 


August 17, 2019 is National Honeybee Day
, but we’re celebrating all week. Why? Because honeybees are integral to human and nonhuman flourishing. Because honeybees act as pollinators for the production of a large portion of our food supply. Because honeybees are “arguably the insects that are the most important to the food chain.”

But honeybee colonies are enduring widespread losses. Last winter, U.S. beekeepers lost 40 percent of their honeybee colonies. Reasons cited? Poor crop diversity, “fat body” tissue-sucking mites, pesticide use, and habitat loss. They’re also considered a “sentinel species,” a foreshadowed look at what’s to come for other insects.

Over the years, Orion has published many articles, poems, and photography on the radiant honeybee. Below you will find three of our favorite online pieces. What you’ll also find is a limited, one-year print subscription offer, available August 15 – August 23, 2019. In addition to receiving a year’s worth of Orion issues, we will also send you an exclusive printout of our favorite honeybee poems and articles, previously available only in print (including the Allison Wallace essay, excerpted above). Sweet, right? 

(Above: photo by Jody Dole)​