Death toll:

• Wilsonville, Oregon- 50,000

The largest mass death of bombus ever recorded. 50,000 were found dead, lying in a parking lot, and the world is asking why? What are bombus? Why should we care?

Bombus are bumblebees. Why are bees important? Because they are pollinators. That mean that we need them for plants to grow, not just flowers, but crops for food and trees for oxygen.

Albery Einstein once said : “If the bee disappeared off the face of the east, man would only have for years left to live”

Recently in Wilsonville, Oregon tens of thousands of bees were dropping dead from linden trees into a Target parking lot. An insecticide called Safari was sprayed on the tree and within 3 days, bees littered the parking lot and some even clung to their precious flowers in death. To try to stop the deaths of any more bees, bee-proof nets have been erected to cover the trees.

Sadly, the bees brought more spotlight to National Pollinator Week, which fell on the same week as the mass death. Bees are the most important pollinator in the US, we need those black and yellow stinging little devils to make sure that our entire ecosystem doesn’t simply fall apart.

The prey eats the plants and the predators eat the prey. It all boils down to plants. There can be no predators eating prey if the prey all starve because the plants are gone. Thats what bees do, they ensure the prey don’t starve by pollinating the plants and ensuring their survival.

At least the people of Wilsonville seemed to have learned their lesson. A memorial was held for the fallen bees Sunday June, 30. It was an educational affair where the public and the youngsters were taught about the importance of  bees. The photos from the memorial brought tears to my eyes.