4000 Honeybees at Farmers Mkt

Everybody welcomed the 4000 honeybees that appeared at the July 19 Downtown Farmers Market in Evanston. In our photo an adult hand is pointing to the Queen Bee to show it to a child. The bees were from the Heller Nature Center in Highland Park and were brought by Manager Jeff Smith.

Honeybees are the most important pollinators of many of our midwestern crops, including some, like Alfalfa, Apples, and Squash, of which they are the ONLY pollinator. In other words, it's not only good to have them around, we HAVE TO have them around. Many hives across the U.S. are threatened by CCD, Colony Collapse Disorder, which has proved difficult to diagnose and treat.

All the pollinating work is done by female bees, called workers, whose hairy bodies trap pollen and carry it between flowers. The other bees are either the Queen or the male drones, who wait around to mate with a Queen.

Evanston passed an Ordinance in 2006 which allows beekeeping in the city but has a number of requirements. http://www.beesource.com/resources/elements-of-beekeeping/laws-related-to-bees-and-beekeeping/evanst...

In November 2013 Skokie passed an ordinance that beekeepers found much more onerous than necessary, including a requirement to post multi signs that must say: WARNING: Beehives on Property.

For those interested in learning more about honeybees a visit to the Heller Nature Center--which has 97 acres in HP at 2821 Ridge and its own working hives.