- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Let's put the "thanks" in THANKSgiving by bee-ing thankful for the honey bee, Apis mellifera...
If your table includes pumpkin, cranberries, carrots, cucumbers, onions, apples, oranges, cherries, blueberries, grapefruit, persimmons, pomegranates, pears, sunflower seeds, and almonds, thank the bees for their pollination services.
Spices? Thank the bees, too. Bees visit the plants that eventually become our spices. Among them: sage, basil, oregano and thyme.
Milk and ice cream? Yes. We remember the late UC Cooperative Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, telling us that even milk and ice cream are linked closely to the honey bee. Cows feed on alfalfa, which is pollinated by honey bees (along with other bees).
Hap-bee Thanksgiving!