Educational

'Get the Buzz on Honey Bees'

Link to lesson plan and support pages from Scholastic.com.  4 great lessons including familiarization with U.S. map.



'Flowers Seeking Pollinators'

Link to lesson plan and support pages from California Academy of Sciences.  Standards for 3-7th grades.



'Why Bees & Pollination Are So Important'

Link to Ava Flower's great article.  Please see more information links on the bottom of their page. 



Bee Word List for Students'

In PDF:  Includes definitions.

'Bee X-ray'

PDF Document:  See a bee’s anatomy. 

'Label The Bee'

Link: To EnchantedLearning.com.  Copy and paste to print for single use, or buy a membership for multiple uses.  Click on Bee Printout to see completed labels.

'TP Bee Craft'

Link to You Tube video: Make a bee from a toilet paper roll and other supplies.  Great for 3-5 year olds.

'Fun With Forces'

We use centrifugal force to extract honey - kids 8-10 years old will love this force driven activity!

Honey

'Benefits of Honey'

In PDF:  One page summary.

'The Honey Launderes: Uncovering the Largest Food Fraud in U.S. History' by Susan Berfield - A link to an article in Business Week. A good example of why you should know where your food comes from.

 

What's Wrong With Our Bees?

Please listen to this podcast from Science Friday;

'Beekeepers File Suit Against EPA to Ban Pesticide'

Link to an Article on Pestiside Action Network from 3/21/2013.

 

'Scientists Discover Another Cause of Bee Deaths, and it's really bad news'

Link to Article from 2013 by Jaymi Hiembuch at Treehugger.com.   "One sample of pollen contained a deadly brew of 21 chemicals."

"High Levels of Miticides and Agrochemicals..."

Link to a recent study of pesticides in North American hives by the Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University and the National Science Laboratory - Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and the Bee Research Laboratory - Department of Agriculture.

'The Almond and The Bee'

In PDF:  This could be why there is a bee shortage in California.



Help Save The Bees

Make your garden bee friendly by installing plants that flower in each season.  Don't buy plants that have neonicotinoids in them.  Ask your nursery if the plants contain them. Bees are especially short on nectar from August through October.

For California pollinators;

'Polinator Plant List - Central Coast'

'Polinator Plant List - Central Valley'

'Polinator Plant List - Northern Sierra Foothills'

'California Plants for Native Bees'

'Avoiding Neonicotinoids in Your Garden'

These five PDF files are courtesy of  The Xerces Society.  If you find them useful please support them.

 'Buzz About Bees' - Plants by Season

Link:  Bees need extra help in the late summer and fall.

'Bee Protective - Pollenators and Pesticides'

A link from Beyond Pesticides.

Start Your Own Hive

'Hive Tool Beekeeping Guide'

Link:  Everything you want to know about bees and beekeeping.

Guidlines to Sacramento County Beekeeping.

Guidlines to Sacramento City Beekeeping.



Recipes



'Peach, Chamomile & Honey Popsicles'

'Ellen's Honey Wheat Bread'



Shopping/Alternative Health

'Sacramento Beekeeping Supplies'

Link:  Everything you need to become a bee keeper.  They also carry great wholesale honey, royal jelly, propolis, candle making supplies and the biggest variety of Burt’s Bee Products I’ve ever seen.

“Big Dipper Waxworks”

Link:  Beeswax is 100% natural and a renewable resource that actually cleans the air by emitting purifying negative ions.  These candles can be purchased online or locally at Sacramento Beekeeping Supplies.

Found any great links for bee information or products?  Please copy and paste into our contact form and we’ll see if we can get permission to add it to our site.