We’re bee obsessed.
Bees have been officially named the most important creature on the planet. 70% of everything you [we] eat had flowers that were pollinated by bees. If they go extinct (which they are now on the endangered list as a whole group), then we’ll all be eating different types of potatoes until the cows come home. And then forever after that.
And I mean, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. If we lose bees, it will be utterly devastating (to us, as well as every other animal in chain). Think of basically 3/4 of everything you eat gone. Almost all fruits, and a whole slideshow of veggies. On top of that, much of the worlds’ animals that go to slaughter are fed grains of different kinds, which are indeed pollinated by our favourite little friends.
So we must save them.
At the moment, it is believed that about 90% of all bees have been killed in recent years largely due to uncontrolled pesticide use, deforestation and lack of flowers.
Our project is going to unfold in multiple phases, and will start with conservation of natural habitat, elimination of dangerous chemical use, establishment of food resources for bees and rescuing bees in danger of any number of threats (including being killed by people).
This phase has already begun and we are in full swing.
The next phase is education – in multiple formats that include but are not limited to retreats about bees and local educational forums for farmers in the area.
As it happens to turn out, this work is quite costly – in materials and in labour hours, and so if you feel driven to support us in this project, and you are able to make even a small contribution, the sidebar has the option for you to help us out (this will be at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone). Thank you so much, in advance for considering!
Our Bees
Stingless
Not many people know about stingless bees! But there are many, many species that still exist and in Costa Rica there are 59 species. We currently support 18 colonies with 6 different species found here on-site. Some of these are on the brink of extinction, and so our work is heavily focused in this arena. You can learn more about our bees and bees in general in the articles below.
Stinging
Most people are familiar with stinging bees – but did you know that there are 1000’s of different species? Some gather in hives and build comb like the commonly honeybee, but there are also solitary bees that don’t really produce any major volume of honey and nest in small holes either in the ground or in trees. You’ll also find information about bees with stingers in the articles below.
Meet Our Babies:
The following articles are compilations of writings we’ve done over time. We will keep adding to these archives as time goes on and we hope that you find these to be valuable resources – for understanding the brilliance of these little creatures and also for learning about how to care for them well.
Jicote Barcino: Endangered Bee of Costa Rica - The jicote barcino, or melipona costaricensis is one of the three types of melipona bees that exist here in Costa Rica. The other two found here in Costa Rica are called jicote gato and jicote congo, but more on them another time! All of these… [...] What’s all the buzz!? The most important creature on the planet: Bees - Bees have just been officially called the most important creature on the planet. I mean, 70% of all the food you [we] eat had flowers that were pollinated by bees. So it makes sense. If they go extinct (which they are now on the endangered… [...]