Atlanta

Honeybees are dying in record numbers, the actions to take to help keep them around

ATLANTA — Georgia Power knows the importance honey bees have on our environment, and now it is making sure the bees do not disappear.

Channel 2′s Kristin Holloway spoke with the company Wednesday about the steps it is taking to keep them around.

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Honeybees may be small in size but pollinators are essential to the environment and our daily lives.

“A third of every bite of food that we take is thanks to a pollinator such as the honey bees,” said Kelly Richardson, Georgia Power spokesperson.

However, honeybees are slowly declining as a species.

Georgia Power and Bee Downtown partnered to set up the three beehives on Georgia Power’s corporate campus.

“Each of these beehives have over 40,000 bees and over the years, these bees and pollinators have positively impacted over 80,000 acres in the metro Atlanta area,” Richardson said.

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Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, CEO of Bee Downtown, told Holloway what a beekeeper is looking for when trying to help bees survive and thrive.

“They need eggs and for food larvae. For different stages of bee development, the beekeeper has to make sure the queen is there and that the colony is healthy. He’s looking for pest and disease in the beehive,” Bonner said.

Bonner said the U.S. loses about 1/3 of its honeybee population every year because of four specific things: pesticides, pests, poor management and poor nutrition.

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This is why urban beekeeping is important, and you can play your part too.

Beekeepers say one way you can help keep bees alive right now is not to swat at bees. You can also help by planting a garden or flowers and watching the chemicals you spray in the air.

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