Following the Scottish Bumble Bees. . .
Can Bears Fly?
Saved by the Spirit of Place!
Archive for August, 2010
Please Don’t Forget!
August 22, 2010
Oil is no longer gushing into the Gulf of Mexico but the the fight to save and protect the creatures that live in those sullied waters continues. A recent study published in the Journal Nature by scientists from Wood Hole Oceanographic Institute has found that oil is still present in the deep ocean 1000 to 3000 meters below the surface, this undersea cloud of oil is 2k wide and extends out 35 k from the spill site. The good news is its not dense. But the Blue-eyed Bear suspects that even the slightest concentrations will affect sea life. Continued monitoring is essential. So the Blue-eyed Bear asks everyone just to help a little by supporting those conservation organizations that are helping to assess and mitigated the devastation.
The B-E has adopted the loggerhead sea turtle LuLu to help fund that Sea Turtle Conservancy. This group is working to move hatchling sea turtles from the Gulf beaches to the east coast of Florida so that they don’t swim out into the fowled gulf waters and die. NASA is also helping with the turtle relocation. Check out the NASA web site for more details.
Bumblebee Conservation
August 15, 2010
More poop, more blaeberries, more bumblebees!
The Blue-eyed bear is enjoying her time in the Land of the Scots where some Scottish bees (Bumbus monticola) have shown her the fruiting blaeberry bushes. These berries are similar to the blueberries that B-E Bear loves. She’s eaten so many berries her eyes are bluer then ever. But, our intrepid bear is also giving something back to her new bee friends. Yes, her bear poop will help keep the bee habitat healthy and spread the seeds of the bleaberry creating new bee habitat. Ah! what a wonderful natural cycle.
It seems that the B-E has learned that certain Humans on this island are also making an effort to maintain and spread bumblebee habitat. They are members of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and the sisters do appreciate their work. Check out their offerings at http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.
Sisters Bee Kind
August 2, 2010
The Buzz Around
For the bumble bee and the honey bee it is the females that work together with the queen to support the brood or next generation as well as defend the hive or nest. The Blue-eyed Bear being a rather solitary animal learned from the bee the importance of sisterly support.
These sister worker bees also play a vital role in the pollination of plants that are essential to a good bear diet. The Blue-eyed Bear loves blueberries, and tomatoes, and almonds all of which need bees to fruit. For that matter the B-E Bear loves honey and doesn’t think she can get along with out it. So after hearing from some Arctic bees ( yes there are polar bees) that some bees were in danger of dying out she under took her third adventure to journey to the lands of Eng and Scot were bumble bees are under grave threat.
After landing on the rocky coast at the northern most edge of the Land of Scot, the Blue-eyed Bear met up with the Bleaberry Bumble Bee (Bombus morticola). the Blue-eyed Bear called this Scottish Bee “BBB” for short. This little Bee told the B-E Bear where she could find Bleaberry bushes, their much like blueberries, and are fruiting right now. The Bear was glad cause she was famished after her long trek. BBB communicated this news the the Bear by doing a little Scottish jig. Now it is known that Honey Bees dance to communicate were flowers are producing nectar to their hive sisters, (see The Dancing Bee by Karl von Frisch). But no one’s recorded dancing bee-havior for Bumble Bees. But why shouldn’t Bumble Bees Dance! The Blue-eyed Bear thinks BBB’s dance is Sweeet!
BBB tells the Blue-eyed Bear where to go!
BBB also told the B-E Bear some good news about humans who are helping to preserve Bee habitat. And BBB told the bear how she could help. Stay tuned for more Bee Bear Adventures!
Adventures of the Blue-eyed Bear 