Save the Buckeyes!

Nature really is a complicated beast - and as part of nature, we ought to appreciate the complexity.

All over North America and Europe, we've been seeing the decline of bees for the last several years.  We don't know the definitive cause(s) yet, though we can guess at the factors (pesticides, colony diseases, global warming, etc).  So as a result, we've been a lot more concerned about "saving the bees" - that means going organic and planting flowers that can act as food sources to our hardworking honeybees.

Did you know that some species of flowers are actually poisonous to honeybees?

I didn't either.  But apparently some flowers have compounds in them that can poison and even kill bees.  Here is a partial list: http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/Plants-Toxic-for-Bees.html

Now, in our typical extreme way, we might say "kill all the plants that kill the bees!"  But then where would we be?  Without plants that are certainly very needed in our world - else why would they exist?  Promoting one species ought not come at the near-extinction of another species.

Take the California Buckeye (Aesculus californica) for instance.  It is one of the plants that is toxic (and potentially fatal) to bees.  And yet that same plant is a very rich nectar source for butterflies.  Not to mention, it is a soil binder.  That means it prevents erosion, especially in areas with a lot of hills, like - oh, say - most of California!  In short, the world needs this plant!  It has a place here.  But then again, so do the bees.  So where's the middle ground?

Instead of cutting down all the California Buckeyes we see... how about we just don't plant them next to apiaries?  Sound like a fair compromise?