2 MILLION BLOSSOMS
that governs one’s behavior. Synonyms for ethics include nebulous phrases like moral code, rights and wrongs, ideals, virtues, and dictates of conscience. To certain professionals, ethics is a written set of rules, often enforced with sanctions. unethical behavior is often obvious. Like pornography, you know it when you see it.
Messing with Plants If you think spreading clover is a questionable activity, consider the practice of seeding invasive weeds. Beekeepers have been known to plant noxious weeds in direct violation of laws and ordinances designed to control the spread of such plants. I’ve known beekeepers to sow Japanese knot- weed, yellow star thistle, and spotted knapweed along road- sides, railroad rights-of-way, and even church parking lots. I’m told if you wait until after the county sprays roadside weeds with herbicide, you can get a good crop of nearly any- thing. The practice of sowing weeds isn’t at all surprising. After
all, beekeepers have planted for their bees since the begin- at the garden store. We plant acres, if we can, or a few pots. So it’s not surprising that beekeepers, recognizing the honey maybe you just let them grow instead of cutting them back. Then, perhaps, you give them room to expand. Before you know it, you’re harvesting seed and sprinkling it everywhere. In the meantime, huge taxpayer dollars are spent on road maintenance and weed control. More and more herbicide is sprayed by the county because those darn weeds keep com- ing back. In truth, the beekeeper is making money by costing the taxpayer even more. Unfortunately, the damage to the environment is great-
displace the plants that pollinators, birds, and other wildlife depend on. They destroy the natural landscape and replace it with one of less biodiversity. Dozens of native plant species that supported hundreds of invertebrate species are sudden- ly replaced with one or two species that support fewer insects that, in turn, support fewer song birds that, in turn, support fewer raptors.
The Freedom to Roam Beekeepers are unique because their livestock is free to roam—completely unsupervised—across private property, public lands, and consecrated grounds. And while they roam, they collect nectar, pollen, and plant resins from wherever Normally, we don’t think much about the things our bees
take because they provide a service—pollination—to the plants from which they harvest, and because we humans ar- en’t prone to collecting these items ourselves. On the other
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harvested from another person’s land?
Who Owns What? Think for a moment about other forms of livestock. If
your neighbors’ pigs, goats, cattle, or chickens were to roam onto your land and take whatever they wanted, leaving noth- ing but feces, how would you react? Imagine what the neigh- bors would think if your alpaca ate their apples or your cat rhubarb? Most of us would glow with embarrassment and try to make things right. But bees? Bees can get away with anything and we nary give it a thought. The question of who owns what is not restricted to the
suburbs. For example, in many jurisdictions, livestock is pro- hibited from grazing on public lands without a permit. In others, livestock is totally banned. But beekeepers frequently stack hives along property boundaries and fence lines so they face vast tracks of public land. Though their placement is technically legal, the bees are harvesting from the public and Some say that where a bee goes and what she steals is an
act of God, over which we have no control. But the acquisi- tion of a colony is a deliberate decision, just as acquiring pigs, goats, or chickens. Once we decide to keep bees, we need to be mindful of what they are doing, even if we can’t control their minute-to-minute actions.
Public Lands for the Public Good Many beekeepers believe they have a right to keep their bees on public lands or conservation tracts. However, many biologists believe that such lands should be set aside to al- low native pollinators a place where they need not compete with managed livestock. After all, the idea of providing un- disturbed habitat for native species was one of the primary reasons such lands were set aside. I’m reminded of a man who was caught stealing duck
eggs from a wildlife preserve and selling them at his local farmer’s market. In many ways, selling honey harvested from public lands is no different. While selling honey from a pre- serve feels “okay,” selling duck eggs from the same place seems preposterous—over the top wrong. But they basically by harvesting from taxpayer supported property. We need to stop and think. If representatives of public
lands, and that includes voters, have decided that honey bees are not wanted on a particular parcel, is it ethical to line the margins of that parcel with bee hives? Similarly, if jurisdic- tions or private entities are paying for the upkeep of parks
Neighbors and Bees
Lori is a single mother with a preadolescent daughter al- lergic to just about everything. She left her job in the city to move her daughter into the countryside away from indus-
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