"The men of experiment are like the ant, they only collect and use; the reasoners resemble spiders, who make cobwebs out of their own substance. But the bee takes the middle course: it gathers its material from the flowers of the garden and field, but transforms and digests it by a power of its own."

-  Francis Bacon

Happy Vernal Equinox! -- the time of year when the hours of night equal the hours of daylight, when fields slowly turn from brown to green, when buds on the silver maple start to swell in earnest, and the sparrow starts to gather twigs and grass to build a home for her coming clutch. These days, when the sun's warmth heats up our bee hives, we see the first honey bees emerge from their winter slumber, stretch their wings, and prepare for the great annual ritual on which we and all of nature depend: pollination.

All is not well, however, with bees. Bees are dying, and dying at an alarming rate: in some areas, bee populations have declined 80%. Without bees, our survival is doubtful: of the 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world's food, over 70 are pollinated by bees.

This month's Stone Soup lecture will focus on the state of bees. Join us for a fascinating look at what is happening to our fuzzy winged co-worker, and what we can do about it.

 Mark Smith