MPBN Interviews Rebar About Importance of Protecting Honeybees
John Rebar, executive director of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Maine Public Broadcasting Network for a report about a proposed rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to crack down on the use of pesticides when bees are on a farm. With about 90 percent of all honeybees living in hives maintained by beekeepers, the rule aims to protect the endangered population that is trucked across the country to pollinate fields, according to the report. “Maine is second only to the almond crop in California in the amount of imported hives,” Rebar said, adding Maine’s wild blueberries rely heavily on the traveling bees, with apples and other crops not far behind. “You know, tomatoes and strawberries, all your squash and pumpkins — all really dependent on pollinators,” he said.