Texas Officially Launches Honey Bee License Plates

The state of Texas is trying to do its part to help our beloved honey bees. On September 1, the Texas Honey Bee Education Association launched the “Texas Love Honey Bees” license plate. The new plate will cost $30, with $22 of that purchase price going to the Texas Honey Bee Education Association to help fund various programs.

Helping the Honey Bees

What a great way to grow the base of honey bee fans! My guess is that people are really going to love these plates and it might just get a few of them asking more questions about the plight of the honey bee. Personally, I cannot wait to see them all over the highway!

In addition to raising awareness, numerous programs in the state are going to get a nice boost. The money raised by the selling of the plates will help pay for youth and beekeeper educational programs, research programs to improve honey bee health, and informational resources for the general public and our farmers.

Local beekeepers in Texas were ecstatic to see the new plates finally released to the public. John Swan, a beekeeper in the state, said, “I think it’s great actually… This gives everybody access to a way they can help support education and research and funding for honey bees and support them without having the need to take care of a hive themselves.”

Texas Beekeepers Association President, Ashley Ralph, stated that "by utilizing best beekeeping practices, planting flowers in public spaces, and utilizing pesticides and herbicides only when necessary and not when honey bees are foraging.” Swan added, “People still have that fear of a flying, stinging insect. They associate them with wasps sometimes. So really, anything we can do to… help educate people on honey bees, make them know [not to] spray them with pesticides. They’re actually very beneficial, we need them, and for the most part, they’re not gonna cause any harm to you or your family.”

Swan also discussed many of the challenges we discuss here every day. He stated, “They’re responsible for all of the types of food we eat. And it doesn’t matter necessarily if you’re a pure carnivore or if you’re a vegan. They’re responsible for the food chain and… how that all kind of comes together…,” adding, “Losing bees means losing a minimum of a third of all the foods that we hold dear: nuts, fruits, vegetables – all of these things are usually pollinated by honey bees and/or our native pollinators.”

You can read more about this on KXAN. The station also has a YouTube video of the report (click here).

Source: KXAN, Photo via KXAN YouTube Video Screenshot