The bee issue is already being studied intensely because it's of vital importance to agriculture. Most of our crops are pollinated by bees, and if we lose their services we'll be in deep doo doo. Just a couple of weeks ago there was an announcement of a new US government policy to help protect bee populations: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... ollinators

The article mentions that neonicotinoid pesticides in particular are thought to be a contributing factor to the collapse of bee populations. Neonic pesticides are OK for use with organic crops as well as conventional because nicotine is natural. Yum, nicotine. Roundup is NOT a neonic pesticide, in fact it's not a pesticide at all. It's an herbicide, designed to kill weeds not bugs or anything that feeds on bugs.

The butterfly situation probably isn't being studied as intensely, but anything that benefits bees is likely to benefit butterflies too. The loss of winter habitat in Mexico is a huge problem for the monarchs, so even if we plant lots of milkweed up here it might not help too much.

Oh and for the record, we mostly give the tomatoes away because that's like the only thing I grow that explodes with fruit. They're Jaid's favorite thing to eat, so he gets a nibble if I keep one.

I am aware that tomatoes aren't the best.

sure, if this attracts you more.

I get the classic cockatiel Nutriberries. The other types have stuff in them that my birds would probably refuse to eat since they're a bunch of food snobs lol. They like plain seed and that's what classic Nutriberries look like. I buy the four-pound tub because I go through a LOT of these things. You probably would want to try the 12.5 ounce tub first. I usually get them from Amazon because they usually have the best price.

The 4-pound tub:
http://smile.amazon.com/Lafeber-Company ... 0002ARFO2/

The 12.5 ounce tub:
http://smile.amazon.com/Lafebers-Classi ... 0002567WS/

what's the list of perfect veggies if it's OK to ask?

I get budgie sized Nutriberries. They like them better for some reason.

this is what I have but we can't finish it... once again, do you serve them in the regular food bowl whole? for some reasons, our balls are a bit dried out, even in the closed container, I probably have had that for too long... not sure... and Dr Foster and Smith has exactly the same price. I mash them for my tiels (which is hard even for me!) and some of my birds nibble on them.

Some birds like them better smashed and some like them better whole. When I serve Nutriberries in a bowl I smash them and when I serve them on a flat surface (like a table top) I leave them whole. I've found that whole Nutriberries in a food dish quickly turn into almost-whole Nutriberries that have fallen to the floor and usually through the cage grate. The birds like to pick them up and try to move them to a place where they can eat without having their head down in a cup. Whole Nutriberries on a table top tend to move around too but at least they don't fall through the cage grate.

I actually have pellet-berries sunny orchard, but I think the problem is that they are not very fresh.

If they're past their expiration date it's possible that they've gone bad.