WASHINGTON — Häagen-Dazs is creating a buzz this year, not just for its annual cone day Tuesday, May 9, but also by championing the bees.

Following tradition, Häagen-Dazs is handing out free scoops of ice cream or sorbet in a cup, sugar cone or cake cone from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in participating shops in the D.C. area.

But this year, they’re asking for one thing in return: that guests pay it forward by planting wildflowers native to their region.

It’s part of the company’s effort to support the honeybees and help create more bee-friendly habitats in the United States.

After all, without bees, there would be no almonds in Häagen-Dazs’ Rocky Road, no raspberries in its raspberry sorbet and its toasted coconut caramel would just be … caramel.

A whopping third of Häagen-Dazs ice cream flavors are bee-dependent, so the company has been working with farmers, keepers and researchers to support and repopulate the pollinators.

For a list of wildflowers native to the region, see the Fairfax County government’s list of local plants that attract pollinators.

More information on the campaign is available on the Häagen-Dazs website.

Find a map of store locations around the D.C. area below.