THE Bees Thread (merged)

[coyote]

There's plenty of bumblebees!

Really.

Many important bumblebee species are in serious decline, not only in North America but in Europe as well. The British Isles bumblebee populations are crashing - those that are left. Franklin's bumblebee, here in the west, is almost certainly extinct, with more species almost certain to follow. I myself haven't seen many bumblebees at all lately. I think one or two this summer. When I was a child, they were all over the place.

The tanking of our honeybee industry will actually help - is helping - native bee populations to rebound a bit. But that alone isn't enough. All kinds of pollinators are in big trouble around the world, for a host of reasons. This isn't exactly happy news, of course.

[oxj]

The bumblebee population took off this summer here around this place. I now know of at least two nests in the barn.

[Caffeine]

I figure the bumblebees are next in line.

Incidentally, I don't personally believe that CCD is a "natural" event. I think it's most likely caused by human activity.

[hardtootell-2]

here is a pic of some of my bees - dead on the ground outside the hive, I think, by nearby spraying

[centralstump]

As I understand it, the introduction of Russian Honeybees into the US should be fixing the problem of CCD. The following article suggests that ribsome effecting viruses are the cause of CCD. Varoa Mites carry these diseases. Russian honey bees exhibit high levels of hygenic behavior. They basically "clean" varoa mites.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 151256.htm


Or maybe I am just drinking the koolaid.

[Pretorian]

here is a pic of some of my bees - dead on the ground outside the hive, I think, by nearby spraying

humans... They take everything! And what they cant take they break or destroy

[Repent]

I believe that killer bees, ie human bio-engineered Africanized bees are expanding exponentially. If all else fails and the native honeybees do go extinct, we will still have the killer bees to polinate our foodstocks. Although I wouldn't want to be a farmer anywhere near a killer bee hive. Killer bees will chase and sting intruder up to 1 kilometer away from their hive. Farming is going to become quite a risky business when the Africanized bees are all that we have left.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanized_bee

[hardtootell-2]

I believe that killer bees, ie human bio-engineered Africanized bees are expanding exponentially. If all else fails and the native honeybees do go extinct, we will still have the killer bees to polinate our foodstocks. Although I wouldn't want to be a farmer anywhere near a killer bee hive. Killer bees will chase and sting intruder up to 1 kilometer away from their hive. Farming is going to become quite a risky business when the Africanized bees are all that we have left.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanized_bee

I have Hawaiian queens with New Zealand bees. They are extremely tame. I have never been stung. This is the kind of bee that beekeepers like to select for. Other beekeepers ask me for queens so they can have such gentle bees. The future of gentle bees is pretty secure in that regard-IMHO

[smallpoxgirl]

I believe that killer bees, ie human bio-engineered Africanized bees are expanding exponentially. If all else fails and the native honeybees do go extinct, we will still have the killer bees to polinate our foodstocks. Although I wouldn't want to be a farmer anywhere near a killer bee hive. Killer bees will chase and sting intruder up to 1 kilometer away from their hive. Farming is going to become quite a risky business when the Africanized bees are all that we have left.

Good grief. Feeling a little dramatic? Two Americans a year die from "Killer bees" (basically just a different strain of honeybee.) About 800 per year die from farming accidents.

[Caffeine]

For those who are interested in Africanized bees: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanized_bee

[coyote]

We've got them around here and they can be a bit agressive at times - I got chased to my car by a small swarm of them recently. It's just another little sad thing, out of many, that they are supplanting the gentler strains of honeybees in North America now; but they're bees, and they pollinate, and they make honey, so they're friends (even if they don't think so).

[wisconsin_cur]

As I understand it, the introduction of Russian Honeybees into the US should be fixing the problem of CCD. The following article suggests that ribsome effecting viruses are the cause of CCD. Varoa Mites carry these diseases. Russian honey bees exhibit high levels of hygenic behavior. They basically "clean" varoa mites.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 151256.htm


Or maybe I am just drinking the koolaid.

It should help (I am raising Russians) but it is not a silver bullet. The honey industry as a whole needs to undertake some important changes. Those changes are starting to be made.

[Cid_Yama]

Cur, are Russians heat tolerant?

[wisconsin_cur]

Cur, are Russians heat tolerant?

All honey bees stop working ~90 F. This is not really a loss since most nectar producing flowers stop producing @ that temp. They then work more to keep themselves and the hive cool than anything else. As far as what I have read and can tell there is no difference between the russian and the more common italian (same species just different "races" with different habits re:hygiene, swarming, propolis production etc).

The Russians were first kept @ a USDA facility in Lousiana and there are some breeders in TN and other southern states. If there were a problem with heat I am guessing that it would have made its way to the lit.

The only big complaint I have heard is that they swarm (divide the hive into two hives, thus taking ~.5 of the bees someplace else) easier than the Italians, which have been the traditional bees used in the United States. That is a bigger problem for the industrial sized keeper than the hobbiest or even the serious small scale keeper.

[hardtootell-2]

Cur, are Russians heat tolerant?

I know this question was not addressed to me but I'd like to add something.

Bees in temperate climes don't forage heavily until it is warm enough. When it gets hotter, they can start earlier, break when it is hot and go later as it cools. They can have a potentially longer season.

Most beekeepers try to locate their hives near a source of water and provide at least partial shade. This can help with overheating

just my 2 cents

[Tanada]

In my study on this vastly complicated subject I learned something completely new. Mayan's as a culture were bee keepers and the tropical breeds they apiacultured still exist in central America. They do not produce as much honey as European or African honey bees, but they are extremely tolerant and are called 'stingless' though most of them do retain a vestigial stinger.

In the last decade or so they have been declining because bee keepers in that region have been substituting Africanized bees due to their much higher honey production.

[frankthetank]

I've been a bee fan for some time, but this year i finally took some action and put in a lot more flowers for them to feed on. My sunflowers the past month have been keeping all of them very active. I've got a large population of bumbles, honey bees (i'm sure many types since some don't look the same) and a lot of very tiny bees i see around the clover in my yard. Next year i plan on stepping it up a notch and putting in even more flowers. I would like to have something blooming all summer so i plan to do a wide variety of plants.

I need a list of plants that flower at different times from spring through late fall that the bees love and will keep them happy.

I hate those German wasps. Very annoying little things. I also hate that people confuse bees with wasps and think all of them are bad. I've actually petted a bumble bee that was working on a blossom. Very hairy little big guy.

[wisconsin_cur]

Frank,

Golden Rod

Other than that maybe some late sunflowers or if you had some alfalfa that you let bloom about one week and then mowed and then repeat through out the summer. Other than that there are a number of things that you can get that will help on a smaller scale.

[Tanada]

I've been a bee fan for some time, but this year i finally took some action and put in a lot more flowers for them to feed on. My sunflowers the past month have been keeping all of them very active. I've got a large population of bumbles, honey bees (i'm sure many types since some don't look the same) and a lot of very tiny bees i see around the clover in my yard. Next year i plan on stepping it up a notch and putting in even more flowers. I would like to have something blooming all summer so i plan to do a wide variety of plants.

I need a list of plants that flower at different times from spring through late fall that the bees love and will keep them happy.

I hate those German wasps. Very annoying little things. I also hate that people confuse bees with wasps and think all of them are bad. I've actually petted a bumble bee that was working on a blossom. Very hairy little big guy.

Roses, if you wait a couple of weeks after the blooms fall off you will see nodule's (rose hips) forming behind where the blossom was. If you pull or cut them off the bush will break forth in a second and even a third set of blossoms. Even better you can crush the hips and boil them to make rose tea, an herbal remedy for vitamin C deficiency, among other things. Tastes pretty good too, to me at least.

[frankthetank]

Interesting... When i drive around looking at these buffons with their huge manicured lawns and think how much MORE diversity i have even in a small section of my flower beds...... it sucks..

The bees have really been hitting my raspberries. Even early this morning when it was very cold i saw them buzzing around. So that is pretty cool. I think they like me.

I found this on WIKI...looks pretty good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_n ... honey_bees

Don't even get me started on monoculture wind pollinated grains such as dent corn ... Feed the freaken cows grass like they were meant to eat!