THE Bees Thread (merged)

[wisconsin_cur]

Roses are great sources for pollen but to not produce much nectar. Most years pollen is not a limiting force but nectar is.

[Jellric]

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.

Here is a list of such plants together with their months of blooming:

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

[wisconsin_cur]

1. Thanks for the wiki link.

2. But again, nectar is usually a bigger problem than pollen and since frank is in the northern 1/3 of the country

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

[wisconsin_cur]

I have been making my own screened bottom boards and top entrances for some hives I recently purchased. I made two different kinds of tops.

The first is a modified telescoping cover. I cut out the lip off of one side and then glued/nailed a shim onto it to lift it just enough off the hive.



In the other experiment I took some plywood cut to the exact size of the hive and attached the same shims to the ends. Then I attached galvanised flashing on top of it. I used vice grips to hold the flashing on while I bent it around the sides and then nailed it from the bottom. Sometimes the nail did come through the flashing on top (note to self, get smaller nails or thicker plywood next time). Where that did happen I just dabbed some silicon on it which should more than do the job for many a year.

[hardtootell-2]

I am sad to report that my first year beekeeping was something of a failure. I did not get more than a taste of honey. On two separate occasions I found a pile of dead bees outside the hive. I suspect that someone was spraying within 5 miles of the hives. Once I thought about that, I realized how widespread spraying was and how few places can guarantee that there will be no spraying w/in a 5 mile radius. I will move the hives next year.

[Pretorian]

I once bought a supposedly nice and fluffy honey and it never crystallized. I thought all honey crystallizes eventually?

[wisconsin_cur]

I once bought a supposedly nice and fluffy honey and it never crystallized. I thought all honey crystallizes eventually?

Eventually being the operative term. Some crystalizes in as little as a few days from being extracted, some will not for years. Of course I suppose to disprove this bit of popular wisdom you would have to hang on to the honey for a very long time and I , at least, would rather eat it.

[Pretorian]

14 months? I thought only the honey collected from some sort off the backs of special larvae doesn't crystallize. The honey i'm talking about was bought on farmers market with all those assurances of raw and unheated thiings and all that and produced in TN

[Cabrone]

Bees in more trouble than ever after bad winter

MERCED, Calif. — The mysterious 4-year-old crisis of disappearing honeybees is deepening. A quick federal survey indicates a heavy bee die-off this winter, while a new study shows honeybees' pollen and hives laden with pesticides.
Two federal agencies along with regulators in California and Canada are scrambling to figure out what is behind this relatively recent threat, ordering new research on pesticides used in fields and orchards. Federal courts are even weighing in this month, ruling that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overlooked a requirement when allowing a pesticide on the market.

And on Thursday, chemists at a scientific conference in San Francisco will tackle the issue of chemicals and dwindling bees in response to the new study.

USA Today

Not good atall.

[mos6507]

I'm starting a hive this year. Will cross my fingers.

[Cabrone]

I'm starting a hive this year. Will cross my fingers.

Best of luck with that, those bees could do with all the help they can get!

I wouldn't have thought that London would be too good for bees but I was told by a local beekeeper a few months ago that this region is in pretty good shape due to the large variety of flowers in gardens (rather than monocrops) plus a lack of industrial pesticides.

If cities are potential havens for them then this article in the NY times should be a good thing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/science/earth/15bees.html

[Pretorian]

Can anyone reccomend a place to buy honey in bulk?

[hardtootell-2]

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Ad ... ne.0009754

This study involving 887 samples from 23 US states and one Canadian Province analyzed wax and pollen for 121 different pesticides. They found very high levels. In the case of three substances- Fipronil, Imidacloprid olefin and Permethrin the average values exceeded the LD50 dosage (the dosage at which half the population will die) by 1046%, 213% and 142% respectively!

Many of these compounds are very lipophilic and have long half lives which means that they can accumulate in the environment. Pesticide use has increased since 1950 to 2.5 million tons annually worldwide, yet crop loss from pests has remained relatively constant. In response to pesticide resistance, farmers may resort to increased use of pesticides, exacerbating the problem. In addition, when pesticides are toxic toward species that feed on or compete with pests, the pest population will likely expand further, requiring more pesticides.

One can imagine that the accumulated dosages are at a level that takes out say 5% of the bee population back in the 90's and it is accumulating a couple of percent per year until losses >50% are not uncommon. The Bees are weak and other pests can easily kill them e.g. Varroa mites, tracial mites ect.

One of the pesticides mentioned above (fipronil) is widely used in China against rice pests. I predict a situation where each year the usage goes up and the pests get more resistant until either there are widespread crop failures or/and subacute human toxicity. Either way.... Of course the bees are long gone in most parts of China.

Just my 2 cents

[wisconsin_cur]

Can anyone reccomend a place to buy honey in bulk?

most states have a state honey producers association. If you find the website there are frequently members listings and you should be able to find one close to you. If you run into further problems drop me a note and your general location and I should be able to come up with something (assuming you are in the us).

[dohboi]

My brother, who follows these things more closely than I do, says that people hoping for a bit of a recovery this spring have been sorely disappointed. I'm in a rush this morning, so I don't have time to do the research on this and find links. Has anyone else found anything on stats on hives this spring?

[mcgowanjm]

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.

I love wasps. They're sting actually numb me instead of causing pain.

Always thought of them as a step above ants.
And bumble bees are a hoot. According to science, they're not
supposed to be able to fly. We have no clue:

Once she has claimed a site she will begin to build the first few cells with silk-like threads that are from natural wasp secretions. She then lays her first eggs, one in each cell and continues to build up the cell walls and add new ones to the site. As the nest becomes larger she must go to dead wood and chew away the fine top layer to make paper. Secretions are naturally added during the process. An interesting anecdote here is that different colors of wood can create a nest of unique coloration and patterns. Some wasp species add fine pieces of silica to the paper which is interesting because it would allow light to enter an otherwise dark interior.

We can't even imagine.

[SteinarN]

I live in northern Norway, far above the artic circle. I have some former grasing fields around my house with a large variety of natural ocuring plants, in which willow herb is present in abundance. The natural ocuring bumble bees loves this plant. When there is a warm summer day and the willow herb is blossoming I can stand for a long time just watching the hard working bumble bees do it's job. I also have a lot of clover in my lawn. I have to be very careful when I'm cutting my lawn so the bumble bees doesn't come into my lawn mower.

[wisconsin_cur]

My brother, who follows these things more closely than I do, says that people hoping for a bit of a recovery this spring have been sorely disappointed. I'm in a rush this morning, so I don't have time to do the research on this and find links. Has anyone else found anything on stats on hives this spring?

It was a bad winter all around. Everyplace in the US had a harder longer winter than normal. I do not think the official stats are in yet (we just got the final numbers for 2009 honey production: the lowest since 1989) but the things I am hearing of losses of anywhere from 25% - 94% around here depending upon circumstances and luck. The 94% was an "outlier."

I am still, however, able to book some nucleus colonies with just a little work though the biggest producers are sold out for the spring. Only time will tell if they end up refunding $$ for packages and nucleus they could not produce.

[dohboi]

Hey, cur. I didn't realize you did bees along with everything else. Most impressive.

I have (or am steeling) a bit more time this morning and found this among the many recent bee stories:

link

This year bees seem to be in bigger trouble than normal after a bad winter, according to an informal survey of commercial bee brokers cited in an internal USDA document. One-third of those surveyed had trouble finding enough hives to pollinate California's blossoming nut trees, which grow the bulk of the world's almonds. A more formal survey will be done in April.

Based on that last point, we should keep a lookout for the results of latest surveys. But so far things don't seem to be going in a very good direction.

Beekeeper Zac Browning shipped his hives from Idaho to California to pollinate the blossoming almond groves. He got a shock when he checked on them, finding hundreds of the hives empty, abandoned by the worker bees.
The losses were extreme, three times higher than the previous year.

And here's a reference to the study I mentioned above:

Among all the stresses to bee health, it's the pesticides that are attracting scrutiny now. A study published Friday in the scientific journal PLOS (Public Library of Science) One found about three out of five pollen and wax samples from 23 states had at least one systemic pesticide — a chemical designed to spread throughout all parts of a plant.
EPA officials said they are aware of problems involving pesticides and bees and the agency is "very seriously concerned."
The pesticides are not a risk to honey sold to consumers, federal officials say. And the pollen that people eat is probably safe because it is usually from remote areas where pesticides are not used, Pettis said. But the PLOS study found 121 different types of pesticides within 887 wax, pollen, bee and hive samples.

So pesticides are probably a central problem here, but I've also heard that simple lack of flowers throughout the season is a problem in some areas. And these and other causes weaken the bees enough that they are then more susceptible to other "natural" threats like mites and disease.

[Katuhaukka]

14 months? I thought only the honey collected from some sort off the backs of special larvae doesn't crystallize. The honey i'm talking about was bought on farmers market with all those assurances of raw and unheated thiings and all that and produced in TN

Fructose stays runny, glucose crystallizes. I like naturally runny honey also.
Honeydew from certain trees is soo nice!
Fireweed honey is very nice also.Colourless and very mild tasting.