Hiving bees -

[Jedidiah]

I had a great day Saturday. I got to spend a lot of time playing bees. I installed packages in ten hives with the help of a couple of new beekeepers. And we got to talk bees a lot.

Tomorrow I will hive my own new package and help a couple other guys with theirs. Spring is indeed sprung, even though there is still snow on the ground.

Gramps (The old beekeeper)

[Crow]

Are you using standard honeybees or the new Russian hybrids?

Our family used to keep bees years ago. I can't where I am because I now live in the suburbs and every yellow jacket sting gets blamed on bees. But I enjoyed keeping them and got stung maybe 4 times in 10 years of beekeeping with no special equipment other than a smoker.

I was curious if the new mite resistant bees had the same temperment as common tame bees. I've considered moving out to the sticks again and would love to keep a hive or two but would hate to have it destroyed by mites and I sure wouldn't want to keep mean bees. I haven't found anything on how the new hybrids act--if they're like our common bees or nasty.

[Timothy Leary]

I'd like to learn how to do that someday

[Gromit45]

The Independent (UK) thinks mobile phones are killing bees.

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece

What do you think?

[Crow]

I think it's the varrona mites. But since mobile phones are said to be the cause for every other malady known to man and beast, why not?

[dizzle]

I just read about the cell phones and bees as well.

[mossrose]

I think it's the varrona mites. But since mobile phones are said to be the cause for every other malady known to man and beast, why not?
Cell phones? I thought global warming was the cause of every malady and misfortune known to man and beast!

Who knew!

[Teallaura]

Cell phones cause global warming which kills bees (except for Killer Bees who are taking over as we speak).


:noid:

[Jedidiah]

Are you using standard honeybees or the new Russian hybrids?


I keep ordinary honeybees, but ones adapted to our long cold winters. They are pretty mild mannered. I have been stung more than 4 times over the last 25 years, but it is sure the exception. And as you discussed my only protection is a smoker.

I was curious if the new mite resistant bees had the same temperment as common tame bees. I've considered moving out to the sticks again and would love to keep a hive or two but would hate to have it destroyed by mites and I sure wouldn't want to keep mean bees. I haven't found anything on how the new hybrids act--if they're like our common bees or nasty.As far as I know the Russian hybrids are not any more defensive than any other bees. But, since I have never had any problems (yet) with varroa I can not say by personal experience.

[Jedidiah]

I'd like to learn how to do that someday

There are classes in beekeeping offered all over the country. I just finished teaching a three week course here in the Anchorage area. The sooner you start the longer you can have fun with them.

[Jedidiah]

The Independent (UK) thinks mobile phones are killing bees.

What do you think?

I've read that, and I think there are a lot of strange folks out there.

[Jedidiah]

Cell phones cause global warming which kills bees (except for Killer Bees who are taking over as we speak).
:noid:
Here in Alaska we could do with a little of that Global Warming. This is one of the latest springs in some while. The snow is finally melting, but it is not gone yet.

[Crow]

Our bees were kinda like pets. My father let us feed them bottle caps full of corn syrup once in a while. The bees would literally eat out of our hands without stinging us. You could mow right up to the hive and not bother them.

The very few times I ever got stung was when a bee got up a shirt sleeve.

[Jedidiah]

Our bees were kinda like pets. My father let us feed them bottle caps full of corn syrup once in a while. The bees would literally eat out of our hands without stinging us. You could mow right up to the hive and not bother them.

The very few times I ever got stung was when a bee got up a shirt sleeve.

When my kids were small I used to hang feeders, inverted jars with small holes in lid, filled with sugar syrup for the bees. Then the kids would catch them by the handful as they fell off in clumps while feeding in mass.

[Teallaura]

We had a hive in the wall of our house. I got stung quite a bit. Bees + porch light + bare feet = OUCH!!!!!!


Actually, one of the few times I remember getting stung by a bee that meant to was when some idiot kid delibrately stirred them up (no, not me). Nitwit. :hmph:

[The Midge]

I react badly to bee stings after being stung in the head once too often. Mum reacts when they are flying in unusual numbers (i.e. busy) both she and my brother carry an Epipen! Dad has ten hives in their garden and takes her on trips to Tanzania to work with "Bees Abroad" helping schools and those in need set up honey making businesses.

Though the worst thing about bee keeping is when a neighbour turns up to complain about a swarm in their chimney for the third time. "How do you know they are our bees?"

[Jedidiah]

We had a hive in the wall of our house. I got stung quite a bit. Bees + porch light + bare feet = OUCH!!!!!!


Actually, one of the few times I remember getting stung by a bee that meant to was when some idiot kid delibrately stirred them up (no, not me). Nitwit. :hmph:

This sounds more like yellow jackets, or some such thing.

[Teallaura]

No, they were honey bees - but if you take a stick and poke around in the hive they tend to get rowdy.


:hmph: The stupid twit.



Besides, yellow jackets hurt more... :eek:

[Storico]

Jed :hi: ! I found this for ya:

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece (about bees and technology)

That's a total aside, but there you go.

[Jedidiah]

Jed :hi: ! I found this for ya:

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece (about bees and technology)

That's a total aside, but there you go.I have run into that idea, but I don't let my bees have cell phones. They have better things to do than chat on the phone.

[Teallaura]

You should get them links instead - that way the scouts can call back to the hive when they find a good flower bed and not have to fly back and forth so much...


:teeth:

[Leroy]

You should get them links instead - that way the scouts can call back to the hive when they find a good flower bed and not have to fly back and forth so much...


:teeth:

Is that where the phrase "making a beeline" came from?

[mossrose]

I heard about this on the news the other night.........at first they blamed global warming, but I see now they think it is some sort of disease........coming up from the States.

It's frustrating. If they can't blame global warming, then the Canadians blame the Americans.

:no:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070402.wxbees02/BNStory/Science/home

[Bill the Cat]

Jed,

I have a "Mr. know it all" at work who says that bees are mysteriously disappearing in California. Any truth to that romor that you know of?

Bill

[Jedidiah]

Is that where the phrase "making a beeline" came from?

If they don't fly back they can not bring any nectar with them.

Oops, this was supposed to be a response to TL. But, yeah, bees fly back and forth in a beeline.

[Jedidiah]

Jed,

I have a "Mr. know it all" at work who says that bees are mysteriously disappearing in California. Any truth to that romor that you know of?

BillYeah, there is some truth. It is being blown out of proportion in the media, but what else is new? Google CCD and you will probably learn more than you ever wanted to know. In fact the link that moss posted is a beginning, sort of.

[mossrose]

Yeah, there is some truth. It is being blown out of proportion in the media, but what else is new? Google CCD and you will probably learn more than you ever wanted to know. In fact the link that moss posted is a beginning, sort of.

:smug:

Sort of......

[Jedidiah]

I heard about this on the news the other night.........at first they blamed global warming, but I see now they think it is some sort of disease........coming up from the States.

It's frustrating. If they can't blame global warming, then the Canadians blame the Americans.

:no:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070402.wxbees02/BNStory/Science/home

And the silly US government won't let Canada send me queens without all sorts of nonsense.

[mossrose]

Is that because the queens didn't get their passports yet?

:ahem:

[Teallaura]

Mossy, it's very hard for those suspected of sororicide to gain entry to the US - as well it should be. :hmph:


Out to find the thing, back to tell everyone, back to gather nectar - a good phone service would make a world of difference. :wink:

[mossrose]

What? They haven't heard of cell phones?

:no:




































Oh, wait.......

[Jedidiah]

Another good day with the bees. Our packages from last week are doing well, the queens are laying and even some young brood in some. Tomorrow afternoon I get to get into my own bees at home. :yipee:

[mossrose]

:mossyay:

I like to make candles from beeswax.

:thumb:

[Timothy Leary]

There are classes in beekeeping offered all over the country. I just finished teaching a three week course here in the Anchorage area. The sooner you start the longer you can have fun with them.
Can't have fun with them here. My little half-brothers are autistic. After I finish my degree, I'll look into it.

[Jedidiah]

All My bees are doing well. Three overwintered and three new colonies.

Two of the three new colonies are not actually mine. One belongs to a fellow I taught beekeeping back when he was 9 or 10 years old (Now he has kids that age.) and the other to a friend of his who has just started this year.

[Jedidiah]

So you can all have the joy of sharing my bees


42238


42239

[Teallaura]

:rofl: Why am I not surprised - a beehive made out of duct tape!

[Jedidiah]

:rofl: Why am I not surprised - a beehive made out of duct tape!

Hey, it is NOT made out of duct tape! It is only covered in duct tape, and then only the blueboard insulating sleeve. I used to have chickens and they would eat the blueboard - and I do mean eat it, they thought it was a great treat. Don't pick on my bee hives.:glare:

[Timothy Leary]

If only that were true, teal....

I suppose I'll have to settle for duck tape basketballs and wallets for the time being...

[Jedidiah]

If only that were true, teal....

I suppose I'll have to settle for duck tape basketballs and wallets for the time being...

Now I did not say you couldn't make a bee hive out of duct tape. It is just that I didn't.

[Jedidiah]

Hi, moss.

[Jedidiah]

Oh well, she left.

[mossrose]

Hi, moss.
:huggy:

:flowers: for your bees.

[Teallaura]

Hey, it is NOT made out of duct tape! It is only covered in duct tape, and then only the blueboard insulating sleeve. I used to have chickens and they would eat the blueboard - and I do mean eat it, they thought it was a great treat. Don't pick on my bee hives.:glare:

:innocent: I wasn't picking on your beehives....










































...Sounds like the chickens were, though!


:eek:

[Jedidiah]

:huggy:

:flowers: for your bees.

:hug: To you moss.

And my bees thank you. I suggested that hugs from them might be a bit intimidating.

[Jedidiah]

...Sounds like the chickens were, though!


:eek:Well they were sure pecking on them.

[mossrose]

:hug: To you moss.

And my bees thank you. I suggested that hugs from them might be a bit intimidating.
If you were there with me I wouldn't be afraid.

:smile:

[Jedidiah]

If you were there with me I wouldn't be afraid.

:smile:

:smug:

[Jedidiah]

I have a couple of photos of my girls over in the "Self Pics" thread. Just added them a couple minutes ago.

You can see how nice they are.

[Rahab]

Another good day with the bees. Our packages from last week are doing well, the queens are laying and even some young brood in some. Tomorrow afternoon I get to get into my own bees at home. :yipee: Good for you! I am a honey addict and love to eat from the comb itself though that "wax" chewing gets old.

Have you heard also of apiculture being jeopardized in Europe as considerable amounts of dead honey bees have been found? One theory being some type of wasp /bee hybrids attacking bee colonies in mass. I saw amazing pics on a French magazine of those wasps flying in a stationary mode at the entrance of the hive, attacking the bees loaded with pollen and stealing their harvest. The problem such honey bee farmers have now is how to deter those wasps from attacking the hives. Use of any chemicals or pesticides is out of question. The original homes of those wasps can be from long distances which makes locating them and destroying them very difficult.

Can you think of any ecological way to eliminate the presence of those mass murderers while preserving the lives of the honey bees? Is there some type of species of birds or animals known to feed on those wasps which could be introduced in the natural environment to eliminate their proliferation? (such as introducing ladybugs to eliminate "white mites" from specific plants).

[Teallaura]

We could ship you some Africanized bees - that should solve the problem... :innocent:



Just kidding. Usually importing another alien to take care of the first just winds up making more trouble.

[Jedidiah]

Good for you! I am a honey addict and love to eat from the comb itself though that "wax" chewing gets old.Honey is best just that way - and I am not much for chewing wax myself.

Have you heard also of apiculture being jeopardized in Europe as considerable amounts of dead honey bees have been found? Actually the problem is not finding the dead bees. Colonies just don't have any bees left. It has been called 'Disappearing Disease' in the past.
One theory being some type of wasp /bee hybrids attacking bee colonies in mass. I saw amazing pics on a French magazine of those wasps flying in a stationary mode at the entrance of the hive, attacking the bees loaded with pollen and stealing their harvest. The problem such honey bee farmers have now is how to deter those wasps from attacking the hives. Use of any chemicals or pesticides is out of question. The original homes of those wasps can be from long distances which makes locating them and destroying them very difficult.Those wasps are pretty hard on bees, but not a part of the CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder). We do not have those wasps in the US, but we have the CCD. These critters are not a hybrid of any sort, but a variety of wasps that have long lived in Asia - I forget exactly where.

Can you think of any ecological way to eliminate the presence of those mass murderers while preserving the lives of the honey bees? Is there some type of species of birds or animals known to feed on those wasps which could be introduced in the natural environment to eliminate their proliferation? (such as introducing ladybugs to eliminate "white mites" from specific plants).I don't know, but honeybees are kept where the wasps come from so there must be some sort of defense beekeepers can come up with.

[Bill the Cat]

Just put on MSN.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18442426/


BELTSVILLE, Md. - Unless someone or something stops it soon, the mysterious killer that is wiping out many of the nation's honeybees could have a devastating effect on America's dinner plate, perhaps even reducing us to a glorified bread-and-water diet.

[Rahab]

Honey is best just that way - and I am not much for chewing wax myself. That's the way they woud sell honey on some of the markets in Senegal. All fresh, pure and... chewy.

Actually the problem is not finding the dead bees. Colonies just don't have any bees left. It has been called 'Disappearing Disease' in the past.
Those wasps are pretty hard on bees, but not a part of the CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder). We do not have those wasps in the US, but we have the CCD. These critters are not a hybrid of any sort, but a variety of wasps that have long lived in Asia - I forget exactly where. Are there scientists who study beehavior (I know, I know...my puns would make a 3d grader cringe) to try to determine why CCD occurs? Is it a new phenomenon?

[Teallaura]

Rahab, read the article Bill linked - it's helpful. The answer to your question seems to be no.

[Jedidiah]

There are indeed scientists at work, seeking the cause (and cure?) of CCD.