Everything you always wanted to know about honeybees

[Jedidiah]

There was such a thread long ago, but this is in honor of JardinPrayer (called sometimes JardinHair). You want to know - I want to tell.

[Jedidiah]

Okay, JardinHair!!!!

[Jedidiah]

Though I still prefer JardinPrayer

[JardinPrayer]

I'm about to return to JardinPrayer since everyone has voted on my hair.

But, we're here to discuss bees. Rather than dig up the old thread, let's start fresh. For instance, why do you personally keep them, Jedidiah?

[gharfish]

I want to know about that phat striped clumsy bumblebee. Have you ever had one crash right into you in midflight ? Shooot, they scare me, even if they are the teddybears of the bee world.

[Jedidiah]

I'm about to return to JardinPrayer since everyone has voted on my hair.

But, we're here to discuss bees. Rather than dig up the old thread, let's start fresh. For instance, why do you personally keep them, Jedidiah?

I just enjoy honeybees. They are fascinating to watch, fun to play with, and they make honey!

I have always been interested in bugs, and long before I began to keep bees I read a lot about them. Now I just wish I had started many years earlier.

Gramps

[Jedidiah]

I want to know about that phat striped clumsy bumblebee. Have you ever had one crash right into you in midflight ? Shooot, they scare me, even if they are the teddybears of the bee world.

I don't know a lot about bumble bees. My specialty is honeybees. But, if you have a question about the bumblers, I will try to answer it. EH?

[Teallaura]

1) Is it true that honeybees only sting when protecting the hive?

2) Africanized bees seem to be avoiding (so far) moving into the South Eastern US - is this because the South West's climate is more to their liking?

3) Any evidence of Africanized hives also experiencing CCD or is it only affecting native (okay, as native as European bees can be said to be) populations?

[Jedidiah]

1) Is it true that honeybees only sting when protecting the hive?
That or when you accidentally mash one.

2) Africanized bees seem to be avoiding (so far) moving into the South Eastern US - is this because the South West's climate is more to their liking? That depends, some parts of the South East do have AHB. Where the final lines will be is still up in the air.

3) Any evidence of Africanized hives also experiencing CCD or is it only affecting native (okay, as native as European bees can be said to be) populations?Since we don't actively keep AHB it is hard to say with any authority. But, CCD is not nearly as calamitous as the press makes it out to be.

Jedidiah

[JardinPrayer]

I saw my first Florida bee this past weekend. It was bigger than the bumblers I was used to in New York...and the whole back half of the body was big and bulbous and black. What the heck was that? :lol:

[Teallaura]

Oh, don't worry - that was just a baby bee.... :bee1:




































:teeth:

[mossrose]

That HAS to be Grandpa Jed's honourary smilie!

[Jedidiah]

I saw my first Florida bee this past weekend. It was bigger than the bumblers I was used to in New York...and the whole back half of the body was big and bulbous and black. What the heck was that? :lol:

Probably a new queen bumble bee.

[JardinPrayer]

Probably a new queen bumble bee.

Whoa. What was she doing out on the streets? I thought they kept her protected, fat, and lazy?!

[Amazing Rando]

What is causing the recent wide-spread decline in bee population?

[JardinPrayer]

Actually, upon a little research, there's a chance it was a Carpenter Bee...just because the back was shiny and hairless. What do ya think? (And, that's enough outta you, Teal!)

http://entoplp.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/carpenterbees.htm

[Jedidiah]

What is causing the recent wide-spread decline in bee population?

Colony Collapse Disorder

[Jedidiah]

Actually, upon a little research, there's a chance it was a Carpenter Bee...just because the back was shiny and hairless. What do ya think? (And, that's enough outta you, Teal!)

http://entoplp.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/carpenterbees.htm

Could very well bee.

[Teallaura]

What? :innocent:


I have those - they love the porch swing.

[Thespia]

Is a queen bee born that way? Or does something make her the queen later on?

[JardinPrayer]

What? :innocent:


I have those - they love the porch swing.

If your porch swing is made of wood, I'm sure they do! (Don't sit on it until you've tested it! They may have eaten some important spots!)

[Jedidiah]

Is a queen bee born that way? Or does something make her the queen later on?

In honeybees it is the royal jelly they feed the larvae that makes the difference. Any female honeybee larvae can be raised to be a queen. This is the basis for the queen rearing industry.

Among other bees I expect something similar is going on. There are worker bumble bees, after all.

[JardinPrayer]

Who gets to be on the committee that hands out the royal jelly? :lol:

[Teallaura]

You can just buy your own, Jardin.

http://www.pureroyaljelly.com/






:grin:

[JardinPrayer]

:rofl: Not why I was asking...but thanks!

[Jedidiah]

Who gets to be on the committee that hands out the royal jelly? :lol:

That is lots more than you want to know.

[Jedidiah]

You can just buy your own, Jardin.
:grin:

But, it won't work for an adult. You have to feed it to a larvae. Wait - humans are never larvae ?

Oh well, save your money. It is VERY labor intensive to collect royal jelly, and it ain't worth it.

[JardinPrayer]

That is lots more than you want to know.

But.......I do want to know! C'mon, pretend we've just tuned in to The Discovery Channel. I want to know how to become a queen! :lol:

[Teallaura]

1) Have a queen lay your egg in a cell.
2) Hatch.
3) Make the workers feed you nothing but Royal JellyTM brand bee food.
4) Pulpate.
5) Dig your way out of the cell - be sure to be first.
6) Go sting to death all the other queens still in their cells.
7) Congrats, you're the queen.
8) Go out and find a nice drone to settle down with.
9) Have a very brief fling in mid air after which the exhausted drone dies.
10) Go back to the hive and lament how he never writes or calls.
11) Start laying eggs.
12) Lay some more eggs.
13) More eggs.
14) Eggs.
15) Oops! Too many eggs!
16) Gather your daughters - or at least most of them.
17) Lay a few more eggs for the girls staying behind to feed Royal JellyTM to.
18) Swarm - also known as move to a bigger place.
19) Wait for the girls to build some new cells.
20) Lay more eggs.

That's about it.

[JardinPrayer]

See...I'm stuck on #3. Exactly how do you make anyone do anything when you're a larva?

[Teallaura]

:shrug: Throw a fit - works for most brats. Some harried worker bee will give in rather than listen to that racket. After all, if you're gonna be queen you best get the spoiled diva thing mastered early.

[Jedidiah]

But.......I do want to know! C'mon, pretend we've just tuned in to The Discovery Channel. I want to know how to become a queen! :lol:

Well, the answer is no one really understands entirely. Somehow there comes a consensus among a group of the middle aged house bees - ranging from a week or so to three weeks - that a new queen is needed. Then the various half sisters rally for one of their own to be the new queen. Generally several are started and the strongest segment gets to select by supporting their own sister in her struggle against the others.

Does that help?

[Jedidiah]

1) That's about it.

Well that is a sort of approximation, yes.

[Jedidiah]

:shrug: Throw a fit - works for most brats. Some harried worker bee will give in rather than listen to that racket. After all, if you're gonna be queen you best get the spoiled diva thing mastered early.

It is hard to throw a fit when you are confined to a barrel for your entire childhood.

[Teallaura]

It is hard to throw a fit when you are confined to a barrel for your entire childhood.
I dunno about that - some poor worker has to stick her head in there to feed you. :wink:

[JardinPrayer]

Well, the answer is no one really understands entirely. Somehow there comes a consensus among a group of the middle aged house bees - ranging from a week or so to three weeks - that a new queen is needed. Then the various half sisters rally for one of their own to be the new queen. Generally several are started and the strongest segment gets to select by supporting their own sister in her struggle against the others.

Does that help?

My sisters would fight for me, but I wouldn't want to make them. Let someone else be queen. I vote for: :hehe:

[JardinPrayer]

Jed, I promised these to you a while back. (I think in the self-pics thread). Here's you as a bee...full size and avatar size incase you completely lose your mind and decide to use them!

And, for you, I'm drinking half & half in my coffee right now! :wink:

[mossrose]

Lynn, those are fabulous!

:lol:

[Jedidiah]

I dunno about that - some poor worker has to stick her head in there to feed you. :wink:
Yeah, but if you are pitching a fit, she will just come back later.

[Jedidiah]

JP, I have to go wake up my wife now. Next post you will se me with a new avatar. Muchas gracias.

[Jedidiah]

My true love had a somewhat messy tooth extraction yesterday, and is still on pain pills. She is not ready to get up. So ----Ta da.

[Trout]

Greetings Jed,

I know I've inquired about this before, but I do have to field the occasional bee husbandry question due to my occupation.

There's a relatively new product on the market called Apistan that can aid in the control of mites on honey bees, Varroa mites in particular. Apparently the active ingredient is applied to strips of something which are then hung inside the brood hives.

What are your thoughts?

BTW, nice avatar.

[Jedidiah]

Greetings Jed,

I know I've inquired about this before, but I do have to field the occasional bee husbandry question due to my occupation.

There's a relatively new product on the market called Apistan that can aid in the control of mites on honey bees, Varroa mites in particular. Apparently the active ingredient is applied to strips of something which are then hung inside the brood hives.

What are your thoughts?

BTW, nice avatar.I have heard of it. It has been around for several years. I personally do not use any sort of medication in my colonies. I believe that selection is the answer to the mite problem, long term.

[JardinPrayer]

JP, I have to go wake up my wife now. Next post you will se me with a new avatar. Muchas gracias.

:yipee: Glad you like the avatars!

I was wondering why you had to wake your wife because of them, though, until you explained in your next post! :lol:

[Teallaura]

Have you seen this book? I'm sorta thinking about getting it.

http://www.chelseagreen.com/2007/items/naturalbeekeeping

[Jedidiah]

Have you seen this book? I'm sorta thinking about getting it.

http://www.chelseagreen.com/2007/items/naturalbeekeepingTeal, I missed this post until just now.

I have seen the ad for the book, but have not read it. My bees do not get any sort of chemicals that are not already in their environment naturally. In fact the only chemical they do get from me is sugar.

[Teallaura]

No prob - thanks. :cool:

[Jedidiah]

Teal, my question is when do you get your bees?

[Teallaura]

I don't have any. We had a wild hive in the wall of our house when I was a girl but that's it.

When I own my own place I might think seriously about it though.


Edit: Opps, misread the question.

[Jedidiah]

Edit: Opps, misread the question.

But, I guess you answered it.

[Smokering]

This reminds me of the awesome plan which will ensure a fat retirement as soon as I round up some venture capital. The pitch? Bees... in tins.

Think about it! No longer are apiary achievements limited to a select and arcane few. Farms are no longer the way of the world; instead, the craze is lifestyle blocks containing a single goat, some chickens and a compost bin. For the moderately crunchy yuppie who wishes to reap the benefits of fresh-made honey without $4000 worth of equipment... bees in tins. It's as simple as that. 'Sweetie, on your way home can you pick up some milk and butter and a tin of bees?' Simply make a small hole at the top of the tin for the bees to pass in and out (an awl would work fine), and place in your garden wherever you see fit. When you wish to harvest, simple shake out the bees, open the tin and voila. Honey! And at a very reasonable price, you can then purchase another tin of bees.

Isn't that marvellous?

[Teallaura]

You might wanna genetically engineer some European honeybees without stingers first.... :uhoh:




There's an old British sitcom around that premise - "Good Neighbors". It was hysterical. :rofl:

[Teallaura]

But, I guess you answered it.Through no fault of my own, I assure you. :argh: