POC
Gold Member
Had 4 hives 3 years ago, all died over the winter. Got a couple more last year, they both left, think hive placement might have been the issue. Trying again this year.
How are your honey bees?
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troutsqueezer
Veteran Member
I've said this a few times. Bee populations have ebbed and flowed for fifty million years. Old beekeepers will tell you there have been times of colony prosperity and times when colonies die for unknown reasons. We are in a period when colonies don't seem to prosper. It will pass.
Think about this: has there ever been a time in history when man has been able to drive any insect species to extinction, try as hard as he might? Nope. The bees will be here long after we're gone.
Think about this: has there ever been a time in history when man has been able to drive any insect species to extinction, try as hard as he might? Nope. The bees will be here long after we're gone.
CobyRupert
Super Member
And during that fifty million years was there ever been a time in history when man covered the earth with death chemicals (pesticides)?
"Don't worry about that canary, he's just sleeping."
The pollinators dying out ain't the only problem. New milestone reached: Carbon dioxide levels reach global milestone
"Don't worry about that canary, he's just sleeping."
The pollinators dying out ain't the only problem. New milestone reached: Carbon dioxide levels reach global milestone
AndyBees
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Well, I don't want to get on that soap box at all (Global warming).
Where I live, there are no agricultural chemicals in use or Department of Transportation (State or Local) road crews spraying road sides. Also, the local electrical utility does not spray the right-of-away .......... however, the bee keepers here experienced the same die-offs with their bees as everyone else did across the country.
Bees are on the come back, in my opinion. Darwin's theory is working with them quite well. They are learning to cope with the various diseases quite well. Back when I use to attend beekeeper meetings, we had a guest speaker (PHD in ag) reporting that several beekeepers were electing to not medically treat their colonies for the varroa mite as well as some of the common maladies that bees experience..... just let nature run its course.
Where I live, there are no agricultural chemicals in use or Department of Transportation (State or Local) road crews spraying road sides. Also, the local electrical utility does not spray the right-of-away .......... however, the bee keepers here experienced the same die-offs with their bees as everyone else did across the country.
Bees are on the come back, in my opinion. Darwin's theory is working with them quite well. They are learning to cope with the various diseases quite well. Back when I use to attend beekeeper meetings, we had a guest speaker (PHD in ag) reporting that several beekeepers were electing to not medically treat their colonies for the varroa mite as well as some of the common maladies that bees experience..... just let nature run its course.
CobyRupert
Super Member
Good point Andy. And I certainly hope it is a natural phenomenon.
Do those bees migrate (in a truck) from state to state with the seasons?
Do those bees migrate (in a truck) from state to state with the seasons?
AndyBees
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Nope. No one here follows the crops with their bees. I'm strictly talking about the average beekeeper with 10 to 20 hives.
I think bee pollination services contribute to the spread of diseases. Of course, there's not much that can be done about even with the requirement to inspect bees when they are moved to another state.
I think bee pollination services contribute to the spread of diseases. Of course, there's not much that can be done about even with the requirement to inspect bees when they are moved to another state.
Commercial bee keepers move bees all over the country. If you talk to most in the industry they say the varroa mite is their number one concerned followed by lack of habitat/nutrition due to lack of native flowering plants. Some crops that require pollination are actually very stressful to bees. Cantaloupe pollen for instance basically provides zero nutritional value to bees so when that's all their fed for a few weeks they get very stressed. They might travel a few miles over to say an alfalfa field that was just treated for alfalfa weevil and then get exposed to an insecticide.
Another thing to keep in mind is that honey bees are not native to the U.S. I think one of the biggest things we can do to help pollinated crops is to improve the habitat of native pollinators like wood bees, birds, butterflies, etc. A wood for instance can be 10x as affective a honey bee at pollination. And they're more winter hardy and can work in colder conditions.
Another thing to keep in mind is that honey bees are not native to the U.S. I think one of the biggest things we can do to help pollinated crops is to improve the habitat of native pollinators like wood bees, birds, butterflies, etc. A wood for instance can be 10x as affective a honey bee at pollination. And they're more winter hardy and can work in colder conditions.
skylarkguy
Platinum Member
I had 5 hives going into winter. 1 winked out the other 4 are doing great. Just split 2 because their populations were huge. I don't treat the bees with any thing. Mite loads are low. I get honey but try to leave honey for over winter so to feed as little sugar water as possible.
AndyBees
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Yep, I've seen semi-flat bed trucks loaded with bees heading north on I-75. Last August, we were just west of Cody, Wyoming stopped at a road side view and a truck loaded with bees stopped.
It is my understanding that bees are taken to Alaska for pollination purposes but are destroyed at the end of the season.
Well, here in southeast Kentucky, practically all honey is a mix of various sources of nectar. White clover and sourwood might be the exceptions. About 7 years ago, there was a 75 acre tract of land sold. The new owner prepared about 50 acres of it for mixed hay (bluegrass and white clover). The fields were white with clover blooms the next spring/summer. My bees worked us to death putting the honey. Two years later, the owner leased the property for cattle grazing, thus clover was about a zero for honey production from those fields.
Back several years ago, when coal mining was big, they would sew clovers as part of the reclamation.
It is my understanding that bees are taken to Alaska for pollination purposes but are destroyed at the end of the season.
Well, here in southeast Kentucky, practically all honey is a mix of various sources of nectar. White clover and sourwood might be the exceptions. About 7 years ago, there was a 75 acre tract of land sold. The new owner prepared about 50 acres of it for mixed hay (bluegrass and white clover). The fields were white with clover blooms the next spring/summer. My bees worked us to death putting the honey. Two years later, the owner leased the property for cattle grazing, thus clover was about a zero for honey production from those fields.
Back several years ago, when coal mining was big, they would sew clovers as part of the reclamation.
troutsqueezer
Veteran Member
As for the Varroa mite, it is not a problem in hives that use small cell or natural foundation. There is no room in cells for mites in those circumstances. With the advent of the Langstroth hive came foundation with slightly larger cells than what occurs in nature. Get rid of those and the varroa mite will go away.
