Beekeepers Suggest Pesticide is Destroying Insect Colonies

[thistlebloom]

This is an interesting topic. Thanks to all of you who've added to it. I dated a bee keeper about a million years ago and helped harvest his honey. Since then I've always had a desire for a hive of my own, and now I think we'll seriously pursue that. I also like wifez's idea of mason bees. They're pretty easy and no maintenance.

 

[Ladyhawke1]

I am doing a pole to see how many low information voters there are out there in TV land.

Did anyone here actually take time to listen to the hour long broadcast that was provided to you in a previous reply on this subject? Or was it too scary?

Here is something you could actually HEAR and get information from and do your own investigation with the facts provided to you.

Here are the experts talking to you from way back in 1997. Then at the end of the hours broadcast , there is the voice of Rachel Carson in 1962 in her own words warning us. She is speaking how the corporations where trying to dismiss her book Silent Spring as being rubbish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Spring\

Tell me..who was more informed back then, to what was actually happening to our worldRachel or the corporations? Not too long after her book was published, Rachel Carson died of breast cancer.

 

[lesa]

Lady, had to read the article, since my computer is not up-to-date enough to "listen" to... Being informed is great. Knowledge is power. That being said I don't plan on getting into a tizzy about this- I can only control my own little world, and I cast my vote at election time. IMO, we are all in a hand basket, thanks to our government and it's short sighted point of view- and I know where we are heading...

 

[wifezilla]

IMO, we are all in a hand basket, thanks to our government and it's short sighted point of view- and I know where we are heading...

Hmmm...is it warm?

 

[Collector]

IMO, we are all in a hand basket, thanks to our government and it's short sighted point of view- and I know where we are heading...

Hmmm...is it warm?

It maybe warm just not globally LOL!

 

[JimWWhite]

JimW, Are you saying that the commercial bees that are transported around the country are tansferring deseases and parasites to bees everywhere. commercial producers dont really have time to be keepers of bees also. In the central region of our state we have the wenatchee valley that is a large producer of apples, and other orchard fruits and veggies. The amount of bees they need to pollinate the orchards is massive. I work in that area quite a bit and in the early spring you can see semi load after semi load of bees coming in from allover the country. so i can see how things could spread quickly around the country. What I wonder, is how a local bee keeper could service all these orchards then have to feed that amount of bees the rest of the year instead of moving them to another crop area. What do you think could be done for this type of situation.

No, I'm not saying they're transmitting diseases or parasites even though the possibility exists, but rather the hives just give up and fade away. A worker bee only lives about 45 days during good weather and if the hive is under stress then it will start to lose its vigor and quits growing. It may actually start to shrink. The queen may be sick or weak and can't keep up with the demand to make new workers. If tended to by a knowledgeable beekeeper on a regular basis the problems would probably not be happening. But I'm guessing the truckers moving the colonies about probably aren't beekeepers themselves and they probably only drop off and pick up the hives and move on to the next crop so no one is tending to the health of the hives like they would be if they were normal fixed hives. The real answer to all this is for fixed hives but the commercial guys would rather spend money on fuel and truck charges rather than to go to a grower and say "Hey, I'll provide you with 200 hives permanently on your fields for this amount and I keep the honey." It would actually be more environmentally friendly if this were the case but money talks... No. The real answer is people like us who keep bees themselves. Unless you're one of the small, small percentage of the population who would die of a bee sting I would suggest you look into beekeeping. I was amazed to find out how easy it is to keep them. Both the wife and I have been doing it for the past two years and neither of us has been stung even once. And I've been in a cloud of 20,000 bees when we're harvesting the honey and not been bothered. Believe me, it's a facinating hobby too!

 

[seedcorn]

Bees are a great thing to keep but don't expect to walk in yard barefoot in summer if you have clover problems in your yard.

 

[thistlebloom]

Clover a problem in grass? Heck , I encourage the clover in my lawn and occasionally over seed with it. I also walk barefoot out there

 

[Collector]

Jim, interesting insight many ideas I havn't thought about. My bee friend told me earleir this year he thought it might be that parasite. He also said he would set me up with a hive in the spring if I wanted to try it. thanks for clarifying this for me. I just need to stay tuned I guess more will be learned that way.

 

[JimWWhite]

I have just 3 acres and on the back acre or so we've started a small apple orchard and we're going to be adding pears, peaches and plums in the next year or so. One of the things I will get done in the spring is that I'm sowing red clover on that acre for the bees. I may bring it up to an acre and a half or about half of the property. It'll provide food for our bees and it should also provide good ground cover to smother out other undesirable weeds and vines back there that keep trying to make a stand. Clover will also help build the topsoil over time as well. We had a lot of white clover all over the rest of the yard this summer and the bees were busy out there foraging in it. And all that time our two granddaughters spent the weekends with us and played outside all spring, summer, and fall without a sting.