my bees arrived today!

[happy acres]

Bees are now in their new home! I know it sounds like bragging, but I have never been stung by a bee. Don't know if I'm just lucky, or maybe I'm a bee Whisperer? They will land on me and walk around, but none have ever stung!

 

[SillyChicken]

We just got our bees today!

 

[babsbag]

2 of the hives I lost had new queens in the spring and they didn't make it through the winter. The other hive probably needed a new queen; that might have helped. I think it is a combination of things, mites and nosema being the major players. Add that to the stress of them having to deal with all the sprays and systemic poison that people use and loss of habitat in general I think that they just can't deal with it all. I never see wild bees anymore at my home. A commercial bee keep that I know lost 40% of his hives this last winter. It gets expensive to buy new nucs every year.

 

[goatboy1973]

I'm so jealous. I dream of bees and honey is my favorite thing. Sadly I'm allergic to bees...I really need to figure out how to get around that

See your primary care doctor and they can refer you to an allergist who can do weekly injection to help desensitize you to bee stings and prescribe you an Epi-pen to use if you get stung.

 

[babsbag]

Unfortunately when you own bees and work them it is not IF you get stung but WHEN you get stung. Seldom a serious hive inspection goes by without me getting stung. Not sure I would risk that if I was allergic since typically each sting causes a more severe reaction.

 

[SillyChicken]

Lots of apiaries up here in MI did not survive. One guy lost 300 hives. I feel lucky only losing one, but then again, I only have one. I'm hoping we have better luck this year, but the way spring is, I should say IS NOT going, I don't know how well the bees will do. They're already stressed from the truck ride up (the conditioner failed on the truck half the queens were dead in the shipment). Such a frustrating hobby when it doesn't work!

 

[babsbag]

The bees are so important to humanity that I encourage every one I know to get a hive or at least to let me put one at their place if it is a suitable location. That is tough when you lose them before the season even starts. I wanted to try to this organically but I am just not sure that it is possible and this year I am going to spend more time treating them for mites and also making sure that they are ready for winter with a strong cluster and I will combine hives if needed. Hopefully the mite treatments will help. Good luck with yours.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

I don't have bee hives yet, but I keep the yucky jujube trees for the bees that drop in. They are the first trees the bees come to in spring, then they go to my lemon and orange trees. I hung a hummingbird feeder in the jujube, for the bees with just plain water. I feel bad when they die in the goats water buckets. I fish them out as often as I see them. I know that I am only one person (well I am teaching my kids too) and my little patch of weeds is only one acre, but it is mine and I try and do my part to give the bees a safe haven. I can't stop the overspray from the orchards around me, but I don't poison my little bit of earth on purpose. They give me the benefit of their services for just a little water and some trees left as organically as I can make them. If enough individual people do their parts, the results can add up.... even pennies do, they just take a little longer.....

 

[happy acres]

Hear hear!!!!

 

[babsbag]

Another way to give water to the bees is a bucket with a rag hanging over the side. The rag will wick the water out of the bucket and the bees can just get the water from the bucket and not have to go for a swim. I know you can't do that in the waterers...the goats would pull the rags out, at least mine would. Or if you want to get real creative you can make a bee pond. Get a pot of water with water plants in it that float and make it so crowded that the bees can walk on the leaves on the plants and not fall in. Fortunately for me I have a pond with shallows and I seldom see the bees in other bodies of water.

I wish I knew how to start a political campaign that would force the chemical manufacturers to put a bee with an X through it on the front label of every container of poison. I am sure that many people don't realize what they are killing. Also knowing what the bee withdrawal time is should not be hidden in the small print in the back pages of the directions. So many bees could be saved if people would spray at dusk and not a dawn. If manufacturers would print that in the directions I think it would help. But the systemic insecticides scare me to death, not just for the bees, but for me too.