Bee careful

[K_Y_L_E]

get it bee careful.....whatever

 

Heard this last night on AM radio, interesting.

 

Apparently over 50% of californias honeybee population has died in the last 6 months. This is due to some asian mite that is killing them. The mite is resistant to pesticides. The effects of this would be severly diminished seeded fruit crops (berries, watermellons, citrus, etc) to the point where the would just not be available anymore. But one of the biggest worries is for the almond growers of california, who produce 80% of the WORLDS almond crop. I guess this is not isolated to California either (worldwide problem). It has gotten so bad that California is asking that anyone who has hives heed that call. Anyone hear about this?

Wacky I tell ya!!

[bunglehead]

Same thing is happening in Orygun.

Too bad, I like fruit.

[Dru]

Varroa Mite infestations are not new

 

The price of honey doubled in 1997, the last time there was a big infestation.

[EWolfe]

get it bee careful.....whatever

 

anyone who has hives heed that call.

 

I get hives just thinking about it!

 

Get it?....

[MisterMo]

That or something similar struck here a while back. Pretty much did in the local beekeepers. Besides honeybees I notice that mud dauber Wasps are in short supply. I'm curious why Yellow Jacket and bald faced Hornet populations seem unaffected.

 

I wouldn't be suprised if pesticides and all that other junk are a big part of the problem.

[rbw1966]

I have a small hive in my backyard that has only seem a small amount of activity since we bought this house. Any bee afficianodos in the Portland area wanna provide some beta for helping these guys out?

[catbirdseat]

In the Seattle area there are almost no honey bees. We rely on mason bees, bumble bees and bee flies for pollination of our fruit trees. The latter are not even bees, but they seem to be getting the job done.

[rbw1966]

I'm pretty sure the bees that use my little hive are mason bees. But I am not by any means knowledgable about bees.

[catbirdseat]

I thought that mason bees were a solitary species that reproduce by boring a hole in rotten wood and laying a single egg in each.

[Cobra_Commander]

don't forget your beekeeper suit cbs

 

[catbirdseat]

That would definitely do the trick!

[rbw1966]

I thought that mason bees were a solitary species that reproduce by boring a hole in rotten wood and laying a single egg in each.

 

Not according to the research I came across last night. I happened across a website for a hive designed for mason bees that is similar to the one that was on my house when we bought it.