Author Topic: any bee keepers here (Read 1854 times)

JAMES G · « **on:** March 06, 2007, 09:52:00 pm »

just seeing if any one has heard anything more on this collapsing hive disease.I have a few hives and the are still strong mild winter helped out

TexasTimbers · « **Reply #1 on:** March 06, 2007, 09:55:30 pm »

I know a knowledgable beekeeper James I'll ask him next time we talk. Welcome to the forum.

DanG · « **Reply #2 on:** March 06, 2007, 10:03:01 pm »

You about ready to bring a hive over, James? We got flowers busting out all over the place over here.

JAMES G · « **Reply #3 on:** March 06, 2007, 10:09:39 pm »

most likely sat morning have coffie and biscuits ready and we will let linda get the honey fer us

DanG · « **Reply #4 on:** March 06, 2007, 10:16:07 pm »

Yeah, RIGHT!

She wouldn't get the honey for us if it was in the fridge!

I may not be here Sat. morn. I promised to help John fire up the pottery kiln this weekend.

Mooseherder · « **Reply #5 on:** March 06, 2007, 10:34:14 pm »

DanG,
You gonna heat the entire village again with the Pottery furnace?

TexasTimbers · « **Reply #6 on:** March 06, 2007, 10:47:40 pm »

You keep honey in the fridge! Heckfire that's like puttin butter in the fridge that don't make no sense.

woodbowl · « **Reply #7 on:** March 06, 2007, 10:49:41 pm »

Still got my honey slinger, hot knife, bee suit, vail and smoker ...... just no bees. $:-\$ They seemed to take care of themselves just 20 years ago, but now every time I bring home a swarm they last a little while, then die or get wax worms. I've tried teramisan and other meds to try and save the hive, but no luck for me. I hear it's a whole new ball game for bee keepers these days.

Dana · « **Reply #8 on:** March 07, 2007, 05:36:40 am »

I had 10 hives when I was still in high school. A few years back I bought a package of bees and had similar luck to woodbowl. The bees just can't seem to make it through the winter very well anymore. The Viroa mite is now a problem herre and this collapsing hive thing was on the local news a month ago.

With that said, I had a swarm go into an empty hive last summer and as of a few weeks ago they were out deficating in the snow.

I worked with a beekeeper from Florida named Carl Knorr one summer anyone near Orlando remember him?

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #9 on:** March 07, 2007, 07:03:49 am »

Talked to one gentleman here last summer and he said it was hard to get bees without disease and parasites. So he gave up. My cousin also had bees for years. All I got now is bumbles and there are getting scarce.

It's hard for them since only the queen survives the winter.

A while ago I dug out an old children's book published in the 50's. 'The First Book of Bees' (hardcover). Written for kids 6-12. Surprising the information in that book. If anyone was a book collector this set of books would be high on the list. Unfortunately my mother did not prize them so well and gave them away years ago, except this one book.

Ernie_Edwards · « **Reply #10 on:** March 07, 2007, 08:21:29 am »

S D,

Just looked thru my collection of 13 First Books Of.. and see that I don't have the one on bees. I have 13, so must have had a subscription for a year. It's amazing how much useful trivia I can still remember getting out of those books.

Kinda scary what is happening to the bees when you realize how important they are. Sure has a lot of the farmers up around here concerned.

thecfarm · « **Reply #11 on:** March 07, 2007, 08:46:59 am »

Welcome to the forum JAMES_G.I don't know where you are from,but we have a mite problem up here in Maine too.I know of about 3 bee keepers and they are having a hard time.One of them talked about wanting to set up a hive on my land,I told him yes.Maybe he'll show up with them this year.I have low bush blueberries and would like to have them here.

Paschale · « **Reply #12 on:** March 07, 2007, 09:48:59 am »

I just heard an interesting report on this collapsing hive disease, where they interviewed the guy who's in charge of apiaries in Florida. He said what seems to be happening in this case is that the bees are having some genetic mutations that cause them to forget how to get back to the hive. They're not finding hives with dead bees in there--the bees just stop coming back home, and die because of it.

The current suspicion is that it's related to a pesticide that is widely used on vegetables and fruit trees all across the country. There is evidence that this pesticide could be the culprit, which is why it's illegal in Europe.

People don't understand how big a problem this is becoming. It's really pretty scary, because it seems to be happening all over the country, and it's showing no signs of stopping. Without honeybees, we're toast.

I'll try and dig up the radio broadcast link.

Paschale · « **Reply #13 on:** March 07, 2007, 09:51:24 am »

Link to radio report.

Pretty sobering stuff. $:-\$

Paschale · « **Reply #14 on:** March 07, 2007, 10:04:54 am »

Another radio broadcast about the demise of honey bees.

Apparently, 80-90% of all commercial bee hives have been decimated by this new disease. It could have serious impact on fruits in the coming years. Apparently, commercial apiaries with thousands of hives travel across the country each year to regions where plants are flowering. Could be a big problem...

JAMES G · « **Reply #15 on:** March 07, 2007, 11:33:07 pm »

I was wondering how the small bee keepers were being effected by this problem. all the information I have heard about is with big operations who move from state to state. I live in the fla panhandle and most farm land around here has been changed over to growing pine trees or growing sod for sale. one big farm next door to me has stopped growing a few hundred acres of tomatoes and is now growing sod for golfcourses. and yes mites are a problem for us down here as well I have started using a product called apiguard and it seems to work [for now] but a lot of wild beehives have been destroyed by mites.

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #16 on:** March 08, 2007, 06:23:16 am »

Grandfather used to find wild hives of honey bees in his young days. They might turn up in an old dead elm long hollowed out. Obviously they were European bees that swarmed away from the parent hive. Haven't seen that in decades, although I do get them at the garden and there is no one close by with bees, so maybe.

thecfarm · « **Reply #17 on:** March 08, 2007, 08:45:06 am »

Lining bees it was called.Would see a bee,fellow it as far as you could see it,wait for another one and do it until you find the nest.Most bees will use the same "road" all the time.My father would do this and my Grandfather too.A fellow did this when I was about 10.Came to my Father and wanted to cut a big limb off an old rotting rock maple that grew at one of the old homesteads around here.We went and looked at it and my father let him do it,for some of the honey.

Paschale · « **Reply #18 on:** March 08, 2007, 01:39:09 pm »

Quote from: thecfarm on March 08, 2007, 08:45:06 am

Lining bees it was called.Would see a bee,fellow it as far as you could see it,wait for another one and do it until you find the nest.Most bees will use the same "road" all the time.My father would do this and my Grandfather too.

That's fascinating! I think I'll try this this summer sometime.

metalspinner · « **Reply #19 on:** March 08, 2007, 01:56:10 pm »

How far will a bee travel to and from a hive?

Two years ago, I pulled over to talk to a tree service about a large red oak they were taking down. After reaching the "deal" (free) I stood back to watch the rest of the dropping. From high in the bucket, the fella started to cut the last large branch off the top of the tree when a black cloud came swarming out of the branch.

That was quite a sight. I didn't know a bucket could come down so fast.

They called in a bee keeper, the tree guy put on the suit and cut off the branch with the hive and lowered it down to the keeper.

News:

Author Topic: any bee keepers here (Read 1854 times)