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Honeybees

Started by mometal77, June 14, 2005, 03:46:27 PM

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mometal77

Anyone out there have honeybees?
Too many Assholes... not enough bullets..."I might have become a millionaire, but I chose to become a tramp!

Ernie

We used to have honey bees but they were so quiet that I did not need any bee gear to handle them.  Just wore my usual shorts and a tee shirt and never got stung.  Didn't even need my smoker.  Their only problem was that they didn't fight off the wasps and got killed off in their first season.  Prior to that, I had some real nasty ones that would have a go at you from 20 yards away.  I killed them off to get the quiet ones.

I gave up and bought our honey.  Might get back into it but in NZ we have a real problem with Verroa mite and there are now a lot of govt controls to cope with and I don't think that I can be bothered but who knows, maybe one day.
A very wise man once told me . Grand children are great, we should have had them first

crtreedude

We don't keep bees, but my grandfather did. I inherited from him a tolerance for bee stings. I get stung and not much happens.

We have a type of bee here with no stinger that makes really nice honey - and then we have the ones coming up from Brazil.  I was walking a field and saw a swarm of them - sounded just like the wind. I went elsewhere quickly.

So, how did I end up here anyway?

Tom

Preety much the same story as Ernie.   I finally gaave up.

Verroa mites, trachael mites,  foul brood, wax moths, ants, beetles and an occasional errant mosquito control plane finally did me in.  The governments decision to tax the hives with the pretentions that they were to use the money to keep track of Africanized swarms made lt less palatable too.

I'll do it again sometime when I can devote all of my time to them.  Maybe when I retire again. :)

populus

I had honeybees for many years, since I was in graduate school. I gave them up when I moved to Southeast Asia. When I came back I was going to start up again, but there are just too many problems now, as Tom said. Varroa mites and tracheal mites are the biggest problem. There has been a dramatic decline in both wild and domestic honeybee hives. North Carolina agriculture authorities have expressed concern that there are no longer enough bees to pollinate important crops adequately.

I also didn't want bees in my small backyard while I have small children. Instead, I got a colony of orchard mason bees. These small, gentle bees don't make honey, but they do pollinate orchard crops. And, they are great for kids to watch.

mometal77

It depends on the way bees are handled.  My father got rid of his hive a few yrs back over not having the gear.   He found everything un used at a garage sale last summer and we bought some bees.  There are a few local hives around here.  I can see how you could have problems else where in the country and asia.  Will have pics up later on a link.
bob
deming,wa
Too many Assholes... not enough bullets..."I might have become a millionaire, but I chose to become a tramp!

Furby

Been thinking about getting some for close to a year.
Going ot to look at some equipment later this week, probly won't get it though.  :-\

Woodcarver

My spouse and I talked about getting a hive or two years ago because there didn't seem to be enough wild bees around to pollinate our garden crops. While we were looking into what it might involve a newly married couple bought land across the road from us. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that they were a bee keeplers.  More than a little suprised when we learned that he is allergic to bee stings.

We discarded  the idea of keeping bees ourselves since we know had a ready source of both bees and honey. Over the years our neighbor has had most of the problems listed (mites, foul brood, etc.) plus one common problem that no one has mentioned--black bear.  The DNR set up a live trap near his hives a couple of weeks ago in hopes of catching and relocating the latest raider.  I haven't heard if they were successful.
Just an old dog learning new tricks.......Woodcarver

UNCLEBUCK

My neighbor runs about 10 semi loads of hives and unloads on my farm and sets 60 boxes about 50 yards away from my shack and every fall I get 2 big cases of buckwheat honey . He says 50% of the honey bee population has been taken due to the mites as they have become numb to the medicine . He also ships all the hives to California for the winter to work the almonds . If they dont invent a super drug to kill the mites the produce prices will go sky high . I think honey bees are great and thought it would be fun to have a few boxes but wintering might bring sickly lookin bees so I just watch my neighbor
UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

Grawulf

If any of you folks would like a free swarm, we've got one in our upper story roof between the first set of rafters. Tried to get them hived last year but couldn't find the queen - too far up. Am not too keyed about cutting through the roof to find her. You guys have any suggestions? Don't really want to destroy them. I was told by the beekeeper that tried to get them out that in Denmark, they have beerooms inside the house - all they have to do is open the door and tend the bees. My only problem is I don't have a door........ ::)

mometal77

furby it is expensive for the equipment just by looking at garage sales and estate auctions..  We found the whole set up for 50 bucks.
Bears can be a problem not a lot around here.   Here we have more problems with cougar than anything else.  This lady that used to live next door wanted to put in a day care this was even after down the road a calf was dragged off.  Uncle i wish i lived closer.. I am just putting up hive pics.  One good thing if you ever have wasps.  Mug wasps are the worst use gasoline in a spray jug.  Even at night will help fumes will kill them.  Along with anyother bee.  Too bad you dont contact a local bee keeper uncle bees in a box will attract other bees.   What do they say a bee can even communicate where all the pollen is.  If you kill a bee a mile away and with a good wind can tell other bees a bee was killed.  Amazing creatures.

honeybees folder
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/goober077/my_photos
Too many Assholes... not enough bullets..."I might have become a millionaire, but I chose to become a tramp!

rpg52

I had bees for 5-6 years.  You have to be ready to work on them when they need it or they will swarm or get sick though.  The honey is great but the saying is that anyone who can make $1 with bees can make $2 doing something else.   I believe it.
Ray
Belsaw circle mill, in progress.

SwampDonkey

We have alot of bumble bees here, they were working my apples and spirea bushes quite frantically this spring. I think there numbers are coming back some, but when I was a kid there were alot more. You could here a constant hum of bumble bees in the fields of clover, wild strawberry and wild flowers. They are quite docile because you'de run into them and knock them off the flowers and they'd just carry on to the next flower unconcerned as could bee. ;) ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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