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Where have all the bees gone??

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T O P I C R E V I E W
Bee Haven Maven	Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 08:23:42 AM We lost our 2 hives this winter (we chalk it up to that "Colony Collapse Disorder" that has afflicted bees all over the world). But we are not giving up! We just got 5 more hives from a fellow who is retiring his beekeeping. Wish us luck with these 5 new colonies...would sure like to be able to harvest some honey! Any of you gals lose bees last year? It really is scary when you consider how much of our agriculture depends on pollination by bees. Wish us well with these newbies (bees)! Keep Smiling.....Bev Bee Haven Acres http://beehavenacres.blogspot.com/
20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
brightmeadow	Posted - Jan 04 2015 : 6:32:06 PM Here is some food for thought about buying flowering plants to help the bees - gardeners beware! http://www.foe.org/beeaction You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2 http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com http://brightmeadowknits.blogspot.com http://www.ravelry.com/people/Brightmeadow
star-schipp	Posted - Dec 16 2014 : 5:02:21 PM Here is another post I did today on products from the hives.... http://estleschippfarm.blogspot.com/2014/12/4-bee-products-with-health-benefits.html If you can't feed one hundred people, then just feed one. -Mother Teresa Star - farmgirl sister #1927 Estle Schipp Farm: Celebrate the Hobby Farm Lifestyle http://EstleSchippFarm.blogspot.com https://youngliving.org/starschipp Master Food Preserver
lovinRchickens	Posted - Dec 06 2014 : 2:40:21 PM Starletta What great information you posted on your blog. Thank you so much. I am wanting to start my own hives soon and that was very encouraging for me to read. You put everything to such great use, love it! Farmgirl #5111 Farmgirl of the month October 2014 Blessings ~Kelly~
star-schipp	Posted - Dec 06 2014 : 11:09:37 AM I blogged about our first year of beekeeping and ten lessons I learned - I even learned what Slumgum is! LOL While I am sad that we lost our hives, I am already planning for our second year. http://estleschippfarm.blogspot.com/2014/12/skills-saturday-at-estle-schipp-farm.html If you can't feed one hundred people, then just feed one. -Mother Teresa Star - farmgirl sister #1927 Estle Schipp Farm: Celebrate the Hobby Farm Lifestyle EstleSchippFarm.blogspot.com https://youngliving.org/starschipp Master Food Preserver
star-schipp	Posted - Dec 05 2014 : 6:59:29 PM We went out to check on our two hives that we started this week and my heart sank when I leaned in to listen for the familiar humming of the hive and heard nothing. We opened the hives and neither had bees - hardly any little bodies either. One had a queen cell and the other had a lot of drone cells. We are still in the newbee stage and have so much to learn. Does this sound like colony collapse? If you can't feed one hundred people, then just feed one. -Mother Teresa Star - farmgirl sister #1927 Estle Schipp Farm: Celebrate the Hobby Farm Lifestyle EstleSchippFarm.blogspot.com https://youngliving.org/starschipp Master Food Preserver
Bee Haven Maven	Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 2:54:58 PM Thanks Oregon Gal for the mason bee info!! Keep Smiling.....Bev Bee Haven Acres http://beehavenacres.blogspot.com/ http://beehavenmaven.blogspot.com/
Tina Michelle	Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 1:31:56 PM I would suggest planting any type of wildflower seeds native to your area. You can get the canisters of regional seeds from places like Kmart or Walmart..or look online for wildflower seeds. ~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
Bluewrenn	Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 10:32:08 AM My hubby took a bee keeping class that attributes some of the hive loss to a mite that attacks the bees, esp. the queen, biting them and sucking out their body fluids. Once the queen is dead, the rest of the hive disperses. (I don't remember the name of the mite, but anyone who is working with bees may know.) My Homesteading Journal http://toomyvara.livejournal.com My craft journal http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com
greentea	Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 10:27:21 AM I heard the cellphone theory too. It was on NPR this morning, there's probably a link to the show on line by now. I believe a group of Dutch scientists came up with this...the cell phone radiation affects the bee's ability to use their navigation systems.
junkjunkie	Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 10:16:25 AM I heard on TV that one theory may be cell phones. The theory is that cell phones and cell sites emit radiation that disorients the bees and lose their way to their hives, then die. It would be catestrophic if the bees become extinct without their pollination to our agriculture.
Alee	Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 09:18:10 AM Thanks Anne! I will have to make sure to plant a large area to Rosemary! Chris- Thanks so much for the great info on the Mason Bee! It looks like the do live around here so I will try to make some homes for them! Alee
asnedecor	Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 06:48:22 AM Alee - One item in my garden that attracts both honey bees and humming birds is my Rosemary bush. It blooms small blue flowers early spring and the bees and the humming birds just flock to it. Also I have a winter jasmine bush that blooms the end of December thru first part of February (even in the snow) again I have seen a year round humming bird on that along with a few aventuresome bees. Anne in Portland "Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them" Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh
OregonGal	Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 8:41:17 PM Here is some info on the Mason Bee (aka: Blue Orchard Bee) http://virtualorchard.net/glfgn/february1998/masonbee.html and also http://www.island.net/~cclt/bluebee.htm I have some of these Mason Bees. I noticed them one day by my firewood pile. The ends of the firewood have holes in them - as the wood dries, the center of the wood splits and there's a nice round hole in the center of the wood, and I saw the bees going in and out. So I figured they were Mason Bees, so I made a home for them from a piece of 4 x 4 wood - I have them in my garage and will take them outside tomorrow so they will be ready when the cherry and apple trees bloom - which should be in the next week or two. Alee, if you want to give honeybees something, plant lots of flowers - they love Monarda (which is called bee-balm) and all kinds of fruit trees and vining vegetables like cucumbers and squashes and pumpkins, they're attracted to blue colored flowers, and clovers and (wild or tame) red and black raspberries - they just adore milkweed too. How's that for a few ideas - and last but not least, they need water! A birdbath with a brick they can stand on so they don't fall in and drown.
Alee	Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 6:35:37 PM Thanks for the link Tina, it seems pretty informative. If I wanted to make a honey bee friendly area, what flowers would you suggest I plant for northern Idaho? I am not really interested in doing a full scale bee farming production, but could you bee keepers give me some idea about what it would take to make a place the bees would be attracted to hiving in? I probably wouldn’t harvest the honey or anything but I would love to give them a sanctuary in the middle of town. Thanks! Alee
Bee Haven Maven	Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 6:09:34 PM We use no pesticides on our 130 acre....have lots of fruit trees, flowers, woods, shrubs, etc. but there are neighboring dairy farms who do use pesticides on their corn and hay.....tis a problem as bees fly for miles in search of nectar. I am also interested in your comment about Mason bees....please expound on this. I have also read that there is some concern that genetically modified crops could be the cause.....very scarey stuff. Thanks, Tina for the advice about reporting. Actually, Pennsylvania is quite active in the research on this problem. Keep Smiling.....Bev Bee Haven Acres http://beehavenacres.blogspot.com/
Alee	Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 1:38:52 PM What are Mason bee houses? Can you post an explanation/instructions? Alee
Tina Michelle	Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 12:50:14 PM and I agree with Ann from Portland..it is important and helpful to plant flowers that will provide a source of nectar and pollen, and to avoid using chemicals on our lawns. ~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
Tina Michelle	Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 12:48:54 PM I hope that those of you that have lost your bees to Colony Collapse have reported the losses to a cooperative extension office or someone in your area that is working closely with the entymologists/scientists in your area/state..this really worries me..and I really hope that these cases are being reported so that the scientists working on this can come to a conclusion about why..real soon.It is really important that it be reported, so that they know where these cases are occuring at and at what frequency. (not being preachy here, but it is extrememely important on finding the cause and hopefully the cure) ~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~
asnedecor	Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 09:09:24 AM Last weekend there was a big write up in the Oregonian about the colony collapse amongst beehives. They encourage gardeners to set up mason bee houses, plant so that there is something blooming in your yard all year round and have some dense shrubs/bushes for bees to live in. Also cut out insecticides and harmful fertilizers - unless organic from your yard. I have been working hard to have all of this to keep the bees coming to my yard. We have a bumble bee colony near us somewhere because we have tons of bumble bees in our yard - so I encourage them to keep coming with all of my plantings and organic gardening. It is a scary thing to think that we might lose our little worker bees. Anne in Portland "Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them" Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh
UrbanChick	Posted - Apr 15 2007 : 08:30:16 AM My friend has 3 hives and lost 1. She can't explain what happened. They just disappeared. There was a show on Nightline about the Colony Collapse Disorder among bees. They featured a bee keeper in Ohio that is struggling to keep his colonies, and how much that will impact agriculture and how much we spend at the grocery store. It was an interesting show. I think I saw it on my IPOD video. "Courage dosen't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying: I will try again tomorrow."

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