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lspencer534
03-26-2011, 9:47am
Found then on the way to pick up a newspaper this morning. Honey bees! I haven't had any to speak of for years because they're dying out (something called "Colony Collapse Disorder"). About 40-60% of our honey bees may be gone. Any ideas what I should do to help protect them?

http://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww22/lspencer534/bees001.jpg

http://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww22/lspencer534/bees002.jpg
03SlowZ06
03-26-2011, 9:53am
My only thought with those pictures is to stay the hell away.



Or grab a stick and poke at them. Its really a toss up for me.
carlton_fritz
03-26-2011, 9:55am
Call a bee keeper for info.
Sneaks
03-26-2011, 10:00am
Set them up a hive house.
CP
03-26-2011, 10:06am
Flamethrower
78SA
03-26-2011, 10:08am
Flamethrower

Not honeybees. We need them to pollinate our plants.
Sea Six
03-26-2011, 10:10am
Not honeybees. We need them to pollinate our plants.

Thank you. :yesnod:
lspencer534
03-26-2011, 10:12am
Not honeybees. We need them to pollinate our plants.

So true. I had to rely on bumblebees for pollination last year, and there's just not enough of them to do a good job. Honey bees are a lot more industrious. Some States are actually paying folks to start having honey bee hives. If they die out, we're all gonna starve.
Poog
03-26-2011, 10:12am
Flamethrower

:nono:
Kerrmudgeon
03-26-2011, 10:14am
If you can either make or buy a hive they will multipy faster than if they have to spend energy building one. And, keep the damn hornets and wasps away from them, they are arch enemies. Knock wasps nest down at night, they can't see worth a shit in the dark, lighter fluid/gas and a match.:explode:
Good for you, we would all starve without them.
:thumbs:


Mrs. Obama has a hive at the white house, and fruit trees that hadn't produced fruit in decades are now doing so...!
Olustee bus
03-26-2011, 10:21am
i was told that a litmus test on the reversal of the colony collapse will be how well almond trees are cross pollinated by the bee population in California. Also, some other areas are being watched also.

That will give us a good indication if the problem is subsiding.
LisaJohn
03-26-2011, 10:23am
We let a guy put honeybee hives at the back of our property. All we have to do is tell him we need another jar of honey.
If you have a farmer's co op or county extension service call them and see if they can hook you up with a beekeeper. We had bees swarm our house and a beekeeper came and got them.

Oh yeah, please tell me again what kind of blueberry plants to get.
Thanks!
OddBall
03-26-2011, 10:38am
Hornets are hell on honeybees.

Japanese or Asian hornets don't fly at night.
The European hornet( a slightly smaller close relative of the Japanese hornet) does fly at night, and will fly to a light.

If I'm working in my garage at night, damn things keep flying in and bouncing around the lights.

...they don't stand a chance against the shop vac though.
GEODON
03-26-2011, 10:42am
if possible I'd take a fresh used diaper full of shit and toss it at the bees. Fu*k bees I've had beef with them for over 20yrs since I got stung in my ear and hands. Shit hurt.
78SA
03-26-2011, 10:48am
if possible I'd take a fresh used diaper full of shit and toss it at the bees. Fu*k bees I've had beef with them for over 20yrs since I got stung in my ear and hands. Shit hurt.

I like food too much to kill honeybees.
1911fool
03-26-2011, 10:53am
if possible I'd take a fresh used diaper full of shit and toss it at the bees. Fu*k bees I've had beef with them for over 20yrs since I got stung in my ear and hands. Shit hurt.

What were you doing to the bees? I would be willing to bet that there is a reason they stung you.
OddBall
03-26-2011, 10:54am
I like food too much to kill honeybees.

:iagree:
Kerrmudgeon
03-26-2011, 10:56am
if possible I'd take a fresh used diaper full of shit and toss it at the bees. Fu*k bees I've had beef with them for over 20yrs since I got stung in my ear and hands. Shit hurt.

Real moronic attitude!......:slap:


Bees = Food...DAH!
carlton_fritz
03-26-2011, 11:00am
So true. I had to rely on bumblebees for pollination last year, and there's just not enough of them to do a good job. Honey bees are a lot more industrious. Some States are actually paying folks to start having honey bee hives. If they die out, we're all gonna starve.
:waiting: I could use the income.
lspencer534
03-26-2011, 11:58am
Oh yeah, please tell me again what kind of blueberry plants to get.Thanks![/QUOTE]

Lisa, I'm gpoing to reply to your blueberry question here so that others can add their 2 cents. You need to get blueberries in the ground now, so instead of ordering them I'd go to a nursery or to Lowe's to get them. I can give you a list of varieties that do well in the South, such as Tifblue, but just look at the growing zone info on the plants. You're in zone 8, so get some that are tagged such as "Zones 7-9". (The higher the number, the warmer the climate generally)

Blueberries are traditionally cold-weather crops, so hybrids had to be developed for the South. If the label says "Zones 3-7", it won't grow down here. The Southern hybrids have done so well that my State is now 6th nationally in blueberry production.