How are your honey bees?

[newbury]

As a prospective beekeeeper in my Mississippi mode I did this totally unscientific comparison.
While in Mississippi at the end of March I put out several shallow pan's of sugar water (bait) after the temps got above 50 deg F. I put them in various places, back porch, by the shops, etc. They all attracted honey bees, some so thick it looked like a swarm. Also a bunch of ants and a few wasps drowned.

When I got back to Virginia (on my suburban 1/4 acre lot) in early April I put a pan of "bait" out on my back porch. After a few WEEKS not one bee. Just a bunch of ants and a few wasps. I've got plenty of flowering plants around and am about 50 yards from Huntley Meadows Park, the largest park operated by the Fairfax County Park Authority (1,452 acres).

What's it like in your area?

Are the bees still around?

Think of the implications if they are not.

 

[dave1949]

Seeing European honeybees around here has been rare for many years now. There are beekeepers in the area though.

A recent article about tracking commercial hive losses:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150513093605.htm

Beekeepers across the United States lost more than 40 percent of their honey bee colonies during the year spanning April 2014 to April 2015, according to the latest results of an annual nationwide survey. While winter loss rates improved slightly compared to last year, summer losses--and consequently, total annual losses--were more severe. Commercial beekeepers were hit particularly hard by the high rate of summer losses, which outstripped winter losses for the first time in five years, stoking concerns over the long-term trend of poor health in honey bee colonies.

 

[newbury]

But how are the bees doing in Industry, Maine?

 

[Concordriver]

Not quite sure what you are trying to determine with your "test". The presence or absence of honeybees at your "test" should not influence your decision to beekeep. You are certainly in a good geographical location for honeybees. I would just investigate whether or not neighboring properties use a lot of insecticides which would potentially poison your bees. The beekeeping season is just starting in Massachusetts. I have two new colonies going well so far.

 

[dave1949]

But how are the bees doing in Industry, Maine?

Bee keepers have reasonable results around here. I think their biggest worry is nosema.

I don't know a lot about the ecology of bees. I've been told by a local beekeeper that European honeybees will not survive outside tended hives in this area. If they swarm from a hive and go somewhere, they will eventually die out. Area bee keepers have had poor results with the new bench-style hives. The theory is the bees have to travel far and in multiple directions within the hive to follow the food in winter.

I do not know the reasons why honeybees to not fare well on their own here. This is not Ag country so I don't think pesticides play a role unless you are talking about commercial hives placed in blueberry fields. It could be that the long winters stress the ability of the hive to feed itself for six months on stored food. Honeybees are not native to North America, so they did not evolve for our conditions, that can make a difference. In the "wild" bees are cavity dwellers. Cavities in house walls or cavities in over mature trees. With the forestry practices common to this region, there aren't many over mature trees and hence not many suitable tree cavities.

Since honeybees are non-native, native plants do not depend on them for pollination. Even imports such as apple get pollinated in the absence of European honeybees. There are other pollinators that get the job done. Honeybees are the only pollinators that can be managed in large numbers and trucked around the country for intensive growing operations.

 

[newbury]

Not quite sure what you are trying to determine with your "test". The presence or absence of honeybees at your "test" should not influence your decision to beekeep. You are certainly in a good geographical location for honeybees. I would just investigate whether or not neighboring properties use a lot of insecticides which would potentially poison your bees. The beekeeping season is just starting in Massachusetts. I have two new colonies going well so far.

I suspect the neighborhood in Virginia uses a lot of pesticides. I'm just concerned that many people do not realize that pesticide application can ruin pollination if not done carefully. And I'm wondering how many TBN'ers are in a similar situation.

 

[forgeblast]

The swarm I had take residence in my bee house at the end of august did not put enough away to survive the winter, I am hopeing a new swarm takes their places earlier in the summer. I put out sugar water for them but they did not touch it and I was worried I would attract bears in again.

 

[dave1949]

I suspect the neighborhood in Virginia uses a lot of pesticides. I'm just concerned that many people do not realize that pesticide application can ruin pollination if not done carefully. And I'm wondering how many TBN'ers are in a similar situation.

You are probably on the right track. Suburban lawns are not bee friendly to begin with and visits by the Chem Lawn truck won't help. There is probably more air and water pollution too than in Miss.

 

[MoKelly]

I heard on the news just this morning that honey bees are disappearing completely in Illinois.

They claimed the reason was a lack of dandilions (which they said is a great source of food) and a parasite.

MoKelly

 

[bcjmmac]

If you're interested in keeping bees, here is a good source of info. Beesource.com - Beekeeping resources for beekeepers since 1997!
We've kept bees for 5 years now - 100% survival rate this past winter & no "real" losses other years.
There is a lot of debate on whether or not honey bees can survive in the wild these days. The primary cause of this is the varroa mite, which originated in China/Far East as the mites can build up rapidly and overwhelm a hive. Pesticides are also an issue. In some areas, escaped bees seem to be adapting to combat Varroa mites, but commercially kept bees may not have the genetic disposition to survive without assistance (studies show that bees which can tolerate Varroa have more extensive grooming habits than other bees). There is also a strain of honeybees from Russia which have adapted to Varroa due the proximity of China - results mixed in NA - possibly due mixing of genetics after arrival. Varroa treatments can be organic, synthetic, or combination of both.
Interesting hobby if you get started/always something to learn & has definite benefits for the garden/crops.

 

[davesl708]

My neighbor has bee hives. Has lost two hives in four years. Trying again. He thinks it is the pesticides used in the area.
Maybe the third time is a charm.

 

[NorTracNY]

Around here 20% losses are considered major successes. The winter of 2013-14 was about 50% loss with many people reporting close to 100%. The preliminary numbers for 2014-15 are 30% which is closer to normal since varroa mites appeared on scene.

 

[troutsqueezer]

If there is a nectar flow going on, the bees will ignore your sugar water and go for the real thing. Also, bees concentrate on one type of plant at a time. Whatever flower is producing will get the attention to the exclusion of others. Attention to a particular nectar source may vary from hive to hive.

 

[randy41]

i lost 50% of my hives...which is 1 out of 2. its not only honey bees but other pollinators as well that are in short supply.

 

[dave1949]

I see these quite often although never in great numbers:

The Xerces Society » Bumble bees: rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis)

 

[AndyBees]

I live in southeast Kentucky. I've kept bees off and on since 1975. After being "off" for about 10 years, in 2003, I ordered two colonies from the Kelley Bee Supply Company here in Kentucky to get started again (the bees actually come from Georgia). So, over the next five years, I worked with them and expanded my apiary to 11 colonies. In 2008, when I retired, it was my intent to get deeply involved with beekeeping.

Well, as luck would have it, life hand us a number of challenges beginning in 2009 that put beekeeping on hold until this day.

So, my 11 hives have "swarmed" (reproduced) and went to the wild numerous times over the last 7 spring/summers! Also, without attention, the colonies have died out to the point there are only two colonies left.

The good is, as stated above, numerous swarms went to the wild.

There are several beekeeper clubs/societies in the surrounding area. I try to attend at least one meeting per year to stay abreast of the latest in beekeeping, particularly dealing with diseases!

 

[mark02tj]

This is my third season for keeping bees. So far, I've only harvested about a pint of honey so it's an expensive hobby! The first year, I bought one "package" and one "nuc" for a total of two hives. All of that came from Georgia. Both hives died - one of them within a few months.

Last year I bought two nucs from a local beekeeper. He breeds them himself. They survived/thrived and made it through the winter until our last cold snap in late February / early March. One of them died then. It was from starvation. They didn't have enough put away for the winter and it was too cold for me to open the hive to feed them right before that last snap. I was able to feed them in late January / early February and that helped. When I opened the dead hive I found no sealed comb and many bees had died headfirst burrowing into the cells. That is a classic sign of starvation.

Anticipating that I'd probably lose both hives this year, I ordered two more packages (again from GA) for this spring. Since one hive survived, I now have three hives going. They all seem to be super active right now. I need to open the hives this week and probably put some more frames in the hive bodies. My plan is that I'm going to replace the queens in the hives later this summer. I'm going to buy queens from the local beekeeper again since he seems to have some hearty stock for our winters up here. If I replace the queens sometime in early August my thought is that a majority of the bees in the hive will be from this (hopefully) heartier stock going into the winter. When I re-queen the hives I'm planning on actually splitting the hive into a few new boxes and we'll see if I can go into next spring with 6 hives going!!

My biggest problem (aside from not knowing what the heck I'm doing!) is that our property is mostly woods/brush and we're surrounded by a lot of corn and bean fields which really aren't good for the bees. I'm moving one of my hives to my niece's property to see how it does there. She's on about an acre and, while she's rural, has a couple of residential neighborhoods within about a half mile of her. I'm hoping that the proximity to more gardens, flowers, etc. will be good for the bees. Plus, she has a large horse pasture right behind her. Not nearly as much "real ag" around her as there is around me.

I quit spraying my yard the year before I got bees so it's full of dandelions and quite a bit of clover. I'm trying to do what I can to encourage those little flyers to stay around here and pollinate to their hearts' content!

 

[CobyRupert]

As goes the bees, so goes the planet.
Be sure, there are those who would point to the canary in the coal mine and say "Naw, don't worry about him, he's just sleeping" Now pass me the round-up.

 

[davesl708]

My neighbor lost his hive last year. New bees this year. Hope they fare better. The have is surrounded by trees. Not much open area. They come to my yard for water and flowers.

 

[Ted Summey]

I've started two hives from nucs this spring. Both seem to be doing quite well. A handful of things seem to combine to cause most losses of hives here. Starvation, mites, cold, moisture, indiscriminate use of pesticides and overcrowding. That's according to my beekeeping mentor who has been keeping bees continuously since the 1960s.