Beekeeping...

[Redbugdave]

Kahn...Once you get plugged into bees, your view of the out of doors will forever change. You will be looking at flowers and plants in a different light and your ears will be tuned into all the different buzzings you never were aware of before.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Question on bee-havior of bees (bad pun intended).


I have a backyard garden - lots of flowers and flowering plants - love the bees.


The bees absolutely love the green onion bulbous flower tops - in fact they will bury themselves for long periods of time.


For the last several days, the weather has been quite cool in the evenings and I've noticed one or two bees will stay very late feeding until it gets down right chilly to the point they seem 'frozen' for the night.


I thought for sure they died - too cold to move and done for.


Yet, the next morning after the sun comes up and hits the flowers they will start to move and go on about their business.


Has any one else noticed this? I thought it was down right fascinating!

 

[Redbugdave]

Question on bee-havior of bees (bad pun intended).


I have a backyard garden - lots of flowers and flowering plants - love the bees.


The bees absolutely love the green onion bulbous flower tops - in fact they will bury themselves for long periods of time.


For the last several days, the weather has been quite cool in the evenings and I've noticed one or two bees will stay very late feeding until it gets down right chilly to the point they seem 'frozen' for the night.


I thought for sure they died - too cold to move and done for.


Yet, the next morning after the sun comes up and hits the flowers they will start to move and go on about their business.


Has any one else noticed this? I thought it was down right fascinating!

Some bees are forced to spend the night away from the hive. Maybe a storm comes through around sunset, or it just gets cold. What you described is fairly normal. They hunker down and wait it out. It's all pretty amazing when you realize those little guys often fly out three or more miles one way to find nectar or pollen. Even more amazing when you consider all the things that could happen to them during the day. Maybe getting eaten by a bird, pesticides, or storms for example. Bees get active when it hits around 50 degrees.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

I just finished this fascinating article in entomology today with an update on Varroa mite feeding that may(mite) be of interest to the forum beekeepers. Excellent microscopy!

Varroa destructor, a mite that feeds on honey bees, is the greatest single driver of the global honey bee health decline. For years, scientists and bee keepers were told that the Varroa mite feeds on hemolymph (the bee’s blood) based on scientific research done long ago. However, for our research team led by Samuel Ramsey, Ph.D., this did not make sense, as the mite’s digestive system and mouthparts just did not seem like they were structured properly for blood feeding. Their closest evolutionary relatives were not blood feeders either. As pointed out by insect-rearing expert Allen Cohen, Ph.D., even their excrement was all wrong for them to be blood feeders.

https://entomologytoday.org/2019/02/21/inside-look-how-varroa-mite-diet-discovered/

 

[bushpilot]

Just saw this thread, I am a beekeeper, this will be my third year, and am planning 8 hives. It is strangely addicting as a hobby goes.

 

[Redbugdave]

An old thread resurrected! As I write this, I can see some of my hives out of the bedroom window. I have 10 hives at the house and a few more out in the woods. Interest has not waned and I get enormous pleasure from my bees. Today, one of my projects after mounting new tires on one of my trailers is to vaporize my bees at the house with oxalic acid to control those mites. I treat four times a year for mites by vaporization. Bees have become a way of life.

 

[ChiliPepr]

I am heading into my second year... Last year I had two hive and ended up with about 25 pounds of honey. Probably going to expand to four hives this year. Season is a bit shorter in Maine, not much to do late November to early April.

What is interesting is the much larger than average harvest of fruits and vegetables last year!

 

[KCGeezer]

Another interesting idea to pursue! Thanks so much for bumping this thread.

 

[GravitySucks]

Great looking doggo Dave!

 

[Redbugdave]

Great looking doggo Dave!

Pal is my main Buddy!