Honey bee (Apis mellifera)
“The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others” -- Saint John Chrysostom
Bees. I love bees. Honeybees to be exact. My dream is to one day be able to have a hive of honeybees. I made the BIG (with a capital BEE) mistake of mentioning this to my neighbor. Said neighbor proceeded to have a major full scale hissy-sterical fit. Dire warnings of law suits, threats of protest, and general all around ugly ensued. Needless to say, my garden remains hive-less.
Bees are one of the pricipal pollinators of our food crops. In recent years have seen a decline in the bee population, due to colony collapse syndrome. The cause of this phenomenon is debated greatly. Insecticides, pesticides? A mite infestation? I am not aware of a definitive reason for this dreaded condition. I say dreaded, because last year, while attending a honeybee lecture, the main speaker appreared to be visually shaken, upset. When I asked his wife if he was feeling well enough to lecture she told me that only that morning one of his hives was completely empty. Every single bee gone. The hive had not simply swarmed to a nearby tree, they were just gone.
My desire for a hive has less to do with honey than it does with giving back to nature for the bounty that we all enjoy each day. When we eat a crisp sweet apple or enjoy tomatoes fresh from the vine, find a variety of fruit, vegetables and nuts we can thank little bees for their hard work.
So, pretty much to sum it up -
NO BEES - NO FOODPS - my computer was being ugly last week. I was not able to link to Alphabe-thursday. But, you can check out my contribution anyway. Scroll down to it!
Honey bees are awesome. I think a lot of people don't know the difference between bees, hornets and wasps. Our neighbors had a couple hives last year. They woke up one morning to find that a bear had ripped them to shreds...OK,that was a little unnerving, to say the least!
ReplyDeleteI have been reading that the honey bee population is dwindling and that hives are dying. What do you know about this??
ReplyDeleteThis is very close to my heart as I am suffering badly with hay fever this year and folks have suggested local honey!
ReplyDeleteI do think it's wonderful that you want bees! I'd love to, but I already have so much going on I wouldn't be able to give them the care they deserve. I hope you find a way to do this.
ReplyDeleteFabulous post! I love bees ... except the pointy end ... i love their hives and their honey and the pollinated everything!
ReplyDeleteHoney bees decided to set up camp at a Colorado Rockies baseball game. They had a game delay and a bee keeper came and removed all these dear bees safely! Many years ago my GF and her hubby had them in the wall of their bedroom! They lived in an old farmhouse, and a beekeeper safely removed them too! They are amazing little creatures and I love the golden syrup they produced. It is as rare as gold if you know how a drop of honey comes to be! Terrific post! Have a blessed weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for commenting on my B post. As far as colony collapse is concerned, I have heard that it was overuse of chemicals that caused it, I have read that there is a mite that is involved, the Varroa mite, which infects the bees with a virus. Possibly a gut microbe called Nosema may be a factor. I just read that this is not a new phenomenon. Evidently there is history of this happening before in various countries. Two ways to help the bees is to not use pesticides in the garden, if possible. If you must, then try to spray late in the day, as bees are most busy gathering pollen and nectar during the mid day hours. The other way is provide flowers that bees are attracted to, as a source of food, i.e. - red clover, beebalm.
ReplyDeleteI hate bees. I get their importance, and I want their existence for these obvious reasons, but NIMBY. LOL.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, not only do they hang out in my backyard, they have entered my house and set up hives inside my walls on about 3 occasions. One colony was Africanized. That was fun.
My next door neighbor recently had to get rid of a hive that was in their walls. That was a first for them!
I guess if we ever wanted to get into the bee business, we'd have no problems!
It is really a shame that so Africanized bees have ruined so many peoples viewpoints about these industrious little insects.
ReplyDeleteWhen I've had big gardens I've always prayed for more bees.
Now I don't, I don't want them hanging out at my house!
Sigh.
This was a neat post.
Thank you for sharing it.
A+