Bee Safe, Not Sorry

Silently, billions of bees are dying off and our entire food chain is in danger. Bees don’t just make honey, they are a giant, humble workforce, pollinating 90% of the plants we grow.

Multiple scientific studies fault one group of toxic pesticides for their rapid demise, and bee populations have soared in four European countries that have banned these products. But powerful chemical companies are lobbying hard to keep selling this poison. Our best chance to save bees now is to push the US and EU to ban this deadly product — their action is critical and will have a ripple effect on the rest of the world.

We have no time to lose — the debate is raging about what to do. This is not just about saving bumble bees, this is about survival. Let’s build a giant global buzz calling for the EU and US to outlaw these killer chemicals and save our bees and our food. Sign the emergency petition now and send it onto to everyone and we’ll deliver it to key decision makers:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?vl

Bees are vital to life on earth — every year pollinating plants and crops with an estimated $40bn value, over one third of the food supply in many countries. Without immediate action to save bees we could end up with no fruit, no vegetables, no nuts, no oils and no cotton.

Recent years have seen a steep and disturbing global decline in bee populations — some bee species are now extinct and others are at just 4% of their previous numbers. Scientists have been scrambling for answers. Some studies claim the decline may be due to a combination of factors including disease, habitat loss and toxic chemicals. But leading independent research has produced strong evidence blaming neonicotinoid pesticides. This has led to beekeepers and scientists in France, Italy, Slovenia and even Germany, where the main manufacturer Bayer is based, already pushing successfully for bans of one of these bee killers. Meanwhile, Bayer continues to export its poison across the world.

This issue is now coming to the boil as major new studies have confirmed the scale of this problem. If we can get European and US decision-makers to take action, others will follow. It won’t be easy. A leaked document shows that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers, but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s “highly toxic” product is a “major risk concern to non target insects (honey bees)”.

We need to make our voices heard to counter Bayer’s very strong influence on policy makers and scientists in both the US and the EU where they fund the studies and sit on policy bodies. The real experts — the beekeepers and farmers — want these deadly pesticides prohibited until and unless we have solid, independent studies that show they are safe. Let’s support them now. Sign the petition below, then forward this email:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?vl

We can no longer leave our delicate food chain in the hands of research run by the chemical companies and the regulators that are in their pockets. Banning this pesticide will move us closer to a world safe for ourselves and the other species we care about and depend on

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Nasty Thirst

Despite the relatively small backyard, bees is rarely a problem. This past few weeks, although it has become increasingly difficult to spend the afternoon getting back out without including girls harrassed.
Italian bees this year, when I got my first hive Carniolans and this was concerned, until the Carnies were simply more aggressive body has always been. Until recently, the market for use as foodstuffs by the farmer Wallingford travel Brookfield farm, Karen Bean chatted with, though, and he suggested that they may only be thirsty. It has been unusually hot these past few weeks, and we have turned out a bunch of old in pots, which had collected the water for years, and that the bees are likely to be used as the water was in the source.
Karen proposed it in the garbage can lid position with some of the Pea gravel yard and filling with water. PEAR gravel must take into account the fact that the bees are so hot, swimming, so they are one of the fixed and land.
I have reasons for a shot and let you know how it turns.

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Missing in the case of eggs

Still unable to take to get my second structure. Back in April, as described previously (Queens Aplenty and Supercedure) installed in the two hives in production. One was high, the other is unlikely to have had no brood, only four Queen cells. Decided to give himself to replace their defective Queen through the structure and hopefully see the supercedure brood Queen had amassed since new and mate (about 24 days from the date on which he had referred to the time that it would have been since mid-April).

However, when I went to aloittamisaikeesta, was still being laid eggs. To change the structure of (I) beef up during some of the brood frames for seats in a stronger structure, including but not limited to, I thought, some frames unemerged eggs (the theory that if for some reason I had not received the good Queen, bees would make one of my eggs).

I have had the time, since then, and then again today, and still I'm not sure I have a good detailed Queen. Occurred while maturing, but I am quite brood sure, that it is just I transferred a strong structure of the foetus: it is only 2-3 frames in them, and they are all fairly advanced. Eggs are not at all, that could be found.

I decided to give to the frames of the eggs and a strong structure and create your own design, or letting the weak one more try Queen, but, amazingly, I found no eggs, and a strong structure, either! There is definitely a good Queen, but I swear that went through two affect the performance of the President, 18 frames and found each to either fully developing larvae, a limited number of cells or a honey/pollen, but not a single egg, you can see. Now I know, they're small and easily disturbed, but has been there for hours, run each frame into the sun to get a good Gander, and I could not find one single darned.

At this stage, I am fighting to throw up my hands and let the weak structure of the slope. My plans are to make some poking at this stage to see. find a webshop-Queen, (which is probably what should be done one month ago) and see if he or she saves the day.

Bright side of the strong structure is going to Carniolans like gangbusters. The first honey super are fairly close completely, and, secondly, that the last weekend, I put the filling up is nicely (but still less than 1/4 as a whole, I would say very little, narrow for an indefinite period of time).

Also my light sculpture is making slow progress. Last year I without some battery power LED Christmas lights, an empty frame, in the hope that the bees to build around, creating a comb organic sculpture (Sculpture, Kick-Off). I got the frame of the hives must be too late, however, (they stop to build new comb in July). This year I will be included as part of the frame the first honey super I put about a month ago, and they will be slow, but meaningful progress, filling it out:

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Missing Eggs: Solved

I got to say, has become a very convenient to my local farmer, beekeeper at the market price. I wandered up this past week, always do, and even a Brookfield Farm, Karen Bean chatted. In particular, I wondered if he had any information is missing in the case of eggs. Turns out, he did!

One reason for the Queen stop egg-laying, has apparently "mesi dearth." He said this with some dismay, because we have had great Weather here recently, and we are in the spring, the size of the color, so you shouldn't really be any shortage in the area. However, when I offered that I had deleted my sugar syrup deliveries, he brightened the hives: Rings, ready source of nectar withdrawal can be interpreted in the sense of the drink nectar dearth and would cause a gap in the egg-laying.

You will not regret it, drag the syrup. I know that many of the beekeepers to keep feeding until the girls to stop taking it, but I prefer to pull when I put the honey pesäosastojen: 100% of my honey should become a Wallingford flowers, not Florida sugar plantations. (No offense intended to supplement, if you prefer. I am sure that pesäosastojen is the amount of sugar is infinitesimal, it's just me.)

Try again this weekend (I have to give my presentation on Sunday, the hives, some seriously folks from the neighborhood, so do not need to hassle girls still). Hopefully we'll get back on track, as well as hives.

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Glycol!

Rusty and some that are based on the comments received via Facebook, I think the Bee Kill-question verdict is clear: the girls found something they need. Rusty left a comment:

The photo is similar to the classic case of pesticide but even if someone were liimavat this year, bees Don't milk powder snow. It was not enough to kill the bees in cold November, so that it is presented. The first freeze in the winter to kill the yellow jackets and the Hornets, so that it is likely to be wrong. No, I am back to the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues. It would take only one misguided homeowner image, regardless of the container to unsuspecting insects (or Arachnid) set things in motion. If there was a warm day, a few bees could be brought to the home, where they are poisoned and the lot. Make sure that it looks like it.

I could picture, if they received at the end of November in the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues should be either but left the comment that Krista Conner hit it Facebook page:

Sounds like pesticides or really any other poison-but I am just guessing without some kind of reinforcement of the work of the CSI agree. I wonder whether they drank in the snow, monoester with ice, one is likely to be malicious software during the snowmageddon chemicals

Of Course! The thing comes together: the source of the poison did not, despite the snow, the snow was. Someone with the Refilled cars antifreeze or use some other ice and exclude or roiskunut, where the bees to get it. They went out of the settled Weather and found himself in the powder with a sweet drink the puddle of death.

Sad.

(Photo: Troy Tolley)

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Bees in his bonnet

I got a question to the Reader, Louise:

Wondering if you've never experienced this: we thought the bees would have been a particularly busy and had all the second to add the honey super one structure. The search was shocked at the outset, and went to see that all the cells that have a lot of honey was a larval them! We are trapped in the Queen excluder some how, in the light of the above. We will not be able to find out how he got up otherwise. We are not setting the drone cells either. So, technically, is now one of the bodies of three of the structure schema. We will remove the unintended structure body (the honey super) in the autumn and start from the beginning. You will not be able to determine how this occurred. We have set up the honey super on top though – have moved to the excluder Brushed off all bees before doing so.

We had 5 mehiläisparvet this spring, is not sure whether this has anything to do with this-could the queen be small enough to fit through the excluder so? We do not an on-the-spot of his.

For my part the Queen excluder: I don't read a little bit lower than the brood Chamber is a small price movement, it gives the extra ease and bees in the cells tend to have hatched in the autumn harvest time is still to go.

That said, it sounds to me, the best, even if the barrier is on the wrong side of the Queen of the ended. I suspect that he or she otherwise would trigger, expect her to be able to slip through in the other direction, and he would certainly reinforce rather than small high.

Others have advice to share?

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Shufflin '

First of all, all those who have been lost through my sleep difficulties in establishing the structure of the Queen of my second rest easy: he is there, and he is on. Over the weekend must be reviewed and the two chambers are full of good affect, a healthy foetus. Pulled over the top feeder and add the honey super. All is well.

The first structure is great, too. Checking them last week and saw that one of the honey super was getting crowded, so I added a third. I decided to try an experiment, though.

I know that every little extra work, you may receive the bees at the lowest end of the line, even make, they climb up to two further pesäosastojen to reach the honey, I want to submit a new, empty one on top. So I tried a little swap positions reverse pesäosastojen: honey. What had previously been at the top of the stack from the bottom of the honey super and added a new, empty super stack above affect the performance of the President on the situation in the middle.

Because it is not true, in a controlled experiment (how do I know whether it is a "work"?), I decided to ask the Brookfield Farm, our local farmer's market, which I have been drawn up in my mentor than selling the beekeeper Karen Bean advice.

Karen gave a thumbs up for my move. He said he did not bother with all this change, mostly to him in the back (the wise woman, indeed), but he recommends that one easy option:

Adding new super he suggested taking the top two most frames of honey Center super, which is likely to have some brood them and their placement in the center of the newly added super. (Brood, the presence of these frameworks don't use Queen excluder is built on top of that we have no idea). Then take the displaced new super empty frames and place them in positions 2 and almost the entire super 9 (i.e. not the outermost where they will be ignored, but it is close).

Room for manoeuvre, the aim is to give some encouragement to start a new bees, empty super going. He stated that if the affect the present, it is best to shake the Nurse bees that are tending to them off.

I'll give you, our guests can relax in the next.

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Pollen

I'm using from seeing alternative colors of honey, what's in bloom at any time, but you've never been cut down before, how cute the pollen of different shades of a single frame can be.

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Importing Honey?

I got an e-mail this evening, almost deleted as spam. It seemed at first glance, it is one of those "do not want to move the 2 million dollar" scams. But it does not exist. This is what it said:

If you can find me in any way to add more in the market for honey hives in my farm?What is the price of one litre of your own country.You receive one of the 1000 litres per season.I'm from Tanzania, East Africa and Eagerly waiting answers. excluded from the scope of this comments.

Maybe I'm a Sucker for designs of farmers (beekeepers!) it's a good idea to try to make a living from their horizons look than in poor countries, but I want to help. I'm also a sucker with exotic honeys: killer bee Venezuela jar is, what would you like to stay at the Tanzanian honey taste?

So is there any advice for people who is Joseph? My guess is that there are all sorts of rules and tariffs and Import quotas and what yous, but maybe someone has an idea?

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