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Honey Bees are Dieing!
#634898 - Tue Apr 29 2008 10:07 AM
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This belongs in Learn, do not move it from Learn.
Recently, honey bees have been on the decline. If you didn't know this by now, you either do not have a television, do not read magazines, or have not received the packet of seeds in the mail indicating this. I thought this was a Michigan only thing, but my sister in New York also received seeds in January. Now I see commercials about it.
I humbly request that everyone helps the honey bees come back. It wont hurt to buy a pot or rototill a small piece of your yard and plant some flowers. Aim for flowers that say they attract bees and/or hummingbirds. It's much easier to go straight to a store and ask specifically for a plant that will attract bees, but you can also find this by looking up native flowering plants to your area on the internet - as it will usually list which ones attract bees as well.
Could anyone post a list to a general list of flowers that will attract honey bees?
What do you plan to do to assist the population of honey bees in your area this year? What have you done already? And do you have any advice to people on methods or specific species of plant?
What would deter honey bees?
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Well, I'd say this should stay here; goes without saying. Edited my Re: subject line, though.
I don't know about this all that much, yet, but I saw an article on it a while back (I believe it was in Science magazine). If this is the same thing, then the hives are just disappearing, very suddenly. All the bees flee from their nests at once, leaving the young in the nest. The hive dies soon after, and while normally certain critters (like waxworms) will take over the hive soon after, they won't touch these hives. At the time of the article, we didn't know why.
Does anyone have any news on the cause of this, as well?
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All I know about the phenomenon is that it's called Colony Collapse Disorder and it either started happening or was discovered happening in 2006 - which is eerily recent if you ask me.
I've been working hard since last year on my garden and have seen bumble bees. But more frequently now I see yellow jackets and mud wasps. Neither of which I like at all.
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One of the main causes seems to be a mite infestation.
More can be found at ScienceDaily, over here
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Arrow
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Member #1927
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Posts: 433
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From my own experience I have found some of these flowers handy in getting bees to come and pollenate. I also searched for a few more flowers in hopes to help the readers of this thread out.
Rhododendron
Bleeding hearts (Dicentra Spctanilis)
Azelia bushes
Tulips
Daffodils
Hyacinths
Marigold
Mosquito plant
Purple headed gomphrena
Bee Balm (Mondarda didyma)
Asters
Blue bells
Geraniums
Lavender
Joe-pye weed
Golden rod
Allium
Gaillardia
I would recommend Geraniums to anyone that does not have a green thumb or forgets to water their plants. Geraniums are a strong plant that comes in many colors such as red, pinks, and whites. Also if you take a geranium in as the weather gets cooler and take care of it inside on the colder months it may last and be ready to bloom again the next year. I also find leaving little saucers of water out on my deck seems to keep bees and lady bugs happy since they can come and get a drink. I hope this helps. ^__^
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I've looked up my flower collection to see what the bees like. These are what I can safely list:
Day Lilies (Any type) - they are one of the easiest flowers to take care of and grow prolifically. Some have huge blooms. Different species of day lily bloom in different seasons, so look out for that and get one that'll bloom when you want it to.
Foxgloves
Pineapple Sage (smells like pineapple. Um. It's an herb with red flowers.)
Sweet William's Catchfly (Dianthus) - stated as an annual, but comes up every year for me.
Daffodils - plant bulbs in fall, comes up in spring.
Species of rose, especially kinds with big flowers. I use random bush varieties of rose.
Now I don't know how well any of those do at pollination - just that bees come to them.
The kinds of flowers in the seed packet I received in the mail to help the bees include the following:
Calendula
Shasta Daisy
Lance-leaved Coreopsis
Plains Coreopsis
Purple Coneflower
Sweet Williams Catchfly
I also recommend to know your zone. On most flower tags, there is a heat zone number on it (1-12 or something like that). Try to get flowers that go in your zone number, as you'll then have an easier time keeping them alive and they'll bloom better for you.
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
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Krin croons, gently...
"Que cera, cera...
Whatever will bee, will bee...
The future's not ours to see...
Que cera, cera..."
"Bee puns aside, I've got two little things to say on this thread.
"Firstly, on the subject. If we're dealing with Colony Collapse Disorder triggered by this Varroa destructor mite... while planting flowers may feel good, chances are it's going to do all of diddly-squat to help them. Yellowjackets, wasps, Africanized Killer Bees, and other 'pest' insects are also pollinators, just as much as butterflys, honeybees, and the far, far more common bumblebee.
"If bees are on the decline for you, other insects will move in to fill the gap. This means you'll end up with more yellowjackets and mud wasps if you plant more flowers. Domesticated honeybees have no lack of flowers, heck they're brought to the finest clover in existance, and their hives still collapse.
[snipped at GM's request]
She sighs, "For the record, I rely on wild plants. The bumblebees seem to adore pacific blackberries, and a close second is the himalayan blackberry. Then we've got the salmonberry, and more general wildflowers. Mostly ground cover type stuff, but they burrow for their hives so... it's really an entirely different ballgame."
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Krinele Fullin said:
Yellowjackets, wasps, Africanized Killer Bees, and other 'pest' insects are also pollinators...
And wouldn't it be something if the Africanized bees are immune? It's possible--the Africanized bees are recognized as being more resistant to diseases in general.
(PG lives where Africanized bees have already moved into the US.)
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I dont think planting flowers will help much, especially if the honeybees are dying due to being invaded by other insects.
Last summer was the first time I ever saw a bald-faced hornet. Ugliest thing I ever saw. Did I ever see any bees? I was lucky to, I cant remember ever seeing them.
My guess is that it's foreign species invading the nests and killing off the bees, so planting flowers wont help much because whatever invading species are around, they'll take over the pollination.
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I'm pleased to say the wild honeybees in NJ are doing rather well. I see quite a few of them throughout the lawns on my job.
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Francis Ulysses Undertow said:
Krinele Fullin said:
Yellowjackets, wasps, Africanized Killer Bees, and other 'pest' insects are also pollinators...
And wouldn't it be something if the Africanized bees are immune? It's possible--the Africanized bees are recognized as being more resistant to diseases in general.
(PG lives where Africanized bees have already moved into the US.)
Now I don't know about Africanized bees, so I'm leaving them out of this, but Hornets (yellow jackets and wasps/vespids) are not pollinators. They build their nests out of mud among other things, and they eat excrement on rare occasions, fruit, and primarily other insects (including flies and dragonflies). Yellowjackets are also known to eat human garbage and food that's left out. Hornets are not designed to pollinate anyway as they have a much smoother and more hairless design than bees (any bees). So planting flowers will not attract hornets. Having areas around your house out of wind, in the shade (for some species), and certain types of wood will attract them.
I knew this all along, but to check I looked it up online as well as asked the Orkin guy who sprayed my house today. He scoffed at the idea that hornets were pollinators.
Though I will agree that hornets can attack bees for food - but not invade them.
On another note, I also learned through studying honey bees that most species of BumbleBee is also endangered. Three species of bumblebee have already gone extinct.
I still say that planting flowers, especially specific kinds that are said to attract bees, will attract bees. Even if it doesn't prevent SCC, it will at least help the bees expand their territories and have nourishment. And I'm still encouraging members to do so.
I learned recently that the problem may be a mite, and that the Asian version of this bee (which is where European/American domestic honey bees originated) is immune to this mite. Does anyone know any information on introducing Asiatic honey bees to the European honey bee population to help control the problem? Or is that an impossibility.
Candylegs - this is good news! =D In Michigan they're freaking out about it. NJ must be doing something right. ^^
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