Ok, maybe a little off topic but most of us here are outdoorsmen. Bees are supposed to be an important link in the ecosystem that keeps everything going.

I haven't seen a honey bee in many years.
When is the last time one of you fellows came across a wild hive?

Is rare for me to see a honey bee for the last several years. I do see one here and there. No hives though! Other bee's and wasps are around.

I remember eating an icecream cone with a friend. Honey bee nest in a knot of an oak tree. I "lobed" my icecream ball right in the hole at about 25 feet(on a bet). Real good shot. The swarm chased us near 1/2 a mile. My friends icecream cone was lost while escaping the wrath. We "both" remember that one.

Honey bee is a gentle creature (mostly). I will remember that they are skilled with "self defence" tools. We should all be that way.

Cheezywan

All bees in Arizona have been interbred with the very aggressive African honey bee. I'll guarantee you will leave a hive alone if you find one here! People have been killed by the swarms that continue attacking.

I am no authority but suspect mosquito spray as the problem with the lack of bees, at least in this area. We used to have leopard and bull frogs by the jillions here in southern Idaho when I was a kid. I have not seen a leopard frog in at least 25 years and it is rare to hear bull frogs around ponds when you use to hear thousands. My Grand Mother told me she thought it was the mosquito spray. When they started that the frogs began to disappear.
Recent history and the fear of West Nile and the aggressive programs is what I suspect as the culprit. I may be all wrong but it seems there are a lot of insects with smaller numbers than yesteryear.
A fella hates to see mother nature damaged but when I was a kid there was no way to BBQ on a summer evening out side without being eaten alive and now it is rare to get a bite. Good with the bad I reckon.

Bees are rare around here;and have been for a couple of years.
According to the "Bee People",the bees go out to work,and never return to the hive.
Frank

Been in the news a bit here in Australia that there is some really nasty disease thats killing honey bees all over the world . Australia is the last continent to be free of this disease and bees are exported from here all over the world to polinate orchards and crops .

they say that its only a matter of time before this disease reachs Australia and then the whole world will be in a lot of trouble . Very real threat of world famine . Sounds a bit unbelievible i know , but thats what they are claiming . So those few bees you are seeing might well be iimagrants from Australia .The imported hives adventually secomb to this disease and die .

One time I was hunting francolin in Africa and came across a huge tree with honey pouring out of a hole in its base. It was the dry season and the honey was about 5 inches deep and spread about 10 feet fron the tree. You could hear the bees from 100 yards away. There must have been millions of them. Everywhere I wentin Africa I encountered wild bees. Sometimes you had to keep your hand over your drink to keep them from flying into it. If you left a half cup of Coke on an outside table for a few minutes, it would be overflowing with bees.
As for here in North America, it has been a few years since I came across a wild hive. I wonder if it has anything to do with that disease I heard was affecting honeybees?

Kudu40

Colony Collapse Disorder. No known cause.

Yes, disappearance of bees would be a huge problem. They pollinate the majority of food crops.

As Ken says, you don't mess with the Africanized bees, we have them in Texas now also and they are quite aggressive.

we have the odd hive here now and then , but nothing huge. Mostly uban, dug into the soffits of homes and such. most times, they call a beekeeper to remove them, which he does and keeps the bees.


That being said, I too have not seen a wild hive in many, many years.

Ditto on Colony Collapse Disorder. Might be a virus. Reports say the USA and Europe lost over 2/3 its domestic bees in last 2 years and the rest dying fast. Only thing saving us is being able to import them from Australia. Could be catastrophic to worlds food supply.

Anyone ever shoot a bee hive from a tree with a 22 rimfire? Do it in the fall after the "hard freeze". Shellac for an interesting wall decoration. Is difficult to "hit" that tiny stem that they hang from!

BEE CAREFUL OF WHAT IS BEYOND YOUR TARGET! Put a stought limb beyond that hive and BEE safe. Also BEEware that some BEES survive the first hard freeze. DO NOT bring it into your home unless you are SURE that there are no live BEES!

Is that clear enough?

Cheezywan

Cheezy, you're not confusing hornets with honey bees are you? The honey bee will build a comb but the hornets build the paper nest that hangs from tree branches and just about anything else they can attach it to. Hornets are creatures with nasty dispositions (a lot like a mother-in-law) and will both bite and sting. Honey bees are somewhat passive by comparison.

Here in NY I have an apple orchard. Not much fruit this year compared to last year but I did see two kinds of bees, a standard honey bee, and a bumble bee, the big ones that are balck and yellow.

We have 3 kinds of bees here - the africanized honey bee, the bumble bee and a huge all black one named the carpenter bee. The carpenter bee is completely harmless, just bumbles around and cuts little cresents out of the leaves. Their worth to nature completely eludes me.

We also have a large black bee here in NY called the Bumble Bore. True to its name it bores holes in wood like a beetle. They are very territorial and fiercely guard their turf, I had some boring holes in the barn last year and swatted a bunch with a tennis racquet. The rest fell victim to Raid. The holes they bored were about a half inch in diameter. They can be very destructive if allowed to.

Cheezy, you're not confusing hornets with honey bees are you?

I think I am mistaken flash. Allways called it a bee hive when in fact it was a hornet hive. Either way, it makes an interesting decoration.

Cheezywan

Paper wasps make the best hanging nests. And the best part is they really don't get all riled up and take after folks too much. When winter time comes in the Northland, go out and cut it off with the branch still attached, spray it with women's hair spray (real men don't use the stuff, do they?) and have yourself a nice decoration.

We also have a large black bee here in NY called the Bumble Bore. True to its name it bores holes in wood like a beetle. They are very territorial and fiercely guard their turf, I had some boring holes in the barn last year and swatted a bunch with a tennis racquet. The rest fell victim to Raid. The holes they bored were about a half inch in diameter. They can be very destructive if allowed to.


Around here, we call them Wood Bees. I sure hated stacking hay in our pole barn that had them! I hear they sting pretty bad, but never found out from personal experience:eek: We sure went through a lot of Acme Wasp & Hornet spray though!

I had over 150 hives when the Varroa and Tracheal mites hit. Lost half the first year they hit, and after a couple of years didn't have any. I could have treated for them, but didn't want medication in the honey. Local police in all the neighboring Towns know I am a Beekeeper and call me when they swarm. For about 5 years I might get one call a summer, but some years I didn't get any. Last year the wild swarms started making a comeback in this area and this Summer I've collected 5 Swarms. The hive disorder is still affecting them, but I think some of the wild colonies built up resistance against the mites, and hopefully will do so against the hive disorder.

I had over 150 hives when the Varroa and Tracheal mites hit. Lost half the first year they hit, and after a couple of years didn't have any. I could have treated for them, but didn't want medication in the honey. Local police in all the neighboring Towns know I am a Beekeeper and call me when they swarm. For about 5 years I might get one call a summer, but some years I didn't get any. Last year the wild swarms started making a comeback in this area and this Summer I've collected 5 Swarms. The hive disorder is still affecting them, but I think some of the wild colonies built up resistance against the mites, and hopefully will do so against the hive disorder.


Interesting to me P97. I understand that "you" know what you talking about. I do not. Bee's are interesting critters. Part of the "outdoor experience".I sure don't want them to go away! Very important they are to the "food chain".
Could you expand a bit on your observations please?

Cheezywan

Bees are like any other insect or animal. Nature provides a way for existence through building up immunity against disease and other things that destroy existence. I worked for a Feed Mill a few years ago and we would have to change the Fly Tags that Ranchers put in Cattle ears to keep the flies off and same way with Spray they used. After a couple of year the flies build up immunity against one of the ingredients in the tags or spray, and we would have to change to one that had a different ingredient. As for keeping Bees I could write a Book about Beekeeping and most of it be from experience the hard way. I am on another Board a lot and I will start a Thread there so I won't have to cut and paste and clutter up another Board with the same thing. If anyone is interested the link is in my Signature.

Years ago I recall seeing a spot on TV about mites being the major cause of honey bee decline. I just googled and found this article (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070511210207.htm), which confirms that mites are the predominant problem, but there are also other causes as well still being determined.

How would you like to own a Company where you had thousands of workers that were so dedicated that they would work themselves to death for you, and never complain, never file an unemployment claim against you, never sue you, and always be on the job. Thats what you have when you have a hive of Bees. There are around 60,000 female worker Bees in a strong hive in the Summer. In the Winter they dwindle down to around 30-40 thousand. The Queen quits laying in the Fall and they reduce population during winter. The lifespan of the Worker is around 6 weeks in the summer until they work themselves to death gathering honey and pollinating, but when not working in the winter they can live all winter. They cluster around the Queen in winter and constantly move their muscles to create heat to keep themselves and the Queen from freezing. In the Summer they air condition the hive by bringing in water and then fanning it through the hive like a evaporative water cooler. Thats what keeps the wax from melting down on a 110 degree day.

That's good stuff sir.

Thanks,

Cheezywan

The Orkin man just discovered a hive in the eave of my house. I've been wondering why I was seeing so many around the house.

CDD

does any1 have the link to the article that was posted here?''im doing a report on it for my college bio class =D