Comments on: Concerning Bees: The Fear Factor http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2007/05/29/concerning-bees-the-fear-factor/ Cook Local, Eat Global Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:50:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 By: richard http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2007/05/29/concerning-bees-the-fear-factor/#comment-56353 richard Wed, 07 May 2008 17:48:10 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/?p=718#comment-56353 Does the varroa mite mentioned in <a href="http://www.balancednewsblog.com/2008/05/07/36-of-us-bee-hives-lost/" rel="nofollow">this article</a> about the disappearing bees, have as much to do with their disappearance as CCD? Does the varroa mite mentioned in this article about the disappearing bees, have as much to do with their disappearance as CCD?

]]> By: Barbara http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2007/05/29/concerning-bees-the-fear-factor/#comment-38714 Barbara Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:12:29 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/?p=718#comment-38714 Thank you so much, Elise--I will watch it sometime when Kat is not sleeping on my lap, nor is trying to climb up and fall down on her head. Thanks for thinking of me and my new fascination with bees. (I bought a bee-keeping magazine the other day--Zak and Morganna say it is only a matter of time before I have bees. And if they are allowed in urban backyards here in Athens, a pair of ducks....sometimes I miss the country.) Thank you so much, Elise–I will watch it sometime when Kat is not sleeping on my lap, nor is trying to climb up and fall down on her head.

Thanks for thinking of me and my new fascination with bees. (I bought a bee-keeping magazine the other day–Zak and Morganna say it is only a matter of time before I have bees. And if they are allowed in urban backyards here in Athens, a pair of ducks….sometimes I miss the country.)

]]> By: Elise http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2007/05/29/concerning-bees-the-fear-factor/#comment-38601 Elise Mon, 16 Jul 2007 05:41:53 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/?p=718#comment-38601 Hi Barbara, You might be interested in this YouTube video of Honey Bee expert Dennis van Engelsdorp, speaking about bees and CCD at the recent 2007 Taste3 Conference in Napa, CA: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3xcUFCeak0" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3xcUFCeak0</a> Hi Barbara,
You might be interested in this YouTube video of Honey Bee expert Dennis van Engelsdorp, speaking about bees and CCD at the recent 2007 Taste3 Conference in Napa, CA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3xcUFCeak0

]]> By: Maven http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2007/05/29/concerning-bees-the-fear-factor/#comment-23244 Maven Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:58:35 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/?p=718#comment-23244 Surprisingly, wild (feral, really) hives and Small Cell Organic beekeepers do not seem to be experiencing much in the way of CCD. The commercial honey bee is reared on a mechanically created foundation of wax and/or plastic. The size of the cells is controlled by the machine than imprints the wax, and the larvae grow to fill the cells. This has been going on for many decades, and commercial bees are now quite a bit larger than their feral cousins. It takes a generation or two for them to revert to small cell making when they swarm and go feral. Feral bees make cells that are a millimeter or two smaller and appear have fewer parasite problems because they mature faster, and the cells get sealed off more quickly to pupate or hold honey. This seems to make tham much more resistant to the mites that have been plaguing the beekeeping world for the last decade. The Organic Beekeeping list on Yahoo can give more information about small cell hives, foundation, and their apparent advantages. It really is interesting stuff. That said, we really do need to encourage our native pollinators with mason bee blocks and mixed habitat. Honeybees aren't even native to the US, and we are so very dangerously dependent on them for our fruit and veg. Surprisingly, wild (feral, really) hives and Small Cell Organic beekeepers do not seem to be experiencing much in the way of CCD. The commercial honey bee is reared on a mechanically created foundation of wax and/or plastic. The size of the cells is controlled by the machine than imprints the wax, and the larvae grow to fill the cells. This has been going on for many decades, and commercial bees are now quite a bit larger than their feral cousins. It takes a generation or two for them to revert to small cell making when they swarm and go feral.
Feral bees make cells that are a millimeter or two smaller and appear have fewer parasite problems because they mature faster, and the cells get sealed off more quickly to pupate or hold honey. This seems to make tham much more resistant to the mites that have been plaguing the beekeeping world for the last decade.
The Organic Beekeeping list on Yahoo can give more information about small cell hives, foundation, and their apparent advantages.
It really is interesting stuff.

That said, we really do need to encourage our native pollinators with mason bee blocks and mixed habitat. Honeybees aren’t even native to the US, and we are so very dangerously dependent on them for our fruit and veg.

]]> By: Pritya http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2007/05/29/concerning-bees-the-fear-factor/#comment-23082 Pritya Mon, 04 Jun 2007 05:17:25 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/?p=718#comment-23082 Your post, as always, touches a deep chord. It kinders sensitivity and I have immediately forwarded it to young people around me. You seem to have a very research oriented approach which makes it a very thorough read. Thanks for the great article. Your post, as always, touches a deep chord. It kinders sensitivity and I have immediately forwarded it to young people around me. You seem to have a very research oriented approach which makes it a very thorough read. Thanks for the great article.

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