It was a close vote, but the EU has voted to ban the use of the controversial neonicotinoids (pesticides) believed by many to be responsible for alarming numbers of bee loss. Implementation of the ban will not start until December of 2014 and is said that it will last at least 2 years. There are a few exceptions, but the ban is a good sign that countries are starting to look at bee loss seriously.
Mites are always a problem that beekeepers must watch
out for. Sometimes by the time a beekeeper sees the mite it may already be too
late. Mites can carry no less than 13 viruses that can harm bees. Mites can even attach themselves to a bee before the bee is even developed. I was going to post a picture of one, but quickly lost my appetite, so I will let you google mites on your own time.
If you watch the Dan Rather report "Buzzkill" (link is below) the beekeeper at the end has a rather surprising statement when he says the beekeeping industry as we know it will be gone 3 years from now. After talking to Davey, the impression I got was that this might very well be true. There are more corn and soybeans being grown than ever before at the same time spraying of crops is growing too. Farmers and growers that need bees to pollinate their fields are already having trouble renting bees for pollination. Next year might look kind of scary when bees are nowhere to be found.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ5riRX1_3w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ5riRX1_3w
Just found this article on unusual uses for honey. Pretty good! http://lifehackery.com/2009/02/02/15-unconventional-uses-for-honey/
For the last 5-6 years there has been a decline of 20 million
pounds of honey per year in the U.S. Just in this year, California has been
200,000 hives short. Yet more and more crops are being planted in record
numbers. It doesn’t seem like there will be enough bees to pollinate these
crops. The number of beekeepers in the last century has dwindled rapidly. Is it
too late for beekeeping to make a rebound?
Since honey bees in America aren’t doing so well, why can’t we
just start importing bees from outside the country? A few years ago, some
beekeepers did buy bees from outside of the country, but ran into a few
problems. Today you would most likely face fines if you tried to do this
because it is no longer allowed. The imported bees brought with them several
viruses that are not native to the U.S. This naturally harms the native bee
populations. Davey also said that having the imported bees effected farmer’s pollination
rates. If they were to start letting bees cross the border, they would have to
allow other things to cross as well.
I recently talked to Davey about hive theft. Tons of beekeepers
send their hives to California every year to pollinate crops, so thieves have
been going after unattended hives. There are some beekeepers that use GPS devices
on their hives, but that is quite a large expense for a beekeeper to absorb.
Davey’s advise if you are renting your hives out for pollination is to get on a
plane and fly to where your bees will be. Try to meet the farmers and workers
that will interact with your hives. Don’t send your hives to people you don’t know
or trust because you may not get them back.
Here is a video that helps bring to light the serious reality that U.S. Beekeepers and farmers are facing this year due to bee loss.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ5riRX1_3w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ5riRX1_3w
Bee-ing around a lot of bees can be intimidating for most
people. I asked Davey (a lifelong beekeeper) how many times he has been stung.
It was mid-afternoon when I spoke with him and he said he had been stung 6
times that day! (Yes, it still stings but you get more used to it). I also
asked if there are factors that influence bees to sting. He said it depends on the
weather. Just like people, some bees get temperamental with the temperature.
Also, just so you know, the odds of dying from a bee, hornet or wasp sting is 1
in 6.1 million.
