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Bees (for Ken)

Started by Woolly Bugger, April 11, 2019, 10:54:21 AM

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Woolly Bugger

Forsyth County beekeepers keep the tradition alive, one hive at a time

QuoteIt's not as loud as you would think.

David Link walks around his hives, carefully pumping out smoke from a small canister in his left hand, aimed towards the thousands of bustling bees flying in and out of the boxes. He's covered head to toe and wears a tan safari-looking hat with a net to protect his face. Bright blue latex gloves cover his hands.

"I had a slight hesitation of being around a stinging insect in the beginning," Link admits. "But once you get one that works easily... it's a real pleasure being with them."

https://triad-city-beat.com/forsyth-county-beekeepers-keep-the-tradition-alive-one-hive-at-a-time/?fbclid=IwAR3vPrjLg3sOlEuXDaZ7x1H5rdnFFRf11jAE2iGbNjkRrBv-T5RUTpg1f0c
ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Onslow

I'm quite content with the my bee situation this year.  Although the maples came out too early, the cold returned in March slowing the emergence of flowers.

Although some losses occurred, the current situation is nothing like last years awful early Winter, hot February and April.  The poplar bloom last year was both light, and short in duraton. All the plants and trees thus far are blooming very heavy this year.

Onslow

So I have one hive that exploded this year very early.  I split the hive, but the hive had already kicked into swarm mode and had made a decent crop of queen cells.  Most normal hives will swarm once the queen cells near being ripe, some some breeds such as Russians will swarm up to 10 or more times during a swarm cycle.  My wife had captured a swarm from said hive yesterday.  Sometimes if a hive is strong, virgin queen mating flights can be mistaken for swarming. This morning in the rain, there was a decent bee vortex in my front yard...expletive deleted.

As the day wore on, it became clear this group of bees were not a stranded posse accompanying a queen to the mating spot, but a small swarm.  These poor bees endured the torrential rains this afternoon.  I gave them something sweet, and got them in a hive box.

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Mudwall Gatewood 3.0

Quote from: Onslow on April 14, 2019, 20:01:56 PMSo I have one hive that exploded this year very early.  I split the hive, but the hive had already kicked into swarm mode and had made a decent crop of queen cells.  Most normal hives will swarm once the queen cells near being ripe, some some breeds such as Russians will swarm up to 10 or more times during a swarm cycle.  My wife had captured a swarm from said hive yesterday.  Sometimes if a hive is strong, virgin queen mating flights can be mistaken for swarming. This morning in the rain, there was a decent bee vortex in my front yard...expletive deleted.

As the day wore on, it became clear this group of bees were not a stranded posse accompanying a queen to the mating spot, but a small swarm.  These poor bees endured the torrential rains this afternoon.  I gave them something sweet, and got them in a hive box.


Very cool.  This is how you treat immigrants, particularly ones that work their asses off.
"Enjoy every sandwich."  Warren Zevon

Woolly Bugger

Interesting work being done at UNCG

Watch the video

UNCG professors, students working to save honey bees
http://via.wghp.com/5RWw2
ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Onslow

The web of life can only be snipped so much without the whole web unraveling.  Damn thing is about to come appart.

Woolly Bugger

Saw that someone has put some hives out in the corner of Reynolds Gardens native plant fields You cannot view this attachment.

You cannot view this attachment.
ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Onslow

Quote from: Woolly Bugger on April 15, 2019, 14:25:40 PMSaw that someone has put some hives out in the corner of Reynolds Gardens native plant fields You cannot view this attachment.

You cannot view this attachment.

Time for an instagram selfie...dufus gets stung by bees, runs into tree head first while looking at phone and becomes paralyzed from neck down.

Woolly Bugger

Wild bee species critical to pollination on the decline

QuoteMore than a dozen wild bee species critical to pollinizing everything from blueberries to apples in New England are on the decline, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of New Hampshire wanted to understand if the documented declines hitting honeybees and bumblebees were also taking a toll on the lesser studied bee species in New Hampshire.

So, they examined 119 species in the state from a museum collection at the college dating back 125 years. Writing in the peer-reviewed journal Insect and Conservation Diversity this month, Sandra Rehan and Minna Mathiasson concluded 14 species found across New England were on the decline by as much as 90 percent. Several of them are leafcutter and mining bees, which unlike honeybees, nest in the ground.


https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/wild-bee-species-critical-pollination-decline-62477694
ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Woolly Bugger

ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Woolly Bugger

ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Onslow

Nothing is prettier in the hive than freshly pulled white wax.

I extracted about 170 pounds of honey this past Saturday.  This year's crop was unique due to the somewhat excellent nectar production in June.  Moist soil, and many cool and dry nights really turned on the nectar machines.  The honey is very light in color, and has the highest concentration of sourwood seen in my honey since2003.

Yallerhammer

Quote from: Onslow on July 16, 2019, 17:03:48 PMNothing is prettier in the hive than freshly pulled white wax.

I extracted about 170 pounds of honey this past Saturday.  This year's crop was unique due to the somewhat excellent nectar production in June.  Moist soil, and many cool and dry nights really turned on the nectar machines.  The honey is very light in color, and has the highest concentration of sourwood seen in my honey since2003.
Do you have any black locust down there? I think it makes even better honey than sourwood.
Women want me, doughbellies fear me. - Little Debbie Prostaff

Onslow

No black locust has ever been within striking distance of any of my bee yards. 

Black Locust are plentiful near the Blue Ridge, and some of the more remote Piedmont woodlands, but not my house in Elkin, or the farm in Dobson.  Surry county is experiencing incremental, but persistent permanent deforestation at the hands of those in the ag sector.  The 100 year old woodlands in town are mainly poplar.  The 15-30 year old forests have more holly and sourwood.

Blackberry/poplar mix is a good honey imo.  Blackberry honey is tonsil burning sweet.  These varieties were common at my old place in Franklin County.

Woolly Bugger

ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!