Are your Bee numbers down this year?

[Colin_M]

I'm only asking because of a news story about some beekeepers finding some of their hives severely depleted this spring.

The story went on to say that the national association didn't feel there was yet a widespread problem. It's also clear that for people affected, the Varroa mite isn't the culprit this time.

I realise that not many of us are bee keepers. However a few of us have small containers for attracting Mason bees. Mine are virtually empty, but I didn't look after them very well last year, so this could be my fault.

Down in Bristol, there are lots of (big!) bumble bees around, plus quite a few wasps. I haven't seen many honey bees (though maybe it's too early??).

What's your experience been?


Colin

[oldherbaceous]

I've never seen so many big bumble bees as this year, and the masonary bees are about very early as well.

[Jenny Green]

I think my bee numbers are down. Just not as many around as usual and I've been handpollinating the fruit trees just in case.
There's crisis in the USA at the moment, with many hives completely wiped out and they've no idea why.

[madasafish]

Theory is mobile phone transmissions (near masts) confuse their direction senses and they get lost. In the US, many large - multi acre crops - hire beekeepers to deliver a lorry full of hives .. and the bees pollinate the crop.


We seem to have a normal level and lots of bumble bees .. but no statistics so wdik?

[maree t]

hi, we have two hives in the field next door and they seem fine. they all come to drink from our wildlife pond on the veg plot and the noise is incredible . we have had to net the pond to keep the ducks out so they sit on this and drink much to the kids satisfaction. maree

[Chantal]

I'm watching BBC Breakfast and there's just been an item on bumble bees. There's a survey running on

www.bumblebeeconservationtrust.co.uk

which is in itself, a fascinating website.

I haven't seen toomany bees myself this year but the hoverflies are in abundance.

[Primrose]

We seem to have seen lots more bumble bees and "ordinary" bees around so far this spring. In fact, the bumble bees were out and about from mid January on our heather and Daphne.

[Colin_M]

I was begining to think I'd misread the story and that it was only happening in the US. Here is the story I read in the Guardian:
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,2055067,00.html

Interestingly, if you do a google, there aren't many other stories about the uk - most of them are the US.

Let's hope it doesn't get any worse.


Colin

[alan refail]

Bumble bees normal here for this time of year. Quite an increase in wild (?) honey bees.
However, I keep reading about CCD (colony collapse disorder) possibly due to mobile phone signals

http://news.independent.co.uk/environme ... 449968.ece

On the principle of let him who is without sin cast the first stone, here goes:

Do we really need mobile phones to talk rubbish to people who don't need to hear from us? Before you start listing the benefits of mobile phones, stop and think: was your life worse before they existed? I will never have one (or a microwave for that matter).

Albert Einstein said “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” And he has been proved right about other things he said.

Alan

[madasafish]

Judging by our pear tree and our raspberries, lots of flies (smaller than bees) are also busy doing the bees' jobs...

[Myrkk]

Yep, I've just lost my hive Went up on sunday and loads of bees dead outside the hive. They weren't building up well at all and I noticed varroa on a few of the bees so oxalic'd them over a month ago. thought it would do the biz and for a while it did seem to help but the hive wasn't queenright at all and now it is no more.

Seems the varroa in this area is now resistant to the Apistan strips which I had in before Yule.

[Colin_M]

Yep, I've just lost my hive

I'm very sorry to hear this. Do you feel it was just the Varroa that caused this? I suppose if it's becoming resistant, that could be the answer.

It's just that other people affected seem to be looking for something else as the cause.


Colin

ps - I've seen no Mason bees round my "hivelets" so far this year.

[beeman2]

I'm pleased to say that my 9 hives have all come through the winter ok,in fact they are very strong. Because it was a mild winter, the Bee's were out and about a lot.Because there was no income to be found it meant they had to fuel their flights by useing up their winter stores. Many Beekeepers have been caught out by this and many Bees have starved.

At the moment mine are sat on Oilseed Rape,with Field Beans close by to follow on with. Swarm preperations will be the next thing to watch out for.

Happy Days.

[Myrkk]

There has been talk of CCD around but tbh I think it was the varroa load that got mine. I put the Apistan in at the end of 06 knowing there was a varroad problem [I could see bees with mites] and thought it had solved the problem. Took the strips out over winter but didn't do a proper check......
When I checked them for the first time this year I was horrified to see lots of bees wandering around with varroa on them and some deformed bees too.

so in short, yes I think it was a parasitic overload.