Lack of bees

[Johnboy]

Hi Richard,
Your quote;
i cannot believe that experienced bee keepers would not know exactly what it was if varroa was responsible for the current large scale losses.

What you have conveniently left out of your posting is as the DEFRA Bee Expert said that the Varroa Mite has become immune to the treatments available and then went on to explain the amount of different viruses that they can transmit.
Certainly insecticides may well be part of the problem but as was explained France has banned the so called culprit insecticides and it has not made any difference. It is no good trying to take the easy way out on the say-so of just one Beekeeper.
We must deal in facts not theories dressed up as 'facts'.
As I suggested, because none of us are expert beekeepers, that we wait for the researchers to publish some findings. And not argue over half baked theories.
JB.

[PLUMPUDDING]

I don't think the problem is confined to bees, it seems to be a very great decline in all insects. When I first began driving the windscreen would be plastered with insect fatalities, and now you can drive for hundreds of miles and hardly get any.

I think there are a lot of causes, insecticides for one, but mainly the loss of wild flowers, hedgerows and meadows which provide nectar for the adults and food plants for the larvae and nesting places for all kinds of bees and shelter for other insects.

When I go walking now, it is a treat to see woodlands full of wild flowers and an occasional patch of untouched, unimproved meadow, compared to when I was a child and all the verges were full of flowers for at least three months of the year and fields had a variety of grasses and wild flowers and were usually bordered by brambles or some other hedges and wild plants.

I think mono-culture and the eradication of everything that can't be used as a crop play a large part in this.

I know some farmers who go out of their way to leave wild flower areas, protect old hedgerows and put in new ones and take all kinds of other measures to keep the variety of nature alive, but I fear they are in the minority.

[Parsons Jack]

I don't think the problem is confined to bees, it seems to be a very great decline in all insects. When I first began driving the windscreen would be plastered with insect fatalities, and now you can drive for hundreds of miles and hardly get any.

I think there are a lot of causes, insecticides for one, but mainly the loss of wild flowers, hedgerows and meadows which provide nectar for the adults and food plants for the larvae and nesting places for all kinds of bees and shelter for other insects.

When I go walking now, it is a treat to see woodlands full of wild flowers and an occasional patch of untouched, unimproved meadow, compared to when I was a child and all the verges were full of flowers for at least three months of the year and fields had a variety of grasses and wild flowers and were usually bordered by brambles or some other hedges and wild plants.

I think mono-culture and the eradication of everything that can't be used as a crop play a large part in this.

I know some farmers who go out of their way to leave wild flower areas, protect old hedgerows and put in new ones and take all kinds of other measures to keep the variety of nature alive, but I fear they are in the minority.

Have to agree with this. I have been photographing insects as a hobby since the 1960s, and there just isn't anywhere near the numbers now as there were. Insecticides, roadside verges being cut down just as the wild flowers come into bloom all contribute to the decline. It must also contribute to the decline in birdlife as well. It's not only here though. I have been going to Austria sinece the 1970s, and the meadows used to be alive with insects. I could use up 2 or 3 films just in one meadow back then. Although there are still lots of insects around, there aren't anywhere near as many now. It's all very worrying isn't it.

[naturediva]

Well Johnboy - cant' believe that beehives were stolen
the perpetrators must have known how to handle them and in that case should have known better but then I guess they are unscrupulous and theft is theft!

A bit of cheer is reading Old Herbaceous news about discovering a nest of honey bees in the church roof, fingers crossed they do well through the year

Thanks goodness for the farmers who do keep wild flower meadows and hedges and trees and hats off to those who have started to replant them and to all gardeners planting shrubs and flowers to help our treasured wildlife. Needless to mention all those involved in research etc. who are doing their best to find solutions to the problems which have devastating consequences

When you look at the oceanic expanse of fields across america not a hedge, a tree or wild flower in sight - no wonder they have to transport bees across the country - causing bees so much stress - which must also have a catastrophic impact.

Time to have more respect for our bees and other insects.

[Geoff]

I only saw the original broadcast not the repeat so it is getting a bit hazy. I seem to remember thinking there were two different patterns going on but they didn't seem to discuss them separately - the US bees seemed to be disappearing or dying away from the hives but others, particularly UK, were finding hives full of bodies. As JB says it must be something complex or even with limited resources an explanation would probably have been found by now. Some sort of interaction between the effects of toxins and the mite carried viruses seems the most likely, sometimes proving fatal and sometimes disorientating the return to home or the finding of nectar.
We too have loads of bumble bees of several species on Comfrey. We have some pretty slightly elongated orange ones that seemed to first appear on the soft fruit. There are some honey bees but we never see many so it is hard to judge change. We are in an area of the country where intensification means cutting a few more rushes or some bracken and there are still many wild flowers, trees and hedgerows to support them. We could do with less insects - the midges have started biting!

[Primrose]

We were at Sissinghurst yesterday and it was lovely to see several types of bees on flowers in the herb garden but I couldn't properly identify them all because some looked like bumble bees, but were about a third of the size so weren't sure whether they were baby bumble bees or a different variety altogether. Can anybody recommend a good website for identifying the different species?

[pongeroon]

Insecticides, roadside verges being cut down just as the wild flowers come into bloom all contribute to the decline.

Our local council has been cutting only a strip by the roadside, leaving the wider verges to flourish - cost cutting I suspect, but hooray anyway.
However, the letters page in the local rag is full of 'disgusted of Worcester' type letters. How short-sighted.

[alan refail]

Hi Primrose

To identify bumblebees try THIS

[Johnboy]

Hi Pongeroon,
Here in NW Herefordshire the contractors when tending the verges have for many years only cut one swathe to the edge of the verges simply to define the road as a matter of safety. Sadly they used to cut the whole verge and this has resulting having masses of Thistles, Stinging Nettles and Dandelions by the million. I mow the verges to my property because according to my deeds I actually own the verges. A couple of years ago I was told to stop mowing my verges by the Local Authority and I pointed out that I own them. They tried to dispute this but when shown my deeds backed down.
Although I mow the verges I am very selective as to how and have many types of wild flower which are allowed to flourish. Primroses, Cowslips, Snowdrops and native Welsh Daffodils and later on in the year Mallows, Knapweeds and even Red Pimpernel and Birdsfoot Trefoil and Clovers and Black Medic. I cut out Thistles, Docks and Nettles and all the invasive
things like the Cow Parsley Family on the entire plot.
There is no lack of Bumble Bees they are here in great numbers but Honey Bees are not so evident however my fruit trees have set fruit very satisfactorily. Sadly my nearest Bee Keeper lost all his hives last winter.
I was trying to work up a Mason Bee Colony but the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers invaded the Nest Boxes that were all full and sealed with mud. I tried to put a wire cage to exclude the Woodpeckers and the Mason Bees obviously didn't like that. I do not know where to get any more. My previous ones came from the Oxford Bee Company which is now no longer going. Should anybody manage to point me to where I can obtain some more Mason Bees I would cheerfully start again start again.
JB.

[Primrose]

Thanks Alan for the bee identification website. I hadn't realised there were quite so many varieties of bumble bee, and I find the difference between the honey bee and the wild bee quite difficult to spot when they're buzzing around quickly. And what is a Mason Bee? I feel really ignorant.

[ken]

Hi Johnboy
A colleague on another part of the forum kindly gave me a link for bees' nest supplies recently. Try www.birdfood.co.uk, and type either 'bees nest' or 'red mason bee' into the search space. They seem to have a good selection of kit. And I agree, woodpeckers are the big menace here (well, parasitic wasps can be as well, but I don't think they'll ruin the whole nest). I managed to lash up an arrangement with a kind of plastic mesh - I'm not exactly proud of how it looks, but the bees don't mind and it seems to deter the woodpeckers. All the best, Ken

[Johnboy]

Hi Ken,
Thank you for your posting. I have all the equipment but no Bees.
I want to purchase some Bees to release on my plot.
I still have the nests in position and have been living in hopes that any Mason Bees on the plot may fill the nest but no takers so far.
JB.

[Johnboy]

It would appear that this is the latest information in the Bee World.
http://www.fairhome.co.uk/2009/05/19/in ... w-italian/
JB.

[bunuel]

Thanks Alan for the bee identification website. I hadn't realised there were quite so many varieties of bumble bee, and I find the difference between the honey bee and the wild bee quite difficult to spot when they're buzzing around quickly. And what is a Mason Bee? I feel really ignorant.

Hey Primrose,

Mason bees are a type of solitary bee (as opposed to hive-based honey bees) that use holes to nest. They tend to be very 'friendly' as they have no honey to protect and will only sting if stepped on, etc. They are great for pollination purposes, especially early in the season. Good article, as ever, on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_bee

Over here in Vancouver most of the nurseries sell mason bees from February to mid-April which when they usually come out of their hibernation. Apologies for the non-local source, but these are the types of mason bees we get - http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/apiculture/fac ... _osmia.htm.

cheers,

Fraser

[Parsons Jack]

There was a double page article on Bees in the Daily Express today. They had to spoil it though with a massive colour photograph of a Hover Fly
You would have thought they would of checked it out first