Beekeeping

[ggies07]

I posted this article in the Climate Change thread, but this part is on bees, so I thought I would share it here:

The great nutrient collapse

Ziska devised an experiment that eliminated the complicating factor of plant breeding: He decided to look at bee food.

Goldenrod, a wildflower many consider a weed, is extremely important to bees. It flowers late in the season, and its pollen provides an important source of protein for bees as they head into the harshness of winter. Since goldenrod is wild and humans haven’t bred it into new strains, it hasn’t changed over time as much as, say, corn or wheat. And the Smithsonian Institution also happens to have hundreds of samples of goldenrod, dating back to 1842, in its massive historical archive—which gave Ziska and his colleagues a chance to figure out how one plant has changed over time.

They found that the protein content of goldenrod pollen has declined by a third since the industrial revolution—and the change closely tracks with the rise in CO2. Scientists have been trying to figure out why bee populations around the world have been in decline, which threatens many crops that rely on bees for pollination. Ziska’s paper suggested that a decline in protein prior to winter could be an additional factor making it hard for bees to survive other stressors.

 

[1208]

Scientists have found what they believe to be the strongest factor leading to the worryingly steep decline of bumblebees… fungicides.

What’s killing the world’s bees? New study claims a surprising culprit

 

[muleferg]

Former owner of Brushy Mountain Bee Farm is buying a Model X Today. My first referrel

 

[Knightowl]

Former owner of Brushy Mountain Bee Farm is buying a Model X Today. My first referrel

sweet! (hehe)


now you will get to choose a wall charger or kids model s after he takes delivery

 

[wdolson]

Former owner of Brushy Mountain Bee Farm is buying a Model X Today. My first referrel

That's funny, I get their catalog. They bought a bee supplier in Oregon where I've bought mason bees. Maybe he (or she) can afford an X because they sold out.

 

[muleferg]

Steve & Sandy Forrest are friends of Debbie and I for many years, They do not have children so why not enjoy life with a nice ride.

Brushy M Mountain Bee Farm.

 

[ASUComputerGuy]

It was pointed out that the participants of this thread may be interested in a thread I started in the Energy, Environment, and Policy section of the forums, so here is the link to the other thread:

Bee Hive Vandalism

 

[muleferg]

Brushy Mt Bee Farm, Sandy and Steve Forrest ( Former owners) are picking up their Model X Tuesday in Charlotte.

 

[muleferg]

Former Brushy Mt Bee Farm owner (hat) shows his model X off to the owner of my old Model S

 

[nwdiver]

This is horrifying...

The Asian Giant Hornet is now in WA state;

 

[SSedan]

I know many invasive insects are accidentally introduced I have to wonder how those got here. They don't seem like a good accidental candidate.

 

[nwdiver]

I know many invasive insects are accidentally introduced I have to wonder how those got here. They don't seem like a good accidental candidate.

It's easier than it seems. The mated queens will find a nice place to sleep during the winter. If this is a warm pallet that's exported to Canada or WA state that's how it starts. It's even worse in the UK right now. They've found and destroyed over 50 nests so far.

 

[purplewalt]

I wonder how the Asian Giant Hornet being in the US will impact the vast numbers of beekeepers who bring their hives literally from all over the country to California valleys.

Beekeepers are paid (very well) by the orchard growers, for the use of their hives to pollinate their orchards. Almond producers need the bees, as the flowers are not self-pollinating, and without pollination: NO Almonds.

Beekeepers are paid so well by the orchard growers, they earn MORE from their hives being dispersed in orchards during the blooming season, than the (eventual) honey that they are able harvest from their hives.

Same for many other types of orchards and many crops.
Bees are vitally necessary for most of all food production, roughly 1/3 of all foods require bees for efficient pollination and then eventual production.

Without bees, what is available to eat and how affordable it is becomes the topic.


My Key Point is this:
With all the highly orchestrated movement of hives from all over, HOW LONG before the Asian Giant Hornet becomes inadvertently distributed all across the country?

And any place in the world where domesticated bees are raised and cared for.

 

[nwdiver]

My Key Point is this:
With all the highly orchestrated movement of hives from all over, HOW LONG before the Asian Giant Hornet becomes inadvertently distributed all across the country?

I think a mated queen hornet is far more likely to hitch a ride on an apple crate than in a bee hive. Hopefully these things are obvious enough that we can ID and exterminate the nests... I read that they're large enough to be fitted with a radio tracker to find the nest.

This video from China is kinda crazy....

 

[wdolson]

This is horrifying...

The Asian Giant Hornet is now in WA state;

I saw that yesterday. They have been found up along the Canadian border, so they may have been accidentally imported into the port of Vancouver and spread from there.

This is bad and with the US so disrupted right now it's going to make it more difficult to fight it.

 

[nwdiver]

There's some feral bees living in an old refrigerator at a friends house. My original plan was to put some frames in the fridge and basically use it as a resource hive. That wasn't working so the new plan is to just move them into a hive. Looks like they barely survived the cold snap we had. I opened part of it up today and there's tons of dead bees but also enough live ones that there's likely a queen laying eggs in there somewhere. I put a couple quarts of syrup in there to try to strengthen them a bit.

.... so..... should I wait until they recover a bit to move them or move them now?

 

[Newscutter]

There's some feral bees living in an old refrigerator at a friends house. My original plan was to put some frames in the fridge and basically use it as a resource hive. That wasn't working so the new plan is to just move them into a hive. Looks like they barely survived the cold snap we had. I opened part of it up today and there's tons of dead bees but also enough live ones that there's likely a queen laying eggs in there somewhere. I put a couple quarts of syrup in there to try to strengthen them a bit.

.... so..... should I wait until they recover a bit to move them or move them now?

I'd move them ASAP. There could be any number of factors-- but I'm wondering if the heat from the hive could be causing condensation on the cold metal of the frig. Moisture kills in winter FAST. At least in your own hive you have control over a lot more of those variables.

 

[nwdiver]

I'd move them ASAP. There could be any number of factors-- but I'm wondering if the heat from the hive could be causing condensation on the cold metal of the frig. Moisture kills in winter FAST. At least in your own hive you have control over a lot more of those variables.

There's no condensation. This is SE NM.

 

[Innocent - FIN]

Just found this thread

I'm a beekeeper, we established honey brand in 2018 calles Sugar Daddies Honey Company
www.sugardaddieshoney.com ,

I should get the Y next month and i will be using as our dailydriver in the sticky honey business I recieved MPP lift kit and some BF Goodrich tires so driving should be a bit of a blast aswell! (I guess it takes few more years for the CT to arrive..) I also have the X in order and maybe getting it in Q3 or Q4 according to Tesla.

But yeah! Will update you how the Y behaves in bee business next month!

Cheers, Ville / Finland