05-07-2008, 02:23 PM | #1 |
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Waters did you see this re:bees?
Loss of commercial hives even greater this year than last; 36%.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/05/06/d....ap/index.html |
05-07-2008, 02:32 PM | #2 |
Demiurge
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doesn't surprise me. Half of all beehives in America go to Califonia for the almond crop. That's a toxic situation. It's all about greed, and people bringing new parasites and pests that attack bees into America. Like small hive beetle.
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05-07-2008, 07:58 PM | #3 |
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My Grandpa, who had several hives on his dairy farm, told me that the loss of honeybees would be more devastating to the citizens of this country than accidents at nuclear power plants. (This was after the Three Mile Island situation in '79.)
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05-07-2008, 08:45 PM | #4 |
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Well, we may be finding out in the next few years if your grandpa knew what he was talking about.
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05-07-2008, 08:46 PM | #5 |
Demiurge
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get a beehive. it's easy and cool.
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05-07-2008, 09:00 PM | #6 |
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OK, this probably is an ignorant question, but is there any way to manipulate the production of queen bees to seed new hives and try to stimulate more reproduction to try to offset the huge mortality rates?
Last edited by Indy Coug; 05-07-2008 at 09:04 PM. |
05-07-2008, 09:07 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
So bee "breeders" use different techniques to increase the number of bee colonies. For example, they can split a hive, and often the split without the queen can create a new queen by feeding a new larvae royal jelly. the queen flies out, mates, comes back and lays her own eggs. You can manipulate hives to create lots of queens, and sell them. So that's how I can buy a queen from producers. That is shipped with a number of worker bees with her to feed her. |
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05-07-2008, 09:14 PM | #8 | |
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Quote:
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05-07-2008, 09:17 PM | #9 | |
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Quote:
the main thing is that the price of bees has and will increase. the amount that a beekeeper will charge to send his bees out to pollinate has also increased. So there are financial incentives in place to increase bee production. But not all people out there can absorb the sticker-shock. It's like gas prices. Some businesses will not make it. If you haven't seen the movie "Ulee's Gold" I suggest you watch it. And understand that the perils bees face now compared to the time of the movie are much greater. |
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05-07-2008, 09:33 PM | #10 |
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Agreed, though I'm biased and tend to believe my Grandpa on matters such as this. Dairy farmers have their crap together on stuff like this.
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