Re: Bees

Question...the article says they prefer orchard, fruit tree pollen.  Do you know of a similar type bee that just prefers any pollen?  I would love to start some out on my farm.  My dad used to keep 2 beehive boxes out in our pasture (which I never understood WHY because he is deathly (and I mean deathly) allergic to bee stings and he had to wear a full suit to get around them) and I loved to eat the honeycomb that was drenched in honey.  Nummy stuff.
  

Theresa W <tchessie1@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
  Here's some info:
> http://www.pollinatorparadise.com/Solitary_Bees/Solitar.htm

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megachilidae

And they are great fun to watch! I've had a bee box for years now with 
just a little started set of bees one year. I get more and more bees 
each year.
Theresa

Bonnie Holmes wrote:
> What is the difference between Mason bees and others? For large
> agricultural crops, farmers prefer the European honeybee because it is so
> prolific in pollinating whereas our native bee is less. It seems that the
> bumblebees have been in greater number this year in my yard. And, for the
> first time in years, I haven't had to kill a nest of yellowjackets, nor
> have any of my neighbors. I know yellowjackets, for all their trouble, are
> great pollinators and one of the few things to kill tent caterpillers.
> 
> 
>> [Original Message]
>> From: Johnson Cyndi D Civ 95 CG/SCSRT 
>> To: 
>> Date: 10/30/2007 10:53:41 AM
>> Subject: RE: [CHAT] Bees
>>
>> There are still plenty of bees at my house, the rabbitbrush is blooming
>> (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) and it is covered with bees. I would bet honey
>> made from that pollen is not so good though.
>>
>> Cyndi
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On
>> Behalf Of Theresa W
>> Sent: Monday, October 29, 2007 5:56 PM
>> To: gardenchat@hort.net
>> Subject: Re: [CHAT] Bees
>>
>> My mason bees have been great here- they actually are better pollinators
>>
>> than honey bees. Also, i always have a handful of bumbles that take
>> care of the tomatoes for me : )
>> Theresa
>>
>> Bonnie Holmes wrote:
>>> Besides the drought, another possible reason for reduced crops...(Jim
>> must have lots of bees around)...
>>> Saw a disturbing program last night on Nature, followed up by an
>> article in Organic, about the disappearance of honey bees. I had seen
>> mention of this problem earlier but didn't realize that the problem is
>> not resolved. The PBS program stated that 1/3 of U.S. honey bees have
>> disappeared and that the problem is world-wide. Since most foods are
>> pollinated by honey bees, it leaves only wind-pollinated foods, such as
>> wheat, corn, and rice relatively safe. The magazine article pointed out
>> that native bees still pollinate squash, tomato, and eggplant but even
>> they are being reduced in population.
>>> The PBS program also featured bee demise in Sighuan province in
>> China...there are NONE due to pesticides...so the farmers hand pollinate
>> the pear trees. Right now, most of our beekeepers are replacing their
>> bee stock with Australian bees but some scientists think some may have
>> been contaminated by the royal jelly produced in China.
>>> Possible causes include poor nutrition, pesticides, virus (especially
>> the 1apv found in Israel), fungi and/or a combination of these. When
>> bees get sick, they leave the hive to protect it, which is one reason it
>> has been difficult to find the dying and dead ones. Interesting thing
>> is that bee preditors also leave the hives of deminishing bees alone.
>>>
>>> Bonnie Holmes
>>> ETN Zone 7
>>>
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Jesse R. Bell 

"All that we are is a result of what we have thought."  -  Buddha

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