Howdy,
Welcome back! And if this your first time to my blog - Welcome - and hope you have the time to read my earlier blogs. Here's a quick intro about today's topic.
Did you watch both videos?
What's with the dancing bees thing? You will find out further along in the blog. Just click "Read More" below.
I want to blog about a pet-peeve of mine - people killing bees because they are scared of them. DO NOT KILL THE BEES!!! What's a little sting from a few bees? Yeah, it hurts for awhile but it goes away. Of course, if you are allergic to bee stings - fine you got a right to be scared. But for all of you other cry babies, just leave the bees alone and they will not bother you. If you don't want bees near you stop putting flowers in your hair - makes sense right?!? If a bee flies around you and it freaks you out - just stand still and it will eventually figure out you do not a flower or nor have any pollen and fly away. Do not try to swat it away - you will just annoy it and it's buddies and then a group of angry bees will most certainly open a whole case-of-whoop-ass on you.
Just in case you did not know, there is a worldwide problem with bees numbers declining because of CCD or Colony Collapse Disorder. Bees all over the world are dying off and nobody really knows why. Some say it is the radiation from cell phone towers, some think it is the chemtrails and others think it may be biotic factors, some say it may be GM (gentically modified) crops with pest control characteristics, yet other say it is the migratory pratices of commerical beekeepers moving bees around the country from farm to farm but nobody has yet to come up with a answer. Wikipedia states that recently applying proteomics-based pathogen screening tools in 2010, researchers announced they had identified a co-infection of invertebrate iridescent virus type 6 (IIV-6) and Nosema ceranae in all CCD colonies sampled. The study is the first to conclude that co-factors, the virus and fungus, were present in all of the collapsed colonies studied. However, scientists in the project emphasize additional research is still needed to consider how environmental factors like temperatures, drought and pesticides might play a role, if any, in CCD.
So, folks every little bee we can keep alive is a plus for mankind because if there are no bees, then there is no pollination and then no vegetables, fruit, nuts or other foods that need to be pollinated. NO HONEY!!! What are all of you vegan going to do then? At least us meat eaters will be able to last a little longer on grass feed cattle and sheep!
Wikipedea provides a list of crops that are polinated by bees.
Here is a point of view from beekeepers on what's going on. There are other videos to watch after the first one finishes completely.
If you want to know more about bees and beekeeping here is the link they mentioned in the video - http://www.backyardhive.com/ .
Here is a news report from BBC about CCD:
So what can we/you do to help the bees?
As I said I planted some sweet allysum and here is the proof that bees like it.
Did you watch both videos?
What's with the dancing bees thing? You will find out further along in the blog. Just click "Read More" below.
I want to blog about a pet-peeve of mine - people killing bees because they are scared of them. DO NOT KILL THE BEES!!! What's a little sting from a few bees? Yeah, it hurts for awhile but it goes away. Of course, if you are allergic to bee stings - fine you got a right to be scared. But for all of you other cry babies, just leave the bees alone and they will not bother you. If you don't want bees near you stop putting flowers in your hair - makes sense right?!? If a bee flies around you and it freaks you out - just stand still and it will eventually figure out you do not a flower or nor have any pollen and fly away. Do not try to swat it away - you will just annoy it and it's buddies and then a group of angry bees will most certainly open a whole case-of-whoop-ass on you.
Just in case you did not know, there is a worldwide problem with bees numbers declining because of CCD or Colony Collapse Disorder. Bees all over the world are dying off and nobody really knows why. Some say it is the radiation from cell phone towers, some think it is the chemtrails and others think it may be biotic factors, some say it may be GM (gentically modified) crops with pest control characteristics, yet other say it is the migratory pratices of commerical beekeepers moving bees around the country from farm to farm but nobody has yet to come up with a answer. Wikipedia states that recently applying proteomics-based pathogen screening tools in 2010, researchers announced they had identified a co-infection of invertebrate iridescent virus type 6 (IIV-6) and Nosema ceranae in all CCD colonies sampled. The study is the first to conclude that co-factors, the virus and fungus, were present in all of the collapsed colonies studied. However, scientists in the project emphasize additional research is still needed to consider how environmental factors like temperatures, drought and pesticides might play a role, if any, in CCD.
So, folks every little bee we can keep alive is a plus for mankind because if there are no bees, then there is no pollination and then no vegetables, fruit, nuts or other foods that need to be pollinated. NO HONEY!!! What are all of you vegan going to do then? At least us meat eaters will be able to last a little longer on grass feed cattle and sheep!
Wikipedea provides a list of crops that are polinated by bees.
Here is a point of view from beekeepers on what's going on. There are other videos to watch after the first one finishes completely.
If you want to know more about bees and beekeeping here is the link they mentioned in the video - http://www.backyardhive.com/ .
Here is a news report from BBC about CCD:
Check out this link - http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/#crisisbee. For the ones who are not making the jump to the link - here are some interesting facts from the "Help the Honey Bees".
 | One out of every three bites of food an average American eats is directly attributed to honey bee pollination. |
| Honey bees are responsible for the pollination of more than 100 crops, including fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and provide 80 percent of the country’s pollination services. |
| The honey bee is responsible for $15 billion in U.S. agricultural crops each year. |
| Bees fly approximately 10 to 15 miles per hour and visit about 50—100 flowers in each pollination trip. |
| To produce one pound of honey, honey bees must visit two million flowers and fly 55,000 miles. |
 | When a honey bee returns to the hive after finding a good pollen source, it gives out samples of the flower’s nectar to its hive mates and performs a dance that details the distance, direction, quality and quantity of the food supply. The richer the food source, the longer and more vigorous the dance. Now you know why I posted the video/s at the beginning - Bees can boogie!!! Here is another video about why bees dance! |
So what can we/you do to help the bees?
- First of all quit killing them!!! Be careful with your usage of insectidies in your garden.
- Plant flowers that attract bees giving them a source of pollen they need to survive. I have placed pots of sweet allysum in amongst my vegetables to attract the bees and hopefully help with pollinating my them.
- Educate friends and family about this worldwide problem of CCD. Send a link of this blog to friends and families. I doubt you need to tell country folk about it - they will know about it already. It's the cityslickers that total freak out over bubblebees and honey bees buzzing them that need to be informed.
- Children need to be taught not to be scared of bees - just because you are doesn't mean your kids need to be.
As I said I planted some sweet allysum and here is the proof that bees like it.
This is what a pot of sweet allysum looks like - it comes in purple color as well. Dubai Municipality used to plant it all along the roads at one time but I don't think I have seen it lately.
The most common type of honey bee you will see here in Dubai and the rest of the Emirates is the small Wild Arabian Dwarf Honey Bee. Below is a picture of the bees by David Clark.
Here is some more info on the Wild Arabian Dwarf Honey bees if you are interested in them. http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0083e/X0083E02.htm#A.
If you are interested in setting up your own bee hive - here is a 8 min. video too watch. If you are scared of bees perhaps you should not watch because the dude in this video is right at home with them!!! The buzzing bees don't seem to bother him unlike his wife who would rather wear a protective hood.
So, I am not going to take up any more of your time about bees except to say - DO NOT KILL THE BEES!!! If you want to know more about bees and what is going on with them just Google It or go to You Tube and type in Bees and see where it takes you.
I would like to leave you with one more link/video about "The Honey Bees" - hope you enjoy it even though you may not know the show! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EgE6PbBEIc&feature=related
You are most welcome to make comments, susgestions and/or pertaining links about bees in the comment box below.
Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you here again.
Take Care!
Bubba
If you are interested in setting up your own bee hive - here is a 8 min. video too watch. If you are scared of bees perhaps you should not watch because the dude in this video is right at home with them!!! The buzzing bees don't seem to bother him unlike his wife who would rather wear a protective hood.
So, I am not going to take up any more of your time about bees except to say - DO NOT KILL THE BEES!!! If you want to know more about bees and what is going on with them just Google It or go to You Tube and type in Bees and see where it takes you.
I would like to leave you with one more link/video about "The Honey Bees" - hope you enjoy it even though you may not know the show! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EgE6PbBEIc&feature=related
You are most welcome to make comments, susgestions and/or pertaining links about bees in the comment box below.
Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you here again.
Take Care!
Bubba
Hi,
ReplyDeleteWoke up this morning to find a rather large hive in my Bougainvillea. I don't know much about bees. From what I can tell I think it is a honey bee hive. I hear you about not killing the bees and I support your efforts. However, we would really like to not have this hive right next to our house. Is there anyone is Dubai who can take the hive away? Any suggestions?
Hi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThanks for being concerned about your bees! For many people they have a fear of bees but they are not sure why they do have the fear. If a bee comes to you just stand still and they will eventually go away when they discover you do not have any pollen or just calmly walk away without swing your arms wildly. If you start swing your arms wildly and hit the bee then it might get upset and sting you.
If you have children that are too young to understand the dangers of bees then I reckon you will need to remove them. However, if the family is mature enough to be made aware of both the possible dangers of bees as well as the positive attributes of having the bees then the bees should not be a problem. You mentioned that "I think it is a honey bee hive" - sorry for asking but do you know the difference between bees and wasp? If you have wasps making a nest then you definitely want to get rid of them as they are very aggressive. If you are sure they are bees - they are all honey bees - are they the small arabian honey bees or the larger european honey cousin? The arabian bee is not as aggressive and their european kinfolk. Both bees will leave you bee if you leave them bee:-). I unfortunatly do not have a source to help you remove the bees if you need too. Perhaps Dubai Municipality can he helpful. Wish you all the best with your visitors!
Bubba
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteplease preserve the small native honeybees. Small bees that nest in combs, where the hexagons sides are 4.9mm across, are naturally resistant to many pests, mainly the Varroa Destructor mite that the european honeybee usually hosts. Current hexagon size is 5.1 and above because they where bred in the late XIX Century to be bigger, so the cells would hold more honey. If anyone is considering beekeeping he should work in small cell beekeeping, following the work of Dee Lusby in the US and Stephan Braun in Spain (www.lapalmamiel.com). Bees can be downsized in about 120 days. If one does this, and keeps the distance between top bar centers to 1" 1/4 The bees naturally defend themselves and can be treatment free and this has many benefits having less varroa mites means less viruses, more beneficial microorganisms in the hive, happier bees and less work. We have been doing it for a number of years and it works. The bees cull the infected brood, capping and uncapping time is reduced and you have less mites inside the cells. The nest temperature rises one or two degrees to make the breeding cycle shorter by a few days and bees also move the drone cells to the outside of the comb. What is happening now with large cell bees is that Varroa mites breed both in worker and in drone bee cells. This in no experiment, it's what the asian bee Apis Cerana does, beeing smaller than the current Apis Mellifera european bee. Bees used to have a century ago in Spain, hexagon sizes ranging from 4.6 to 4.9mm (measured across the walls)
Greetings from Spain, Miguel Angel Simon Fernandez