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Susan starts with ... We have had almost no honey bees for 4-5 years. We have seen fewer than 20 in this time. The spring orchard is silent, no pumpkins & relatives are pollinated unless by hand, and from 4 large macadamias that used to crop prolifically we are getting 10 nuts/ season. We have a hive of native been, but they are of limited assistance. I believe a beetle is to blame. Hoverflies achieved some success in the plums. How widespread is this problem? Susan | About the Author Susan12 Yugar 11th September 2011 4:01pm #UserID: 5816 Posts: 1 View All Susan12's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 13th September 2011 7:49pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Violet_Cactus says... Google tells me Yugar is in Queensland. There's a contact page for Queensland's Primary Industries & Fisheries here - http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/31_88.htm | About the Author VioletCactus1 15th September 2011 6:56pm #UserID: 516 Posts: 349 View All VioletCactus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 15th September 2011 7:01pm | |||||||
MaryT says... We are not seeing bees in the lower north shore of Sydney either. I have seen ONE bee only in my garden since spring. The basil bush that normally have a cloud of bees around it everyday sits there lonely like Miss Havisham. My friend's garden that is Flower Central has a handful of bees in it, and they are a larger bee than we've ever seen (like the ONE I saw in mine). | About the Author MaryT Sydney 19th October 2011 8:20am #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author ncoast 19th October 2011 8:44am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 19th October 2011 10:20am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author MaryT Sydney 19th October 2011 10:52am #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author ncoast 19th October 2011 10:54am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Diego 19th October 2011 12:54pm #UserID: 4715 Posts: 283 View All Diego's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Xiem says... More about the bees: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/nicotine-bees-population-restored-with-neonicotinoids-ban.php | About the Author Diego 19th October 2011 1:01pm #UserID: 4715 Posts: 283 View All Diego's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author ncoast 19th October 2011 2:30pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author MaryT Sydney 19th October 2011 5:52pm #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Xiem says... Well its all anecdotal but they definitely seem to be disappearing. I go a few times a week to an establishment that has an avenue of blue echium and I can remember seeing these same types of flowers swarming with bees in spring. Along the echium avenue there has been only a dozen or so bees that I have seen at one time. And I know people in the suburbs who kill off hives in their area because they see them as a danger and are scared of being stung. I don't think bees ever deliberately chase someone to sting them. | About the Author Diego 19th October 2011 6:53pm #UserID: 4715 Posts: 283 View All Diego's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author MaryT Sydney 19th October 2011 7:26pm #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Fruity Tootie says... Hi Mary. I couldn't agree with you more! In fact I am allergic to bees (!) yet I am wishing and praying they would appear in my garden because as such I have only seen a handfull at most! I even rescued one from my pool the other day and put it in my garden praying it will repay me by pollinating! And can youo believe- my dad on the south coast found he had a bees nest at the side of his house and wanted to kill them all until I said Don't! We need them and they are all dying off and disappearing as it is...leave them alone! | About the Author Fruitie Tootie Sydney 19th October 2011 7:32pm #UserID: 5884 Posts: 34 View All Fruitie Tootie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Perhaps one of the problems for the bees is Suburbia itself!? No habitats..? eg: why would the bees on my property (30acres) even bother to travel all the way into town to get what they need? If there is a hive on someones property, a park or such - it has to be "removed"...it's not just pesticides - it's attitudes too...? I have natural hives on my property and they are welcome. We also have hornets/wasps making the mud-nests all around the house...we have never been stung and it's all fine. Live and Let Live... :) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 19th October 2011 9:54pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Wazzbat Vic Park WA 19th October 2011 9:55pm #UserID: 5526 Posts: 166 View All Wazzbat's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MaryT says... Amanda you are right; bees are losing their habitat. A friend of mine had a hive in her roof - she didn't even notice until one heat wave and she had honey coming down the walls :) "Someone came and took it"; sigh. I must see about getting a hive. Wazzbat my heart skipped a beat when you mentioned Mosman but then I realised you are in WA, not the suburb near me. | About the Author MaryT Sydney 20th October 2011 6:19am #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Oops MaryT! U don't want them in your roof ;) A friend here had to replace theirs cos of the same problem...but yea - some hives might help. It's a shame they can't be located in some of the parks around the place - maybe up high so kids can't play with them...? It always amazes me when folk talk here about having no bees...(I couldn't imagine my garden without them...) and I really think people are getting much better at not spraying chemicals around like they used to...? | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 20th October 2011 10:05am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author MaryT Sydney 21st October 2011 6:50pm #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Looks delicious haakon! Well done :) I have this native scaveola plant (pic) that the bees go biting mad over!? They bite the stems and the leaf edges - but don't touch the flowers...the bush literally buzzes with bees all day...it's weird - I wonder what they are doing..?
| About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 26th October 2011 10:01am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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BJ says... Amanda - Do the regular bees do that, or is it the leafcutters? Haakon - great job. One of my favourite things to eat, though I can only really stomach a teaspoon a week. With all this talk of bees I've been watching their comings and goings in my yard. Their favourite plant at the moment is the Jamaican Strawberry tree, with no less than a dozen bees busily buzzing about on the millions of flowers. It also attracts hoverflies by the hundreds.The bees also go mad for the pigface row I've got growing next to my grapes. The name really does no justice to the pigface! | About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 26th October 2011 10:22am #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 26th October 2011 1:07pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author 26th October 2011 2:31pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Steven says... Hey Amanda. The bees are probably collecting the tree sap to make propolis. I have a bee hive in my backyard, to be honest you dont really notice its there, if you place it somewhere a little open and out of the way it wouldnt cause any problems. the bees with fly all over your neighbourhood every day collecting nectar etc then return at dusk. The only time they can become a nuisance is when they decide to swam but as long as you treat them with respect they arent dangerous. | About the Author Steven Eastern Melbourne 26th October 2011 10:03pm #UserID: 704 Posts: 325 View All Steven's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Hi Steven :) Never heard of propolis! An illicit Bee drug the way they carry on!? lol. We get lots of swarms in spring..either splattering on the car window or intimidating us on the deck...but yea - nothing bad ever happens - it's just the sound of them that can be unnerving... Gus - your dog would be fine...truly. We have big wasps/hornets that build their mud nests all around the dog-spots on the deck, and loads of bees...we have no problems. We even have lots of snakes and the dogs are not silly enuf to mess with them either ;-) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 27th October 2011 2:28am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Rowan says... My brother in law has bee hives and a few monthes ago his three year old decided to come and 'help' dad with the bees. She walked over to the hives, waved her hands and the bees went her. I was visiting and we shoved her in the shower and spent ten minutes taking the bees off her and out of her hair. She was stung all over. Over fifty stings, not counting what we couldn't see on her scalp. Hysterical, in heaps of pain - we drove her to the hospital. No lasting harm done this time but it could have been a whole lot worse. The doctors say that this could have set her up for an allergic reaction in the future. A deadly reaction. I would never recommend bee hives around children (or even in town for that matter). Just another take on the matter. | About the Author Rowan Casterton Vic 28th October 2011 6:43am #UserID: 4558 Posts: 97 View All Rowan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Speedy says... @Rowan- Yeowch, poor little girl, a hard lesson she won't forget in a hurry. I hope she hasn't now become allergic to bees. Bee stings imo are generally ok , but that is just too traumatic for a little one, sorry to hear that :-( I've wanted a hive in my garden since I started our garden about 3-4yrs ago. The opportunity presented last week with a wild swarm not far from here. I went and cut it from a boxthorn bush and put them in a cardboard box for a couple of days while I built them a more permanent home. I don't have any protective gear yet so I feel lucky I haven't been stung yet :-) I decided on a Warre style hivebox rather than the conventional (Langstroth) type as it seems fit more with bees natural behaviors and requires less human intervention. There are no frames or foundation, just top bars with a bead of wax as starter so the bees can make cells whatever size they want/need. New boxes are added at the bottom (spring) and full boxes are taken off the top (summer/autumn) so there is a constant renewal of comb and wax so less chance for buildup of pesticides/toxins. While getting the swarm into their permanent hivebox, my little dog found out the hard way why not to eat bees....I dont think he'll do it again.
| About the Author Speedy Nthn Vic. 28th October 2011 9:19am #UserID: 2305 Posts: 250 View All Speedy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Steven says... Hi Rowan how are you, i like that hive it looks nice. how do you extract the honey though without hurting the hive if there are no frames? with my bees unless you put foundations on the frames they tend to stick the frames together with honey/beeswax Poor girl i hope she is ok. bee's can get pretty annoyed when your working with them (you would too if someone was ripping your roof apart and fulling you and your family out!) so yeah, children pets etc should stay away. other than that though they never cause any problems. Hey Amanda how are you? Propolis is the stuff bee's use to coat any cracks etc in their hive, its basically a varnish thats used to protect the hive from rot, fungi etc. It used medicinally because it claims to have anit-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. I have to check my bees actually but every week when i have time its always raining!!! | About the Author Steven Eastern Melbourne 28th October 2011 7:57pm #UserID: 704 Posts: 325 View All Steven's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Speedy says... Hi Stven, I just typed up a reply to your question but the computer dumped or deleted it or something... arrrrrgh! This should explain though. http://www.warre.biobees.com/ http://thebeespace.net/warre-hive/ also some interesting ideas on CCD http://anarchyapiaries.org/hivetools/node/32 | About the Author Speedy Nthn Vic. 31st October 2011 9:24am #UserID: 2305 Posts: 250 View All Speedy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Diego 6th November 2011 4:47pm #UserID: 4715 Posts: 283 View All Diego's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author ringelstrumpf Mountains 9th November 2011 11:43am #UserID: 5542 Posts: 160 View All ringelstrumpf's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Speedy says... Yep, no previous experience at all. Bees have always been part of the plan for sometime in the future, and the opportunity presented when I was told of the swarm so I grabbed it. I had just recently seen a Warre hive and I liked the idea of it so when I caught the swarm, I made these hiveboxes. I've since made another with one of the boxes having a glass panel (with an insulated cover to exclude light and temp variation) for the kids to observe the bees at work. Now I'm keeping my eye out for another swarm to catch. | About the Author Speedy Nthn Vic. 9th November 2011 5:03pm #UserID: 2305 Posts: 250 View All Speedy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 9th November 2011 5:04pm | |||||||
| About the Author ringelstrumpf Mountains 9th November 2011 9:12pm #UserID: 5542 Posts: 160 View All ringelstrumpf's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Speedy says... Yeah, cut the hanging swarm from a boxthorn bush, put into box for 2 days while I got all the gear and built the hiveboxes then put them into it. I knew that bees aren't as fiesty as usual when they swarm, I guess cause they're looking for somewhere to live rather than protecting an established hive. so even though I'd never really dealt with bees before (Apis mellifera that is, I have had stingless bees up in NNSW, but they're a diferent thing) , I wasn't too worried about 'handling them'. anyone to ask questions? Just got info from internet and reading stuff.There are forums for natural beekeeping too, but I haven't gone there yet. Keeping bees might not be as difficult as you may think. At least 'Natural Beekeeping' seems like less work from what I've read. I guess I'll find out soon enough. http://www.biobees.com/ | About the Author Speedy Nthn Vic. 9th November 2011 10:11pm #UserID: 2305 Posts: 250 View All Speedy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Diego says... This may be of interest to bee keepers and fruit growers alike. The chemical companies have had a win over nature. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/15/bee-harming-pesticides-escape-european-ban | About the Author Diego Costa del Sol 16th March 2013 1:41pm #UserID: 7656 Posts: 38 View All Diego's Edible Fruit Trees |
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