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Posted: Jun/14/2007 9:18 PM PST
I know that in Ohio we have had an 80% honey bee colony collapse. Our veggies are not getting the pollenation they need. Anyone else having this problem and if so, what can be done about it? Does anyone out thier know about pollenating by hand? Does it even matter if vegetables are pollenated, especially zucchini and cukes? |
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Posted: Jun/14/2007 10:02 PM PST
I have noticed it here in Va. as well. Scientists are trying to figure out what the problem is, I've read everything from it might be a disease that wiped out some bees about ten years ago in Great Britain to cell phones, apparently they are on a some sort of similar frequency and scientist's think that perhaps the bees are getting lost and unable to find their way back to the hives. That's just two theories, there are many more, I hope it is not the cell phone thing, imagine trying to prise cell phones away from business people or teens. LOL I am hoping that since there are so many insects crawling around on our plants they will do the job of pollination, I don't think bees do it all, though they get all the credit. |
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Posted: Jun/14/2007 10:55 PM PST
I have seen I think plenty of honeybees but compared to what I can't say. In the past when there wasn't a problem I didn't take nearly as much notice of what kind of insects were pollinating my veggies or flowers. |
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Posted: Jun/15/2007 6:00 AM PST
Earlier this year Paul Harvey commented in one of his radio news program, that in New Jersey it lost over 70% of its bee population. He remarked that studies were done in Europe and in the United States the reason was CELL PHONES. The frequency emitted from the phones and the towers causes the bees to flee from the hives and not return. His last commit was that if all the bees died, that the earth will have only 4 years before the food supply was gone. So far I have not seen not one honey bee. The carpenter bees, which have a nest in an old shed for many years, were there early this spring but are gone now. I have to pollinate my veggies myself with a small artist paintbrush. |
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Posted: Jun/15/2007 10:37 AM PST
We have had 2 way radios for a long time, as a troubleshooter in order to repair something with a bad part one has to be able to figure out what made the part go bad. Whatever the reason, from global warming to sunspots- that can also bombard us with radio waves or some kind of RF stuff I read about- loss of the bee will result in a world wide famine. What ELSE are bees important in our ecosystem for? We produced so much grain in the '50's and 60's that the Navy took and made a "Mothball fleet" out of the no longer being used ships from WWII that stretched for miles up the Hudson River and when I sailed past it in '64 the ships were being used for storage and they were slam full of surplus grain. My Uncle John got in on the land bank where he was paid not to farm his land. In 50 yr's this world has aged by thousands. It sems more like another genetic mistake gone bad. |
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Posted: Jun/15/2007 11:02 AM PST
I have bees all over my yard. I see a large variety of different kinds of bees. I am not sure if any of them are honeybees. I just know that my yard, with all its berry, fruit, and flower plants blooming at different times through the year that I have plenty of bees all the time swarming around my yard. Sometimes my berries look like they are alive, with all the bees around them. I've heard that honeybees are having problems, but I see a lot more varieties than that in my yard and I haven't seen any problems with pollination. I wouldn't worry too much about what shock jock radio DJs are saying about end of the world stuff. |
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Posted: Jun/15/2007 2:34 PM PST
I have plenty of bees in my yard too. But then I have mostly flowers. I have heard about the bee "crisis". The thing is, it's not the first time something like this has happened. The earth is more resiliant than we give it credit for. That's not to say we can abuse it but I think we have to be careful not to be too quick to over-correct in a knee jerk fashion as well. Dora/Garden Goddess |
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Posted: Jun/16/2007 7:27 PM PST
I've noticed a few honeybees around here, but the white clover is blooming and they gravitate to that more than my other flowers. I've also seen carpenter bees. I'd be more apt to believe something Paul Harvey said then about anyone else on the airwaves. He's generally pretty reliable. |
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Posted: Jun/18/2007 9:45 AM PST
I have honeybees coming from one side of my yard, and the YellowJackets on the other (and they have been right nice so I will live in harmony as they like to eat bad things in my garden!). I have seen few ladybugs so have purchased about 1500 a wk to let loose and they have laid eggs already so it will be fine. The problem with the honey bees is mites, yes, the same problem it has been for years. They are getting hardier and repelling them as it seems we can do nothing about this. I can say one thing, I sit on the porch on that dang blasted cell phone all the time and neither the bees have disappeared nor has my brain leaked out my ears! |
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Posted: Jun/24/2007 9:17 PM PST
Usually, first come the bumblebees, but not this year - i have been looking out for them too and saw my first honeybee this afternoon as i was checking the garden after a brief hailstorm. no bumblebees, i miss them this year. Well, it's only June... I don't have such great faith as some of you in the resilience of Gaia; we have stripped off her skin and are constantly digging into her dermis to pump out fossil fuels and poisoning her natural resources; i would say her immune system has been dealt an enormous series of blows during the last hundred or so years. there is such a thing as poisoning unto death... the hailstorm tore into the petunias and violas - my chamomile which survived to bloom again from a disaster last year (in micro terms) was broken by the hail but not lost to me - there are some new blooms close to the ground and the broken stem made a fragrant bright green cup of tea which i enjoyed while watching the clouds receeding over the hill... |
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