Beekeeping

Is your Facebook site closed or open? Would you share the link to the site?
 
Thanks for the read. There are several be virus that were identified during the CCD research that possible have an impact. Another is Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), It also seems to be a virus that does not affect bees unless there is a pest that penetrates the exoskeleton of the bee to allow it in. The varroa mite allows this entry.

We import bees from other countries in particular Australia. Beekeepers in the US have no where near the colnies of bees that are needed to supply pollination for almonds. When it is winter here of course it is summer in Australia, So When Almonds bloom in February Australia is a prime source of bees. As we import we sometimes import problems. I believe the IAPV was first suspected to have entered from Australia in California colonies.
Some other imported bee pest:
Varro mite entered in the 8O's, from Asia basically a be tick- Number one problem of today's keepers- Wiped out feral bees
Small Hive Beetle, from Africa- feeds on pollen and lays eggs in hive- larvae hatches and slime's frames- bees abscond

Other pest not necessarily imported:
You have wax moth - lays eggs on frames and larvae hatches and webs the frames and destroys comb- Can be controlled and preys on weak hive. Usually a sign of other problems
And of course African Honey Bees (AHB) They were breed in a lab in Brazil and escaped in the 50's. AHB arrived in the US in 1985. Now they hitch rides on ships in deep water ports. That is why Florida has so many...

Lots of challenges today in beekeeping our Grandfathers did not have.
 
Honeybees multiply through swarming. If the colony is large enough, or out of room, and healthy enough. they will make a new queen and the old queen will leave with a swarm to set up a new colony. Scouts go ahead and locate a suitable home. Then the old queen leaves with about half the colony. When bees swarm they are usually very docile. They engorge themselves with stores before they leave and all they are doing is waiting to set up a new home. When hanging in a swarm, bees are usually not defensive because they have no home to protect.

Top left -DD holding a swarm- Took some convincing for this picture :)
Top right- A swarm entering some stored equipment behind my shed... free bees ;)
Bottom Left and right- Hanging swarms

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Great pics! { involuntary shudder} I have never see a bee swarm. How far do they travel in search of a new home? As far as it takes, I assume. Do they fly up high, like the top of the trees? I don't think I would care to see a swarm of bees flying by, docile or not. Interesting to learn about, from a safe distance.
 
A quarter mile is typical for European bees. Sometimes shorter and sometimes further if a suitable location is needed. Seeing a swarm for the first time is an amazing thing. If coming out of a hive, you hear a loud roaring sound. And then bees pile out by the thousands and get airborne. You can walk in the middle and your are engulfed in he middle of the bees flying. They WILL NOT sting at this point and are just looking for a place to settle. They usually settle fairly nearby once, for a few hours or overnight, if you are lucky. Then when the scouts clear the way, they become airborne again and stop when they reach their new home. I said if you are lucky because hopefully they are where you can shake them into a new box and keep them around vs losing half your bees in a hive. A hive may throw multiple swarms and this is not wanted, because the more bees in the hive the more potential honey. In my area if a hive swarms even once, the honey crop is done for that year.Oh yea, I have seen swarms flying, but usually at least near the tree tops till time to light. It is not unheard of to see a swarm at car level crossing a highway.

An AHB hive may fly a distance, stay a day or so and move again. Sometimes multiple times. This is why they spread so easily.
 
This is not my picture but one shared to a bee forum I am a member of. It was actually chosen as the forum group picture. The picture tells several bee stories.. The bee in flight that appears to be whizzing by like an old B-52 carrying a load. And of course the load is pollen stored in the corbicula (pollen sacs) Then you have the bee with its tail end in the air, in the foreground, nasanoving sending out messages (pheromone) to the others. And it appears you have guards peeping over the box on the right side of pic...
Just a cool pic..I hope you enjoy..

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Bee 101. Learned more from your photo and post than I knew beforehand. I love seeing the bees do what they do in our garden, and how they work so hard. I don't wear bright colors when I work out there, and rather enjoy working side by side with them.
 
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