Buzz

The other day I spotted this hanging colony of bees took it upon myself to seek out a beekeeper who could come and safely, humanely relocate the bees to a new permanent home.

In the spring, it is common for a hive to split, a young queen and a mass of workers will depart the original hive and form a new colony. Often, these colonies will amass on a branch, like what we see here. Honey bees will eventually move to a new home in 1-3 days, but until they locate a suitable location, they remain exposed and at some degree of risk. Without intervention, the bees might have soon moved on to a new home on their own, but if they set up that home in an attic or a crack in a home, they'd become a nuisance and liable to be killed, same as if I'd left them hanging, they ran the risk of being disturbed or killed by a frightened passerby with access to Raid.

I looked up humane bee relocation services and found the following site which listed several local beekeepers.

http://beeremovalsource.com/bee-removal-list/georgia/

This is Mike, who came out with his son to retrieve this hanging colony. He has a location in Stone Mountain, GA where he will place this colony into a box beehive and they can produce honey for him.
 

Mike Schaaphok, Atlanta, GA
Phone: 770-265-7662 
Email:  mbschaaphok@usa.net

I was hesitant to stand this close to these bees, but Mike assured me that they are rather docile when they gather like this because they are running on reserve energy until they find a new home.

We could see bees coming and going from this colony, they'd land on the mass and do their waggle dance, sharing the information they'd gathered on their scouting expeditions.

It was a pretty neat experience. I am glad I was able to help to give these essential pollinators a new home and a new start at a hive of their own. 

Honey-Do List: Five Things We Can Do to Help Bees

The rusty patched bumble bee was recently listed as an endangered species, the first of its kind to gain such federal protection. Bumble bees are crucial pollinators of wildflowers as well as nearly one third of all crops in the US.


Image Courtesy of picturesflowers.net Source: http://www.picturesflowers.net/free_flowers_pictures/honeybee_on_a_thistle_flower_collecting_pollen_0001-0408-3110-3930.html

Threats seem to be coming at these essential and beautiful creatures from all sides. From diseases spread by commercially-reared bees, to climate change by disrupting and altering floral bloom times, and habitat loss caused by human expansion, to pesticide use--primarily a toxic agent known as a neonicotinoid, the threats that bees are currently facing are enormous, devastating and challenging. Things look pretty dire and this should concern all of us, that's why I felt the need to take the time to write up my plan of action and share it with those who happen to read this here little blog.

These are some small acts that we can all take to do our part to try to save the bees.

1. Plant bee-friendly flowers, flowering herbs in your pesticide-free garden.
Not only does this help bees, but planting flowers alongside your veggies will benefit your yield. Pesticides are not the only way to eliminate unwanted insects from a garden. If you're out watering your garden every day, take a moment to inspect your plants, unwanted pests, just pluck them off, kill or relocate. Do you have broken terra cotta pottery? Place pieces around your garden to create spaces, homes for toads, lizards, spiders to set up shop, better yet, if you find toads in your yard, relocate them to your garden, same with spiders, especially golden orb weavers.

For a list of plants that bees love, check out this link: http://www.themelissagarden.com/

2. Let your yard run wild.
Who wants a yard that is uniform, populated by a single species of grass, with no variation or diversity whatsoever? Well, HOA's tend to demand it of your front yard, but I say, do as you please in the backyard! Let the clover grow, let the henbit, deadnettle and dandelions and whatever else pops up flourish. I love the diversity of nature, seeing the various random plants pop up in my backyard is a treat for me with the added bonuses of lending to a more healthy backyard ecosystem, reduced herbicide use, and occasional edible plants to pluck from time to time. Henbit, deadnettle and dandelions are all edible, if your yard is thick with them, at a certain point, the entire yard becomes one big garden. Whomever decided to call these wonderful plants "weeds" needs to truly rethink their perspective.

3. Water the bees.
Bees are thirsty. Birdbaths aren't just for birds. Bees have been known to frequent fresh water set out in birdbaths and this helps them to keep on flying at full force. Set a few stones in the water so that the bees have something to land on and crawl around on as they get a drink.

4. Buy local, organic produce.
Supporting local farmers who produce crops using sustainable, pesticide-free practices ensures that there is that much less pesticide in the environment. 5. Buy local, raw honey.

5. Support your local beekeepers, keep them in business, keep their hives profitable. Added benefit of local honey is that eating local honey has been shown to reduce allergies. By eating local honey, your body takes in and acclimates to the region's pollen and is better able to tolerate that pollen when it starts blowing around in full.

Thanks for reading, thanks for caring about the bee situation. As an added treat, below is a label that's decades old, it's from when my grandparents up in Platteville Wisconsin had their farm operation going strong. They kept some bees and sold the honey around town and this is one of the labels that they had on the product. 

For more information on bees and details of the protection of honeybees and bumble bees, please visit Scientific American article US Lists a Bumble Bee Species as Endangered for First Time and Xerces.org.

Other resources to save the bees:
sos-bees.org/
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainable-agriculture/save-the-bees/
https://savebees.org/

Sign this petition and this petition at Xerces.org.

Thanks for reading. Peace.