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Bees and their food sources

muleman

muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
Attended a lecture tonight at the beekeepers association we joined. The speaker was the apiary professor from Cornell university in Ithica. There sure are a lot of things growing wild that bees get nectar and pollen from. He showed a bunch of photos he has taken of them working everything from skunk cabbage to goldenrod. It was set up to transition through the year and display the stuff native to western NY. Was a very interesting presentation and will guide me in what I spray and bush hog or when it is safe to do it. This guy has a bunch of hives himself and knows bees very well.
 
Pretty cool. So many people assume bees to be nothing more than a nuisance, but if the bees were to ever disappear, we would be pretty well screwed. At least for a while. They do so much for our edible vegetation.
 
These are not all that he covered but is a good reference list.
 

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I got the peppers :D

Growing pretty quick, too, now that they have room to grow, and tons of sunshine. Just hope the damn critters don't get at them.
 
I have about 15 of those things listed in my yard. Another 5+ in the woods.

Half the stuff (particularly the flowers), I don't know what they are so I have no idea if I have them or not.
 
As long as they leave me alone I leave them alone. I have a hive behind my bush right by the gate in my back fence. At first they scared my yardmen then they realized that the bees aren't aggressive.
 
Catavenger said:
As long as they leave me alone I leave them alone. I have a hive behind my bush right by the gate in my back fence. At first they scared my yardmen then they realized that the bees aren't aggressive.
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I aint a big fan of getting stung either but if it wasnt for the ones we have in an old shed I DONT go into, we wouldnt have near the garden we do this year. :wink:

BTW the main ones you have to watch out for are the African Killer bees, you have to look real close, but if their wearing hoodies stay the heck away from them. :biggrin:
 
I took this pic about half an hour ago. Sorry it's not clearer, all the brown things behind that palm leaf are bees:

beesbypalm.JPG
 
That is a nice swarm you have there. They will sure help with pollination of your neighborhood plants.
 
Cowboy said:
I aint a big fan of getting stung either but if it wasnt for the ones we have in an old shed I DONT go into, we wouldnt have near the garden we do this year. :wink:

BTW the main ones you have to watch out for are the African Killer bees, you have to look real close, but if their wearing hoodies stay the heck away from them. :biggrin:
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That is why I have my own hoody with a screened face. It is no fun getting stung anymore.:whistling:
 
I don't know what that bush (it's big) is that they like so much. It has pods that look somewhat like peanuts and purple flowers. It smells nice when in bloom.
 
They find whatever is good for them to make honey with and it varies wildly around the world. What they feed on changes what the honey tastes like. I am hoping my fresh seeding of clover blooms in time to get at least a few frames for us this fall. Each hive needs at least 100lbs. left in it to feed them during the winter. Per Grizzer's post folks would be amazed how many hives are located on top of high rises in big cities.
 
We were having problems with the cucumbers a few years ago, flowering but very little production. The next year I planted to early and just had not that many plants so not a problem. Two years ago I had the honey gal at the market bring out four hives and if I remember correctly that is about a quarter million bees. I know that I received a few strange looks from others in the market when they thought I sold my last bag of picklers and I would just open up a other cooler full. I attribute it all to the honey bees. They were not brought out last year due to the flood but they are out there this year with lots of cucumbers, squash and pumpkins to pollinate.
 
muleman said:
They find whatever is good for them to make honey with and it varies wildly around the world. What they feed on changes what the honey tastes like. I am hoping my fresh seeding of clover blooms in time to get at least a few frames for us this fall. Each hive needs at least 100lbs. left in it to feed them during the winter. Per Grizzer's post folks would be amazed how many hives are located on top of high rises in big cities.
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Sweet clover makes the best honey.
 
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