Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Anything related to home improvement, home repair, homesteading, farm and garden.

Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby aunt betty » Thu May 30, 2013 5:52 pm

I am a licensed beekeeper in Illinois. Have been since 1976.
It's one of those things you don't tell everyone but why not?
I have a garden, yards I maintain, but no colonies of bees right now.

Something I noticed in the last decade or so is the disappearance of honeybees. I used to see them working flowers and trees often and it has gotten rare. Bumblebees and wasps seemingly have disappeared as well. I still see wild honebees that everyone calls "yellow jackets" but that is about all. I also see plenty of carpenter bees.

There are several theories on why...

One is neonicatinoid insecticides. I believe that these chemicals is the cause of colony collapse disorder.

Another thing I myself have observed is the disappearance of white clover from nearly every single lawn. My bees made the best honey from this yard "weed".
Nearly everyone is sold on the idea of fertilizing and killing the weeds in one easy step. This is what made the clover go away. Try NOT fertilizing your yard a season or two and see what happens. The fertilizer is high nitrogen which clover...can't stand.

My bees disappeared at about the same time CCD was discovered. It's expensive to get started again. I kinda miss having a few gallons of honey in the house.
I've heard that it's incredibly stupid to fuck around with a crazy man's head.
User avatar
aunt betty
 
Posts: 14634
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:37 pm
Location: East Side

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby rebelp74 » Thu May 30, 2013 6:11 pm

Plenty of bees, wasps, dirt dobbers, yellow jackets, hornets, etc around here. Also my neighbor is a bee farmer. He has around 10 boxes. Always gives me some great honey. His bees feed in my orchard, wife's flower beds, and on wild flowers in the nearby pastures.
Reinstate TomKat

4-20MJ
User avatar
rebelp74
 
Posts: 12506
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 12:49 am
Location: nw louisiana

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby aunt betty » Thu May 30, 2013 7:38 pm

rebelp74 wrote:Plenty of bees, wasps, dirt dobbers, yellow jackets, hornets, etc around here. Also my neighbor is a bee farmer. He has around 10 boxes. Always gives me some great honey. His bees feed in my orchard, wife's flower beds, and on wild flowers in the nearby pastures.

We had zillions of asian beatles. An army of crop dusters took care of that.
I think they killed the bees too.
I've heard that it's incredibly stupid to fuck around with a crazy man's head.
User avatar
aunt betty
 
Posts: 14634
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:37 pm
Location: East Side

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby Eric Haynes » Thu May 30, 2013 7:56 pm

Are you a beekeeper or an apiarist?

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2
Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both. For a wounded man shall say to his assailant, "If I live, I will kill you. If I die, you are forgiven." Such is the rule of honor.
User avatar
Eric Haynes
WFF Supporter
 
Posts: 8350
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 6:59 pm
Location: Ogdensburg, NY

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby Bootlipkiller » Fri May 31, 2013 2:19 am

Eric Haynes wrote:Are you a beekeeper or an apiarist?

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2

No he's just crazy:)
AKPirate wrote:The sins of Boot and Gaddy are causing the Cali drought and knowing they have no limits to their depravity... :mrgreen:
User avatar
Bootlipkiller
 
Posts: 14361
Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 4:47 am
Location: you stay classy Sutter County... Im Ron Burgandy???

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby goodkarmarising » Fri May 31, 2013 7:59 am

I don't spray my yard to kill clover, dandelions, etc. With how hard my two labs are on the yard, I need what ground cover I can get. The only thing that gets sprayed is poison ivy when it pops up.
User avatar
goodkarmarising
 
Posts: 2136
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:56 am

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby aunt betty » Fri May 31, 2013 8:37 am

Bootlipkiller wrote:
Eric Haynes wrote:Are you a beekeeper or an apiarist?

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2

No he's just crazy:)

Are you a fan, or just a guy who follows me from thread to thread pointing out how irrational my posts are?
Get a life. ;)
I've heard that it's incredibly stupid to fuck around with a crazy man's head.
User avatar
aunt betty
 
Posts: 14634
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:37 pm
Location: East Side

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby Eric Haynes » Fri May 31, 2013 8:54 am

aunt betty wrote:
Bootlipkiller wrote:
Eric Haynes wrote:Are you a beekeeper or an apiarist?

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2

No he's just crazy:)

Are you a fan, or just a guy who follows me from thread to thread pointing out how irrational my posts are?
Get a life. ;)

I was being serious.

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2
Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both. For a wounded man shall say to his assailant, "If I live, I will kill you. If I die, you are forgiven." Such is the rule of honor.
User avatar
Eric Haynes
WFF Supporter
 
Posts: 8350
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 6:59 pm
Location: Ogdensburg, NY

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby aunt betty » Fri May 31, 2013 12:23 pm

a·pi·a·rist (p--rst, -rst)
n.
One who keeps bees, specifically one who cares for and raises bees for commercial or agricultural purposes. Also called beekeeper.


Want to debate whether or not the source is accurate?

Right now I am neither ( or both) It's actually a 50/50 thing. 8-)
The State of Illinois refuses to admit it though. I have wrote them letters, filled out forms, until I'm done with them.
FUCK YOU
I've heard that it's incredibly stupid to fuck around with a crazy man's head.
User avatar
aunt betty
 
Posts: 14634
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:37 pm
Location: East Side

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby Eric Haynes » Fri May 31, 2013 12:37 pm

You are wayyy too easy. Apiarists here are the ones that raise bees commercially and usually we call beekeepers the small timers who only do under a couple hundred pounds a year. Mmost of their bees die every year. You must be a bee keeper

Sent from my LG-L38C using Tapatalk 2
Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both. For a wounded man shall say to his assailant, "If I live, I will kill you. If I die, you are forgiven." Such is the rule of honor.
User avatar
Eric Haynes
WFF Supporter
 
Posts: 8350
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 6:59 pm
Location: Ogdensburg, NY

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby GadwallGetter530 » Tue Jun 04, 2013 12:43 am

I'm letting a buddy keep a couple dozen bee boxes out at my place. Free honey is a good thing. :D
Who really runs the prison? The inmates or the guards?
User avatar
GadwallGetter530
 
Posts: 9758
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2012 6:58 am
Location: Jefferson Republic

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby BrewGUN » Tue Jun 04, 2013 4:26 am

GadwallGetter530 wrote:I'm letting a buddy keep a couple dozen bee boxes out at my place. Free honey is a good thing. :D

Considering the price of honey these days, thats a damned good deal!
User avatar
BrewGUN
 
Posts: 2284
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2012 5:52 pm
Location: Elk Rapids, MI

Re: Gardening, yardcare, & honeybees

Postby aunt betty » Wed Jun 05, 2013 3:52 pm

GadwallGetter530 wrote:I'm letting a buddy keep a couple dozen bee boxes out at my place. Free honey is a good thing. :D
I agree. We used to keep several pounds of comb and a lot of quarts of honey for us to eat every year.
Bar-b-que sauce with lots of honey in it...mmmmm
I still have my extractor, smoker, and a few odds and ends but no hives, hive bodies etc.
To get back into the hobby isn't cheap.
You're lucky!
I've heard that it's incredibly stupid to fuck around with a crazy man's head.
User avatar
aunt betty
 
Posts: 14634
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:37 pm
Location: East Side


Return to Home Improvement and Farm & Garden

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 88 guests