WHERE ARE THE BEES? - Page 7

Dutch · February 28, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by brownrexx

I agree with you but no one forces homeowners to spray their lawns or hire lawn care companies so that they can have perfect lawns without a single weed or flower.

I prefer to have weeds, dandelions and lots of bees!

Yep! Me too! And I don't have to deal with some alien form of lawn to my property getting in my garden.
We all have our priorities!
Dutch

Worth1 · February 28, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by brownrexx

I agree with you but no one forces homeowners to spray their lawns or hire lawn care companies so that they can have perfect lawns without a single weed or flower.

I prefer to have weeds, dandelions and lots of bees!

Some Home Owners Associations are real jerks when it comes to lawns and even what you pant the color of you house where you park your car what curtains.

I simply couldn't live like that.

Worth

Cole_Robbie · May 31, 2016

Bees’ secret superpower explained: How they sense flowers’ electric fields
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ectric-fields/

It turned out that flowers develop varied sizes and shapes in order to force bees into a monogamous relationship with them — since the insects have to invest a lot of time in learning how to extract nectar, once they figure out how to do so they're reluctant to keep flying around. But even more surprising was how bees are able to tell what kind of flower they're looking at.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, Sutton reported that the fuzz that covers bees' bodies helps the tiny critters sense flowers' natural electric fields, allowing them to home in on their favorite plants to pollinate.

"The bumblebees can feel that hair bend and use that feeling to tell the difference between flowers," Sutton told NPR

peppero · May 31, 2016

I have been hoping I would see more this year but alas, they still seem to be avoiding my garden.

Jon

Lastfling · June 1, 2016

Don't feel bad, I've got several thousand of the girls in my backyard yet seldom see them in the garden which is in the front. I can only imagine there is something more enticing elsewhere.

Gardeneer · June 1, 2016

I see a lot of them tiny shiny bees w/ yellow stripe, that look like yellow jackets. Very few true honey bees and a lot more jumbo bumble bees.

b54red · June 1, 2016

They have been coming back here for the last few years and this year is the most I have seen in decades. They are particularly drawn to squash blossoms in the morning hours though I do see a few on the tomatoes and other flowering veggies.

Bill

clkeiper · June 2, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lastfling

Don't feel bad, I've got several thousand of the girls in my backyard yet seldom see them in the garden which is in the front. I can only imagine there is something more enticing elsewhere.

This is very true. I have 4 hives just packed with bees and I never really see them in the garden. Now the raspberries... loaded with bees, but the garden, not so much that draws them except melons and cukes, which right now there are none.

MarianneW · June 3, 2016

Lots of bees here, I even see them stop by my chile & tomato plants.

brownrexx · June 5, 2016

I have 2 hives of honeybees and amazingly one thing that they really like in my garden are the asparagus flowers. They are usually loaded with honeybees. they also seem to like the lima bean flowers.

I have only ever seen bumble bees in my squash blossoms, not honeybees.

JaxRmrJmr · June 5, 2016

I'm still sweet talking the bumble bee that is visiting my tomatillos and cukes. He is out there everyday, but no honey bees.

Wasps are more so looking for other critters to eat so they search the leaves and such. I suppose they do some pollination.

I have sprayed baking soda and neem oil about four times this year along with applying Sevin for a third time this year. I generally just pinch and pop the little catapillars that infest my plants, but sometimes they reproduce quicker than I can handle them - that's when I use something.

brownrexx · June 6, 2016

bt solution sprayed on plants kills caterpillars but not bees.

I use one called Thuricide. it's a liquid and works well.

Gardeneer · June 6, 2016

I think tomato flowers do not have any nectar to attract honey/bumble bees. But I have seen them a lot on tomatillo flowers. .
So in lieu of bees, I get to work myself using an electric tooth brush, just as an insurance policy, as they might not even need my help.

JaxRmrJmr · June 6, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by brownrexx

bt solution sprayed on plants kills caterpillars but not bees.

I use one called Thuricide. it's a liquid and works well.

I'll give that a try! Thanks!

Cole_Robbie · July 29, 2017

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/...ew-study-shows

Pesticides Are Harming Bees — But Not Everywhere, Major New Study Shows

....the experiment revealed a complicated picture....Apparently, the local environment plays a big role in whether bees are harmed by neonics.

May 31, 2016	#93
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Bees’ secret superpower explained: How they sense flowers’ electric fields https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ectric-fields/ It turned out that flowers develop varied sizes and shapes in order to force bees into a monogamous relationship with them — since the insects have to invest a lot of time in learning how to extract nectar, once they figure out how to do so they're reluctant to keep flying around. But even more surprising was how bees are able to tell what kind of flower they're looking at. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, Sutton reported that the fuzz that covers bees' bodies helps the tiny critters sense flowers' natural electric fields, allowing them to home in on their favorite plants to pollinate. "The bumblebees can feel that hair bend and use that feeling to tell the difference between flowers," Sutton told NPR

May 31, 2016	#94
peppero Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: selmer, tn Posts: 2,944	I have been hoping I would see more this year but alas, they still seem to be avoiding my garden. Jon

June 1, 2016	#95
Lastfling Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: NC Posts: 143	Don't feel bad, I've got several thousand of the girls in my backyard yet seldom see them in the garden which is in the front. I can only imagine there is something more enticing elsewhere.

June 1, 2016	#96
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,920	I see a lot of them tiny shiny bees w/ yellow stripe, that look like yellow jackets. Very few true honey bees and a lot more jumbo bumble bees.

June 1, 2016	#97
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	They have been coming back here for the last few years and this year is the most I have seen in decades. They are particularly drawn to squash blossoms in the morning hours though I do see a few on the tomatoes and other flowering veggies. Bill

June 3, 2016	#99
MarianneW Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Arizona Posts: 153	Lots of bees here, I even see them stop by my chile & tomato plants.

June 5, 2016	#100
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	I have 2 hives of honeybees and amazingly one thing that they really like in my garden are the asparagus flowers. They are usually loaded with honeybees. they also seem to like the lima bean flowers. I have only ever seen bumble bees in my squash blossoms, not honeybees.

June 5, 2016	#101
JaxRmrJmr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Jax, FL - 9A Posts: 172	I'm still sweet talking the bumble bee that is visiting my tomatillos and cukes. He is out there everyday, but no honey bees. Wasps are more so looking for other critters to eat so they search the leaves and such. I suppose they do some pollination. I have sprayed baking soda and neem oil about four times this year along with applying Sevin for a third time this year. I generally just pinch and pop the little catapillars that infest my plants, but sometimes they reproduce quicker than I can handle them - that's when I use something.

June 6, 2016	#102
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	bt solution sprayed on plants kills caterpillars but not bees. I use one called Thuricide. it's a liquid and works well.

June 6, 2016	#103
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,920	I think tomato flowers do not have any nectar to attract honey/bumble bees. But I have seen them a lot on tomatillo flowers. . So in lieu of bees, I get to work myself using an electric tooth brush, just as an insurance policy, as they might not even need my help.

July 29, 2017	#105
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/...ew-study-shows *Pesticides Are Harming Bees — But Not Everywhere, Major New Study Shows* ....the experiment revealed a complicated picture....Apparently, the local environment plays a big role in whether bees are harmed by neonics.