# are the bees



## greenboy (Sep 5, 2005)

Are the bees still doing badly?


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## Tessynae (May 13, 2006)

I don't know, but I would like to know how they are doing as well. I'm very surprised that your question has been ignored.


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## Calvin Wiles (May 14, 2008)

In my area this past summer, the feral colonies made a comeback. The Beekeepers are still having to treat theirs, and are losing some.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Yes the bees are still doing badly.
I posted a link in the stickys above to a site where you can see what they have found so far with the CCD problem.

The mites are still a problem and I expect them to stay that way since it has made much money for the companies who supply the treatments. Yes even our goverment is behind these companies.

For example Miteaway 2 a formic acid treatment was just given a section 18 about 3 years ago. It can only be used as it is in the mite away 2 pads at a healthy cost to the bee keepers. Yet across the border in Canada they have been useing Formic acid for close to 15 years now at a cost rangeing from 3 to 5 cents per treatment.

Michigans bee keepers got hit hard last spring with Noesma cerena.

Our swarm calls for 2008 were just 6. Down from the 15 for 2007.

 Al


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## Durandal (Aug 19, 2007)

Here in Southwestern Ohio things were doing great, though we are having a rather dry end of the year.

During swarm season here I had 16 phone calls. I had enough equipment for 6 of those.

I had 12 calls for cut outs and then, when Tropical Storm IKE roared through here I had 32 calls for bees in trees or in homes of which 6 turned out to be hornets.

I have at least 3 bee trees in my zip code, that I know of and have seen.

My goal, depending on how our winter goes is to be much better prepared.

I checked a month ago, and Ohio has still not seen any CCD. Indiana is starting to see SHB according to one of our local clubs and mites are always a problem.

I am taking precautions next year and setting up a total of four yards. My primary yard, my queen development/split/nuc yard, and two quarantine yards to store the swarms I catch.

I am probably going to stop doing cut-outs because I think at least 2 of the four cut-outs were sprayed even though the owners claimed they had not.

Anyways...mites and weather seem to be the big issue around here still. Two years ago was one of the worst years in Ohio with a loss of as much as 75% of bees in some yards (none of it a result of CCD) and this year one of the best.

Go figure.

CCD, Noesma cerena outbreaks, and random pesticide kills seem to be happening just not around us. I have absolutely no idea of this is the norm or the exception.


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## greenboy (Sep 5, 2005)

I do not keep bees but the Amish in my area have them, and I see they bring their product to the Farmer Market, and I haven't see them bringing a drop less this season, as a matter of fact i think they are bringing more now. My cousin told me they bring the honey from Amish in Canada, I asked them but they are very close and they don't give information to "english" people so I don't know. If the bees are doing better or not, we have a high population of wasp in my area and we never see too many bees anyway.


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## Michael Bush (Oct 26, 2008)

I doubled the number of hives I have last year. They are doing well so far.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

In Kansas they are doing well enough.

We have very little trouble with hive beetles or CCD, though. Yet. Things CAN change!


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## greenboy (Sep 5, 2005)

How legal is to mix, corn syrup, Molasses and other things with the honey, recently I got a bottle of Honey in the farmer Market and it tasted like honey but also you can taste the Molasses in it. Are you guys aware of any law against it?


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

KFC got into trouble a few years back: there was no honey in their honey. A thing HAS to be what you say it is! There are truth in advertizing laws.

My FIL, when he was alive, always preferred comb honey. Regular honey can be diluted with corn syrup, but, the inside of a comb is going to be pure. It is a very old problem.


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## Oregonsparkie (Sep 3, 2003)

Watch for the words artificial or flavored... any of these is a dead giveaway that it is not pure honey... Laws prevent calling pure honey if it isnt... but be aware that foreign honey will more like contain artificial ingrediants


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## Oregonsparkie (Sep 3, 2003)

Another thought... read the label where it is bottled. the smaller the company the more likely that it is pure.. I mean local farmers markets, fruit stand, etc all sell honey... It will cost more but I gaurantee that it will taste better too.. get a business card from them...ask questions..


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## Michael Bush (Oct 26, 2008)

I'm sure it's illegal in any state to sell one thing and pass it off as another. However, keep in mind that, while you can tell the difference, buckwheat honey resembles molasses in both color and taste.


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