# I have seen one honey bee this year



## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

I have little flowers all over patches in the yard and they were covered with honey bees last year by now and I have only seen one this year. There was a bumble bee that flew around for a few days but he left also. 
I am wondering about buying a pack of honey bees with a queen and just turning then loose sense I don't have the cash to get into raising them. 
I have probably 75 to 100 plants such as cukes, squash, mellons etc., already in the ground and that many mmore to put out, that I believe need them for polination.

Any ideas????/ :help: :help:


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Chances you couldn't find a supplier with bees for sale at this late date. If you don't have a hive for them where would they live?

 Al


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

alleyyooper said:


> Chances you couldn't find a supplier with bees for sale at this late date. If you don't have a hive for them where would they live?
> 
> Al


I am a good carpenter. Atleast I used to be. I guess I could build something they could call home, lol. I saw hives in hollowed out log trees back when I was a kid and romping through the woods. 
I remember setting down dead over a nest one time on an old tree that had fell. All of a sudden they were flying around me and I was dead center of a swarm of them. :baby04: Me and 2 others in Nam had probably 30 or 40 jerks after us and I bet I didn't run that day as fast as I did when the bees gots after me, lol. I'll bet I ran a mile before it dawned on me they weren't still there. 

I don't really care right now about getting honey. I do, but I don't have the money for the equipment it takes. I have seen them make hives in empty houses that had an opening in a wall and an open to fly in. 
Looks like they lived in the wild for centuries without humans building them a home to live in. Actually from what I just read, they lived for eons without human help. :shrug: 

What I am thinking about is the cost of a lb. of bees against all the plants I have already planted or have ready to plant producing something. I had squash and mellons sprawled out last year and didn't get squat from them except big leaves. Plants looked good. Pretty flowers but no fruit. When I started reading these threads about bee keeping, I got to thinking. There were a few bees around out there when the cukes came to flower but I don't think I ever seen a single one after that and after that nothing else produced anything to speak of. 

I don't know much about them, but from what I am reading, I don't see where it would hurt to allow them to find thier own homes. They might do better for a while loose. :shrug:


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## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

We don't keep bees but we were encouraged to see swarms of them on our prickly ash trees that were in bloom last weekend at our land. We do have a small garden there so hopefully they'll 'bee' arond to pollinate.

Patty


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

Crafty, you should look into some top bar hives. They are easier to build than the Langstroth kind because they don't have frames. It wouldn't cost much I bet. But Al is right. I'm not sure where you can get the bees now. My bee club had a hard time filling the orders this year.

Have you tried any of the mason bee homes? I haven't built one, but try a google search and you'll come up with how to make them. There are also bumblebee homes you can buy. But I don't think they are as good a pollinator. Not sure though!


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

Tricky Grama said:


> We don't keep bees but we were encouraged to see swarms of them on our prickly ash trees that were in bloom last weekend at our land. We do have a small garden there so hopefully they'll 'bee' arond to pollinate.
> 
> Patty


I have blackberries and clover in perfect bloom. some squash and cukes and all I have seen was one dang honey bee and one bumble bee. 
I have a nest of birds on the back porch in a small bucket in a box if that counts. I started spring cleaning and went to pick it up and I guess it was mama bird smacked me right in the face. Has 5 eggs in it so I put it back down. I'll clean that part of the porch when they are up and gone. 
After thinking about them I just went to take a look see and she ran into me again. I came back inside and she came straight back to the nest. I think it's a sparrow, but she moves too fast to really see. Light brow color. 
Anyway, I am not worried about the birds, it's the bees. Lord have mercey. Now we are back to the birds and the bees. I thought I left that 40 years ago. LOL.


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## Old Spicer (Jun 3, 2006)

...


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## rmaster14145 (Mar 14, 2007)

i have seen one too...then another and another :rock: but we have 5 hives in the yard. i literally can not walk more than a step or two and not see a honey bee in the clover.

they say if you have bees in increases your garden yield by 30%. i do think this is true. last year we had a small garden and the yield of veges was beyond beleif. there was a bee on almost every bloom every time we were in the garden.

heck buy some bees and a brood. if you dont get any honey at least your veges will increase. you better learn to can too  

rm


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

rmaster14145 said:


> i have seen one too...then another and another :rock: but we have 5 hives in the yard. i literally can not walk more than a step or two and not see a honey bee in the clover.
> 
> they say if you have bees in increases your garden yield by 30%. i do think this is true. last year we had a small garden and the yield of veges was beyond beleif. there was a bee on almost every bloom every time we were in the garden.
> 
> ...


I am seriously thinking about buying some bees. A lady PM'ed me that has some for a fair price but I saw a few more yesterday just before dark. I don't have a lot of money and I am torn between the bees and the chicks I have already started building a tractor for. I can finish it and buy 25 or maybe 50 chicks for what the beehive would cost. Right now I am counting my pennies and seeing which way to flip them, lol. Wish I had a penny with a chicken on one side and bees on the other. I'd just flip the coin. 
Thanks for the input.
God Bless
Dennis


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

Hmm.... how about getting the bees now and putting your "feed money" in a jar. Then when you get enough feed money put back you can get the chicks.

If I absolutely had to pick one or the other, I'd personally calculate the value of meat and eggs (and the cost of chicks, feed, and housing for a year) vs. the value of a 30% increase in garden yield (and the cost of bees, housing, and feed/meds for a year) and go with whichever gives you a better ROI (return on investment).

Either one would be a good addition to a homestead, IMO.


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

turtlehead said:


> Hmm.... how about getting the bees now and putting your "feed money" in a jar. Then when you get enough feed money put back you can get the chicks.
> 
> If I absolutely had to pick one or the other, I'd personally calculate the value of meat and eggs (and the cost of chicks, feed, and housing for a year) vs. the value of a 30% increase in garden yield (and the cost of bees, housing, and feed/meds for a year) and go with whichever gives you a better ROI (return on investment).
> 
> Either one would be a good addition to a homestead, IMO.


I sure wish I had paid more attenion to what you said here. The little chicks are costing me more to get set up than I thoight they would and I am finding myself needing the bees quite badly. 
I have an offer to buy a hive complete with queen and bees at a good price so it looks like I'll take a trip next weekend or the first of the next week and take a crash course on beekeeping while I am at it.
Ya'll wish me luck on this one. I also think I'll order the book, "Beekeeping for Dummies" . That one should fit me perfect on this subject, lol. 
Dennis


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## wilderness1989 (Feb 23, 2006)

Saw my 1st ONE today on some clover in the front yard. Hven't seen many the last few years. I live in rural Southern Illinois.


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