# Who all being hit?



## goat^farmer (Dec 28, 2005)

How many of ye bee keepers been hit by the disappearing bees? I sure hope they found out what is happen to them soon or we all will be in trouble. Ceratin parts of va is beign hit already.


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## ChickenMom (Sep 27, 2005)

We are in Louisiana and we got hit.


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

Chickenmom did you report it to those folk tracking the bees this year? (the link is somewhere on this forum...)?

Were your bees near cell phone towers and do you think that hypothesis for colony collapse has any legs?


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

We are going to get our first bees in a couple of weeks but we've been reading and talking to some local folks. Lots of folks in WV were hit. Some lost 75% of their hives.

We live far enough from any cell towers that we don't get cellphone reception at the house, and I've seen "wild" honeybees (or maybe a neighbor has some hives) in the yard this year.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

:dance: I was talking on my cell phone Tuesday while I was in the bee yard.  I got over ran with bees asking if I was talking to Dave in his Clear Lake yard. I said yes I was talking to Dave but didn't know what yard he was in. All the bees demanded phone time with Daves bees. I'll never use the phone in a bee yard again. Didn't think the girls would ever stop gabbing    .
 Some thing about females and phones I guess.

 Al


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

By golly Alley.....................You may have hit on it!!! All the scientists are working too hard finding the link between magnetic fields, radiation and all that junk. The fact is we know the hives are losing workers, workers are girls, it's simply the girls chasing every cell phone that drives by wanting to talk on the phone- before you know it they are out in the boonies and we all know about the female sense of direction............

David


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## ChickenMom (Sep 27, 2005)

DH does the bees, I don't know if it was reported anywhere. 

They put up a cell phone tower right across the road last year.


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## white eagle (Feb 8, 2007)

I don't come in here to often but I think it has a lot to do with our weather. Our weather patterns have changed like crazy and it could be some of it. We live here in the southwest tip of va and a friend of mine had some bee hives. She had 20 bee hives and when she went to check on them a few weeks ago she only had 2 hives left. The other bees was gone no dead ones just plain out disappeared. I'm thinking of trying to do a little study myself on the honeybees. When I see one I'm going to try and mark it with a color that will not harm the honeybee and make a report on how many honeybees we see here at our place. I know that may sound crazy but like to see how many we have buzzing around here. I hope how soon we can find out what is killing our bees. We sure need them.

I came up on this link but it maybe old news to you all. 
http://www.celsias.com/blog/2007/03/15/bee-colony-collapse-disorder-where-is-it-heading/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder


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## dcross (Aug 12, 2005)

Mine died of plain old winter starvation.


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## Timber (Jun 15, 2003)

As posted, been hit hard with weaken hives going into the winter. Nearest beekeeper I know of is 5 miles away as the crow fly has lost all about a few that made it through.

Yesterday, was a good feeling day as it was the first warm day I did notice bees flying and robbing of my hives. This is good I thought. 
So all not lost. 
As for the wife thinking "See I told you they just don't like to live in a box" maybe she has something there. 
So I'm watching and following their flight routes trying to zero in on the working colony.


Starting over soon as the bee packages arrive. They delayed them a week already.

Al it seems like you have no losses. For some info what's your cell's bar strengths?.


Timber


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## the kid (Jul 9, 2006)

maybe all the bee keepers should get together and sue the cell phone co for the lose of the hives ...
Al ,,,, Just wait til you get your cell phone bill , :flame: , then you will start remembering that you never let girls get a hold of the cell phone .. :nono: 
Als secret to getting the hives through the winter is ,,, He listens to Kare as to how to winter them ,,, you know girls know what girls need .. :angel: 
the kid


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

:flame: I lost 23% of my colonies this year. It was easy to see why they died too. Wasn't a tea cup of honey in any of the dead outs and the bees were still dead in a cluster inside the box.
We had not common monsoon rains which started in Mid Sept and washed all the nectar from the Golden Rod the girls normally get. When the Wild Asters started blooming we had a week of freezing rain and snow which killed them too, so no nectar from them. Yes we fed and fed Till it finally froze up in Mid January when the monsoon ended. But the warm weather had the bees more active so they were not storeing any of the feed but useing it as fast as we put it on.

I get a good strong 3 to 4 bar signal at all our bee yards except the Christmas tree farm. We get no signal there at all and still lost a colony there.
:dance: It is global warming and stress.

 Al


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## sellis (Apr 7, 2006)

i guess i was lucky this year , i made it without loosing one hive thank god . we havent lost one hive yet due to anything .


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## white eagle (Feb 8, 2007)

We don't raise bees due to have all different types of other critters. Can't have bees because they would get ate by the other critters. So since can't have bees here at all due to that. I went out in the yard at my mothers just a few yards from me and done a honeybee count. I counted 15 honeybees which I think is good. Didn't get to mark them because didn't have anything to use. So maybe next time.


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## Ol'Reb (Apr 21, 2006)

white eagle said:


> Can't have bees because they would get ate by the other critters.


What critters might them be? :shrug: :shrug:


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## white eagle (Feb 8, 2007)

Here at our place we have all different types of animals. We have ducks, chickens and other fowl. That is why no bee here. I would love to have bees to raise but with all the critters just can't do it. 




Ol'Reb said:


> What critters might them be? :shrug: :shrug:


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## ChickenMom (Sep 27, 2005)

white eagle said:


> Here at our place we have all different types of animals. We have ducks, chickens and other fowl. That is why no bee here. I would love to have bees to raise but with all the critters just can't do it.


We have all them critters with bees... They cohabitate vry well. check here and see http://briarhillfarms.bravehost.com/index.html


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

white eagle said:


> Here at our place we have all different types of animals. We have ducks, chickens and other fowl. That is why no bee here. I would love to have bees to raise but with all the critters just can't do it.


We used to keep our bees at a friend's homestead. She kept llama, sheep, goats, chickens and guineas. Bees didn't cause any problems, in fact, they pollinated the orchard so well, that they had excess fruit for the market.


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

<~~~~ Goats, chickens, rabbits, dogs, cats, tons of songbirds and five hives each containing approx. "_50,000 head of free ranging livestock_" (_Wisconsin Ann_) sitting on 4 acres...everything either gets along or winds up in the freezer. I have more problems with ***** in the chicken coop or goats tearing up stuff than I have with the bees. Songbirds (primarily Eastern Flycatchers) will line the fence with their young and pick off a few bees but at the rate of replacement (approx. 1000/day) the bees are never missed. It's all part of the cycle and nothing beats watching the sun come up with a cup of coffee in your hand sitting at the table three feet from the bees..........

David


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## white eagle (Feb 8, 2007)

Ahh ok. I didn't know if my critters would harm the bees or not. Now since I have been doing more reading how hard is it to get bees started? 
Plus where is the best place on the internet to be able to purchase all the needs to get started with honeybees. I like to learn how to get the honey out of the hive. My daddy years ago had bee hives and he would smoke them out but I was never close enough to learn all the tricks of the trade of honey bee raising. My daddy is now passed on and I'm wanted to learn all this stuff and hope to save on money in the long run with raising our own stock and bees.


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

The best advice I could offer is for you to contact your County Extension Agent and get a list of beekeepers close to you. Give one a call and I can virtually guarentee you a visit to their apiary. I always keep an extra veil around for just such an opportunity. Heck I located my hives so that folks who are terrified can actually drive within a few feet and stay in the comfort of their vehicle. As I'm examining frames I can step right up to their window and explain as we go. A good mentor is an invaluable asset. 
As to equipment- I am a firm believer in all mediums for everything that way everything is interchangeable. Internet suppliers just to mention a few are
Dadant
Betterbee
Brushy Mountain
I know there are more but to be totally honest I live within 45 min of Dadant so I just drive over and pick up everything direct. A google search on beekeeping supplies should keep you occupied for hours.

David


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

I second the "contact your local extension agent". You can also find a local apiary and see if you can give them some help in exchange for learning about bees. Some of the people around here(wisconsin) will do that, so I expect there are beekeepers down there that will, too.

Dadant's (www.dadant.com ) is a really good company. Others are good, too, but I've gotten some real good help and advice from the Dadant folk.


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## rmaster14145 (Mar 14, 2007)

white eagle said:


> I'm thinking of trying to do a little study myself on the honeybees. When I see one I'm going to try and mark it with a color that will not harm the honeybee and make a report on how many honeybees we see here at our place. QUOTE]
> 
> 
> EAGLE i have heard of bee keepers "dusting " the honeybees with white flower before. this way they could see the bee inflight and follow it back to its hive.
> ...


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

Could part of the CCD problem be that most people are going to the same suppliers to get their bees and there is little genetic diversity in the bee population as a result?


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## white eagle (Feb 8, 2007)

I have counted so far 15 honeybees the other day plus where we live we do not have no cell towers of what I know of. We have lots of little flowers blooming here and me and daughter has sit and counted them. Itr is fun to see that many here. We are thinking of later trying to get a hive set up also and doing some studying on the honeybees. I sure do not want them to disappear because that sure will hurt the food supply.


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