I went out to check on my cows yesterday morning and they were standing next to a wild swarm of bees. I had a spare hive almost ready for inhabitation so I spent some time and moved the swarm into the hive. Hope it is still there this morning. I got pictures and will post them later.

Attached Thumbnails

         

I noticed a real lack of bees here last season.

Awesome! Well Done! Our bees survived the winter quite well. Renowned beekeeper and permaculture expert Michal Jordan is coming to our property in April to teach another beekeeping class. We will be splitting the hive and preparing for the coming summer.

Here's hoping your new bees find the accommodations satisfactory and settle in.

__________________

90 300TE 4-M
Turbo 103, T3/T04E 50 trim
T04B cover .60 AR
Stage 3 turbine .63 AR
A2W I/C, 40 LB/HR
MS2E, 60-2 Direct Coil Control
3" Exh, AEM W/B O2
Underdrive Alt. and P/S Pulleys,
Vented Rear Discs, .034 Booster.
3.07 diffs 1st Gear Start

90 300CE 104.980
Milled & ported head, 10.3:1 compression
197° intake cam w/20° advancer
Tuned CIS ECU
4° ignition advance
PCS TCM2000, built 722.6
600W networked suction fan
Sportline sway bars
V8 rear subframe, Quaife ATB 3.06 diff

Went fishing last week . Took a swarm down off a tree. Well, all i did was just hold the plastic sack, while my friend cut the twig,then as it all fell in to the sack i closed it so we could put a string around the top. He was just like you . He had hives empty also ., Driving home the bees were nor very happy.

Atlanta Beekeepers Society posted an ad saying they would come and collect swarms of bees if you would just call.

I called about our carpenter bees.

They were not interested.

I am torn between letting them eat holes in my front door and killing them; neither is the perfect solution.

A beekeeping buddy of mine picked up a pretty large swarm yesterday. I haven't gotten one in 3 years--I just simply don't have the extra equipment to support them. I'm behind in building equipment this year for the bees I already have!

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
1963 Ford Falcon Convertible
1972 220D 4-speed
1986 190D 2.5 5-speed
1999 300D

Bee population is being seriously reduced in areas or is it widespread? It was our pleasure at one time having the gentlest strain possible use our back yard years ago.

I still miss those bees.

We've got two hives this year. They do good with the blueberries that are spread all over the place.

__________________
Jim

It is widespread. They have to pollinate by hand in China. They had a campaign to kill sparrows b/c they were eating grain. This caused a boom in insect populations. They in turn treated that with pesticides. Now they have no bees and they have to hand paint pollen into their fruit tree flowers.

Elsewhere neonicotinoid pesticides threaten bee populations. Its a known fact but little is done about it. France outlawed this class of pesticide and not surprisingly bees are faring much better in France. Elsewhere in the world they are sold as fast as they can be sprayed. So the good news is that all of the lawns will be as green as ever as we collectively rush over the cliff.

__________________

90 300TE 4-M
Turbo 103, T3/T04E 50 trim
T04B cover .60 AR
Stage 3 turbine .63 AR
A2W I/C, 40 LB/HR
MS2E, 60-2 Direct Coil Control
3" Exh, AEM W/B O2
Underdrive Alt. and P/S Pulleys,
Vented Rear Discs, .034 Booster.
3.07 diffs 1st Gear Start

90 300CE 104.980
Milled & ported head, 10.3:1 compression
197° intake cam w/20° advancer
Tuned CIS ECU
4° ignition advance
PCS TCM2000, built 722.6
600W networked suction fan
Sportline sway bars
V8 rear subframe, Quaife ATB 3.06 diff

We seem to have three types of bee in our area. I've identified them in our yard. What I'd call "regular honey bees", a bee that has more of a noticeable black white striped abdomen that appear to move more slowly than the others and what my wife calls "mason bees" that cut holes in plant leaves. The local urban environment is about 50/50 farm fields and subdivisions and we've noticed many of the fields have large sections devoted to hives.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

I looked up Skep in Wikipedia and learned that folks used to kill the bees with sulfur smoke to collect the honey.

Glad those days are over.