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#honeybees

1 post1 participant0 posts today
Public
Tom

The bees have mostly yellow pollen, and some bright orange and a mix of dirty colors but not a lot of that. The first drone bee spotted coming out of the West hive. A drone and a very light colored bee at the Center hive which has more darker bees. It really stands out.

#beekeeping#bees#HoneyBees
Public
Sarah Heckles 🧅
Swarm season! 💛 My favorite time of the year.

First of 2025, a beautiful 10-20,000 honeybee swarm cluster on my friend’s cherry tree.

I rigged this slick bucket on a swiveling extending pole a year ago which works so well, and is an upgrade to previous season’s bucket, duct tape on bamboo pole.

But, major equipment #fail yesterday. After swarm of honeybees was in bucket, bucket disengaged from pole. Result? A cascading waterfall of bees. 🙈

Plan B. Up close and personal via ladder with bucket in hands. Went up three times to get all of them!

Such a great day. First time I was close enough to my wee apiary that I could walk the box o’ #bees there (verses driving them).

#portland #portlandia #beekeeping #swarm #honeybeeswarm #honeybees #hobby
Me in bee suit, under cherry tree, with a 5 gallon bucket on extension pole placing it under a honeybee swarm which is hanging off a branch about 10-15’ up.
Bucket disengages from my pole. And bees go everywhere. Equipment fail.
Me stepping back watching a waterfall of honeybees fall while bucket hits ground.
Plan B. I use a ladder and go up with bucket in my hands to collect swarm.
#hobby
Continued thread
Public
Linux Is Best

Although, I and everyone else, does not know what is killing off honeybees in such a large scale, at this moment -- I would guess a lack of biodiversity.

Commercial honeybees are often moved around in large groups, and rented out as needed. It is a big industry, but that means you have all these bees in large clusters that do not establish themselves outside those clusters. Furthermore, continuously moving those clusters, I always believed, could make it harder for hives to be better established, compared to those found in nature, or generally untouched hives.

I had my reasons for trying to cross-breed both European and Asian, honeybees. The same reason I never extracted honey, and mostly left my bees alone. The only time I got involved was to perform my annual inspection and to switch virgin queens between the hives.

#HoneyBees #Bees

Continued thread
Public
Linux Is Best

I have a few bee hives, myself. - So far, so good.

To my knowledge, I am one of the few people who have tried to cross-breed European Honeybees with Asian Honeybees.

My plan was to overcome the mite problem that has impacted so many. Asian Honeybees can fight the mites, but European Honeybees make more honey. The goal was to find a happy middle ground.

#HoneyBees #Bees

Replied to Entomological Soc. of America
Public
Albert Cardona

@entsocamerica

Interesting:

"Varroa mites originally evolved to parasitize Apis cerana, the honey bee species native to Asia, and only affected drones of that species. When Varroa mites infect worker brood in Asian bees, the larva dies and the Varroa mite can’t reproduce."

"As they adapted to the honey bees (Apis mellifera) common in Europe and North America, however, Varroa mites became able to parasitize drone, queen, or worker bees. However, there is a still a large preference for drone brood. Varroa mites are often 5–10 times more abundant in drone brood cells than worker or queen cells. Since drones take longer to mature into adults and the drone brood are bigger, the Varroa mites can produce more offspring in these cells. By removing excess drone brood, a beekeeper can eliminate a large portion of their Varroa mite population."

#honeybees#Varroa#mites
Public
Entomological Soc. of America

New on Entomology Today: In honey bee hives, drone brood is often discarded because the male bees sap resources. However, a new study suggests drone brood can be recycled into flour patties rich with protein, fats, and essential minerals that can be fed back to the rest of the hive as a pollen substitute. #entomology #insects #HoneyBees #beekeeping entomologytoday.org/2025/03/24

Entomology Today · Beekeepers May Be Throwing Away the Thing That Could Keep Bees HealthyA new study shows honey bee drone brood can be recycled into nutrient-rich flour patties that can be fed back to the rest of the hive as a pollen substitute.
Public
Tom

There's a lot of pollen going into the hives today. Seems to be yellow and that cream or buff colored cedar/arborvitae pollen. I currently have violas/violets on the ground blooming but they're not busy there but It seems there's yellow pollen flowers somewhere that are big enough to cover a bee with pollen.

A cropped closeup photo of a honey bee with a large amount of gathered pollen on it's hind leg that is a deep yellow color like a school bus. The bee's body is also dusted with the same color pollen indicating it's been inside a large flower probably. The bees is right side towards the camera and facing upward as it rests on the edge of the landing board of a Langstroth beehive that is designated the "West hive". It is a light colored bee.
A cropped photo showing the entrance to what is called the "East hive". It is a Langstroth bee hive. There are many bees present that are carrying light colored pollen into the hive.
A cropped photo showing the entrance to the "Center hive". There are bees with light colored pollen and also some with yellow pollen.
A cropped photo of the "West hive" entrance showing several bees with yellow pollen and a few with light colored pollen.
#beekeeping#bees#pollen
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