youevolve's Comments
@Mr. Jones
Cities have proven to be very successful homes for honeybee colonies. Food is plentiful with fruit trees, window boxes, flower beds, as well as waste area wildflowers.
The "mass of swarming insects" is generally not even noticed by passers-by even a few feet away. I have two hives in my back yard and my kids play in a sandbox a few feet away. Most of my neighbors don't even know I have bees, despite the hives being in plain sight.
Africanized bees are not really an issue in northern States. They are not cold tolerant and their spread has been limited to southern States.
Only ~2% of the population is truly allergic to bees. Those that are are likely allergic to most insect stings. It is far better to have honeybees (bred to be calm and handled by humans) than wild colonies of wasps or more aggressive bees which are far more likely to actually sting. Given enough honeybees, they will out compete the more aggressive insects.
I'm not saying NOBODY will get stung, but the fear of bees is greater than the danger from bees.
Cities have proven to be very successful homes for honeybee colonies. Food is plentiful with fruit trees, window boxes, flower beds, as well as waste area wildflowers.
The "mass of swarming insects" is generally not even noticed by passers-by even a few feet away. I have two hives in my back yard and my kids play in a sandbox a few feet away. Most of my neighbors don't even know I have bees, despite the hives being in plain sight.
Africanized bees are not really an issue in northern States. They are not cold tolerant and their spread has been limited to southern States.
Only ~2% of the population is truly allergic to bees. Those that are are likely allergic to most insect stings. It is far better to have honeybees (bred to be calm and handled by humans) than wild colonies of wasps or more aggressive bees which are far more likely to actually sting. Given enough honeybees, they will out compete the more aggressive insects.
I'm not saying NOBODY will get stung, but the fear of bees is greater than the danger from bees.
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I live in a non-agricultural area and we are still having CCD issues. Most of my keeper friends lost 50-70% of their hives. I came through the winter OK, but I'm very geographically isolated.
Neonicotinoids may be harmful to bees, but they don't seem to be the cause of CCD. It may simply be the proverbial death from a thousand cuts. Honeybees are being hit with a wide variety of pests, parasites and diseases. Eventually, they will adapt. The real question is, can we adapt while they adapt.
1/3 of our food supply is pollinated by honeybees. Without the commercial beekeepers, fruit and vegetable prices will skyrocket(if the product is available at all.)
Oh yeah, since all those dancers appeared to be male, they were going to disappear in the Fall anyway. Drones are useless except for breeding - I should be so lucky....
Neonicotinoids may be harmful to bees, but they don't seem to be the cause of CCD. It may simply be the proverbial death from a thousand cuts. Honeybees are being hit with a wide variety of pests, parasites and diseases. Eventually, they will adapt. The real question is, can we adapt while they adapt.
1/3 of our food supply is pollinated by honeybees. Without the commercial beekeepers, fruit and vegetable prices will skyrocket(if the product is available at all.)
Oh yeah, since all those dancers appeared to be male, they were going to disappear in the Fall anyway. Drones are useless except for breeding - I should be so lucky....
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Park Rangers take a poor view of large detonations in the middle of the night.