tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020500419246926092.post4080097715060389347..comments2024-03-02T05:31:42.293-08:00Comments on Mama Joules: Colony Collapse Disorder: Meet a beekeeper! Part 3jublkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06217297649484707101noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020500419246926092.post-35799585974512599432010-04-13T10:21:52.887-07:002010-04-13T10:21:52.887-07:00Cecilia,
I wonder if there's more than just w...Cecilia,<br /><br />I wonder if there's more than just wood going into those furnaces?<br /><br />30% of pollutants (ignoring CO2) in some areas comes from backyard garbage burning.CricketBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07179386912230285716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020500419246926092.post-66252513900415071862010-03-25T20:00:11.937-07:002010-03-25T20:00:11.937-07:00I am a new bee keeper in training; this year will ...I am a new bee keeper in training; this year will be my first hive. I'm really interested in your information on pollution masking the scent of flowers. A veteran bee keeper I know lost 20 hives this past year. Recently a lot of information has come out about Outdoor wood furnaces in our area. They are large water jacketed burners that heat homes. An article shared that the DEP and EPA in our New England Region reported a study where these machines created emissions equal to 53 diesel trucks idling in people’s yards. It also talked about chemicals and creosote they create due to incomplete combustion and that benzene is also created and because of its chemical formation is heavy and stays close to the ground rather than getting carried away. The bee keeper I spoke of lives across the street from one of these. In the paper there was another article referencing neighbors having severe side effects, asthma, heart pounding, their kids on nebulizers, etc. It is a big, hidden, pollution problem that the EPA and many states have not set standards for and they are populating by the thousands in our environment. I wonder if there is a link and if any of the other hive collapses where near one of these? I am looking all around because we discussed CCD tonight and would love to read your thoughts. Keep up the great work , this is so important.Cecilianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020500419246926092.post-26244806209378431892009-07-06T22:15:08.990-07:002009-07-06T22:15:08.990-07:00Thanks for thinking so much about the bees!
Bees ...Thanks for thinking so much about the bees!<br /><br />Bees are very focused. Once a bee starts on a certian type of flower, she sticks with it and asks all her sisters to join her. So when you get blueberry or cranberry or my favorite, lavendar honey, the bees primarily went to that type of flower. Beekeepers will put on honey supers - boxes the bees use to store honey - just before the flower of choice comes in to bloom. The super is taken off when the bloom is over. <br /><br />People have been moving bees around for nearly a century - first by train and now by truck. I doubt it will stop anytime soon unless we stop large factory orchards and farms. You can vote with your dollars to purchase organic fruits and veggies from small family farms - and get your honey there too. Many smaller farmers have their own hives.<br /><br />I suspect that in most areas where there are large factory farms, the native bees and local honeybees still find plenty of nectar because they eat from a large variety of flowers not just the large crop. <br /><br />Keep the questions coming! I will do my best to answer them.Michelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07200115342573135668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7020500419246926092.post-50503621722521379582009-07-06T11:00:40.711-07:002009-07-06T11:00:40.711-07:00How do they determine what type of flower was used...How do they determine what type of flower was used for the honey? Is that stuff from the bees that are trucked around (and therefore something our dollars should vote against), or is there a better way?<br /><br />Also, I suspect driving bees around means, just as the local nectar comes into season, a bunch of vagrant bees come and eat it all, leaving the locals with nothing.CricketBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07179386912230285716noreply@blogger.com