#swarm honeybee beekeeping

[pinemeadowshobbyfarm]

HOMESTEAD BEEKEEPING AVOID SWARMING

[foxthebeekeeper]

And like clockwork, another Easter comes, and another swarm lands!

It’s a small one, but it’s my first one since the poisoning so I’ll take it.

[beasbees]

Another bee rescue!

It was extremely hot yesterday, and we got a call to remove some bees from a shed.

The shed was mostly unused, you could tell things sat there for a while, and some honeybees had moved into the bottom drawer space of a small dresser.

The dresser was made of particle board and I got permission from the owner to just tear it apart, so I did, but because of the heat I hardly needed to. The colony seemed pretty young, the comb was fresh and super soft in the heat, and though they had honey and brood, they hadn't made much headway as the space was pretty limited.

Got the comb into a super, caught and isolated the queen, used a bit of swarm commander as a lure, and got most of the bees into the super in an hour.

Got the bees back to the farm, re-queened them with one of our queens, and now the hardest part: waiting to see them succeed in their new home!

They were very gentle, calm bees despite having me literally rip their home apart. Not a single bee seemed upset or defensive (no warning bonks lol), and the only sting I received was due to laziness; I rushed getting my suit on, didn't tuck my pants into my boots, and a bee managed to walk up my bare leg and got smashed or scared when I crouched, poor thing.

I have another potential rescue on deck today, I need to get the details and see if I have the availability during the day to help. It's in a dead tree, so if it's easily accessible, we'll have another new colony soon!

[theambermycophile]

This is our honeybee 🐝 swarm trap. I'm not really WANTING to catch another swarm right now because it's too late in the year, but if for some reason, one of our hives decides to swarm... Well, maybe they'll occupy the rental space.

[giorgio52fan]

Bee-Ware: Toronto's Unexpected Buzz Hour!

Toronto, Canada – This Wednesday (August 30, 2023), residents of Toronto were in for a ‘buzzy’ surprise. It wasn’t traffic or weather causing the stir, but rather 5 million bees who decided to hold their own version of a flash mob on the highway. Drivers were greeted by the un-bee-lievable sight of crates filled with bees scattering the road, causing some to rethink their morning…

[scrapyardwings]

I have been chasing bees all day. It’s well past their bedtime and they still won’t go to bed. Bees.

[largemouthbassnation]

5 Frame NUCs to Sell

I have some excess bees from some cutdown splits. No need to keep them as I have more than enough colonies in my yard, so I … source

[melbournebeeremover]

BEES 😍 bees #beekeeping #beekeeper #savethebees #honey #honeybee #apiary #honeycomb #beehive #ekkybee #karakovan #australia #victoria #melbourne #melbournebeeremover #abelha #swarm #queen #queenbee #tree #flower #bee #swarming (at Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjUoWoYpVMz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[crevicedwelling]

hello! i am a relatively new user here on tumblr, less than a year, and i have heard a comment or two about a 'wasp discourse' that happened here, that wasps are much more nice than bees or something among those lines

this caught my curiosity as im writting a wasp based character whos just an ahole as i did it on what i knew abt them from general internet and im stuck on wether i should maaayybe change them up a bit

if its not too much to ask do you happen to know a bit abt this discourse? or have a link to it? or if not to the discourse itself some other link that elaborates abt the same topic? perhaps even someone else i can ask this?

thank you very much!

to start off, there are a lot of bees and wasps in this world and it is not easy to generalize about them. there are ~20,000 bee species, and the vast majority of these are solitary bees that nest in the ground, plant stems, or in holes in wood, and because they produce no honey or have a colony to guard, have no need to be defensive or aggressive towards humans (because “towards humans” seems to be what most people base this idea off of). colonial bees, like honeybees, are actually much more defensive than solitary ones; they have huge food stores and many defenseless larvae, hence their nasty stings (or bites, for the stingless bees) and swarm defense of their hives.

bees, however, are just a family of wasps. their closest relatives are believed to be the crabronid wasps (example: cicada killers) and sphecid thread-waisted wasps (ex. mud daubers). these wasps, and most others, are also largely solitary, and hunting prey aside, don’t typically use their stings for anything other than personal defense. of the hundreds of thousands of wasps, most of them (75%) are not just solitary but also parasitoids that develop inside other insects. it’s hard to say “all wasps are assholes [to people]” when some 100,000 of them are tiny specks smaller than sesame seeds that nobody other than scientists notice.

two parasitoids: a braconid ~3mm long & something else ~0.3mm long

the wasps most people take issue with are vespids, since they like the same foods we do (sweets, meat) and have powerful stings to defend their nests. these include the social hornets, yellowjackets, and paper wasps, but many mason wasps and the like are solitary (and, you guessed it, want nothing to do with people). vespids are great predators of caterpillars, flies, and other pests that humans don’t like in addition to being pollinators.

a yellowjacket: Vespula squamosa

the usual anti-wasp, pro-bee sentiments go: wasps attack for no reason, don’t pollinate, don’t make honey, and are “assholes.” wasps do pollinate (most wasps, bees and ants don’t eat solid food, and therefore largely drink flower nectar; some plants are only pollinated by wasps).

some tropical wasps do actually make honey, though it’s not harvested by humans. it’s sort of silly to say that making honey is what makes bees “good” though—a very selfish mindset, and for example butterflies are well-liked by people despite not making any edible products for us.

wasps also attack only when provoked, either because you’re near a wasp nest or when you lean on one accidentally. they are defending their baby sisters and themselves, same as bees would. at least in the US, I think the reason that wasps are so hated is that we have many species of paper wasp and yellowjacket that are willing to nest on or under houses, while the (invasive) honeybees prefer trees or are kept by beekeepers in artificial hives, so it’s just more likely you’ll run into problems with wasps than bees.

tl;dr:

wasps and bees are neither “nice” nor “mean.”

bees are mostly loners that don’t bother people. colonial bees will sting to defend their nests or themselves from predators. most bees are pollinators, who gather pollen to feed their larvae. a few species make honey that humans harvest.

wasps are mostly loners that don’t bother people. colonial wasps will sting to defend their nests or themselves from predators. most wasps are pollinators, and most hunt or parasitize other insects to feed their larvae.

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - August 15-21

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1. Smart hives and dancing robot bees could boost sustainable beekeeping

“[Researchers] developed a digital comb—a thin circuit board equipped with various sensors around which bees build their combs. Several of these in each hive can then transmit data to researchers, providing real-time monitoring. [… Digital comb] can [also] be activated to heat up certain parts of a beehive […] to keep the bees warm during the winter[…. N]ot only have [honeybee] colonies reacted positively, but swarm intelligence responds to the temperature changes by reducing the bees' own heat production, helping them save energy.”

2. Babirusa pigs born at London Zoo for first time

“Thanks to their gnarly tusks […] and hairless bodies, the pigs are often called "rat pigs" or "demon pigs” in their native Indonesia[….] “[The piglets] are already looking really strong and have so much energy - scampering around their home and chasing each other - it’s a joy to watch. They’re quite easy to tell apart thanks to their individual hair styles - one has a head of fuzzy red hair, while its sibling has a tuft of dark brown hair.””

3. 6,000 sheep will soon be grazing on 10,000 acres of Texas solar fields

“The animals are more efficient than lawn mowers, since they can get into the nooks and crannies under panel arrays[….] Mowing is also more likely to kick up rocks or other debris, damaging panels that then must be repaired, adding to costs. Agrivoltaics projects involving sheep have been shown to improve the quality of the soil, since their manure is a natural fertilizer. […] Using sheep instead of mowers also cuts down on fossil fuel use, while allowing native plants to mature and bloom.”

4. Florida is building the world's largest environmental restoration project

“Florida is embarking on an ambitious ecological restoration project in the Everglades: building a reservoir large enough to secure the state's water supply. […] As well as protecting the drinking water of South Floridians, the reservoir is also intended to dramatically reduce the algae-causing discharges that have previously shut down beaches and caused mass fish die-offs.”

5. The Right to Repair Movement Continues to Accelerate

“Consumers can now demand that manufacturers repair products [including mobile phones….] The liability period for product defects is extended by 12 months after repair, incentivising repairs over replacements. [… M]anufacturers may need to redesign products for easier disassembly, repair, and durability. This could include adopting modular designs, standardizing parts, and developing diagnostic tools for assessing the health of a particular product. In the long run, this could ultimately bring down both manufacturing and repair costs.”

6. Federal Judge Rules Trans Teen Can Play Soccer Just In Time For Her To Attend First Practice

“Today, standing in front of a courtroom, attorneys for Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle, two transgender girls, won an emergency temporary restraining order allowing Tirrell to continue playing soccer with her friends. […] Tirrell joined her soccer team last year and received full support from her teammates, who, according to the filing, are her biggest source of emotional support and acceptance.”

7. Pilot study uses recycled glass to grow plants for salsa ingredients

“"We're trying to reduce landfill waste at the same time as growing edible vegetables," says Andrea Quezada, a chemistry graduate student[….] Early results suggest that the plants grown in recyclable glass have faster growth rates and retain more water compared to those grown in 100% traditional soil. [… T]he pots that included any amount of recyclable glass [also] didn't have any fungal growth.”

8. Feds announce funding push for ropeless fishing gear that spares rare whales

“Federal fishing managers are promoting the use of ropeless gear in the lobster and crab fishing industries because of the plight of North Atlantic right whales. […] Lobster fishing is typically performed with traps on the ocean bottom that are connected to the surface via a vertical line. In ropeless fishing methods, fishermen use systems such an inflatable lift bag that brings the trap to the surface.”

9. Solar farms can benefit nature and boost biodiversity. Here’s how

“[… M]anaging solar farms as wildflower meadows can benefit bumblebee foraging and nesting, while larger solar farms can increase pollinator densities in surrounding landscapes[….] Solar farms have been found to boost the diversity and abundance of certain plants, invertebrates and birds, compared to that on farmland, if solar panels are integrated with vegetation, even in urban areas.”

10. National Wildlife Federation Forms Tribal Advisory Council to Guide Conservation Initiatives, Partnerships

“The council will provide expertise and consultation related to respecting Indigenous Knowledges; wildlife and natural resources; Indian law and policy; Free, Prior and Informed Consent[… as well as] help ensure the Federation’s actions honor and respect the experiences and sovereignty of Indigenous partners.”

August 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[tricksterstudies]

Bee vocabulary as Gaeilge

Was watching a documentary about bees on TG4 so I decided look up some words to help me better understand Gaeilge - English Ál beacha - Bee brood Beach - Bee Beachaire - Beekeeper Beach bheala - Honeybee Beachlann - Apiary Beachnaireacht - Apiculture Beach oibre - Worker bee Bláth fiáin - Wildflower Bumbóg - Bumblebee Céir bheach - Beeswax Cíor mheala - Honeycomb Coilíneacht - Colony Coirceog - Beehive Cráinbheach - Queen bee Glóthach ríoga - Royal jelly Ladrann - Drone Larbha - Larva Mil - Honey Neachtar - Nectar Pailin - Pollen Pailneoir - Pollinator Pailnigh - To pollinate Saithe - Swarm

[hufflepuffwritingstuff2]

Sticky Situation- Part 8

Part 7

@laffy-taffy-creations I'm tagging you because you're gonna wanna read this!

-------

"I'm in," Hero said, "what now?"

"Take a left at the end of this hallway," Assistant's voice crackled in Hero's earpiece.

Hero did as they were told. They crept through Organization's maze of corridors while Assistant instructed them from their makeshift computer setup in their car.

"You should be reaching the central cortex," Assistant said, "do you see a pair of doors with a keypad?"

Hero saw them, along with two long shadows. They ducked behind a wall as two henchmen passed. They waited until their footsteps faded, then approached the doors.

“Yep,” Hero said.

“Okay,” Assistant continued, “punch in code 4-4-8-3.”

Hero did that, and the doors slid open with a whooshing sound. Hero entered the central cortex.

“Now what, Assistant?”

Hero was only greeted by crackling and static.

“Assistant?”

Hero put a finger to their earpiece.

“Assistant, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t think they can hear you.”

Hero’s blood ran cold- colder than usual. They turned to see Supervillain approaching them as two henchmen closed the double doors, locking them inside.

“You did very well,” Supervillain praised, “you reached the central cortex much faster than I thought you would.”

Before Hero could move, they felt a pinch in their neck. A numbness began to spread throughout their entire body. The two henchmen caught Hero before they could crumple to the ground. They deposited them in a chair covered in restraints. The henchmen started strapping Hero in, though it really wasn’t necessary, as whatever Hero had just been darted with made them unable to move at all.

“Now that I have your attention, Hero, I have a question for you,” Supervillain said, “how much do you know about beekeeping?”

Hero blinked. That… was the last thing they were expecting to hear.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Hero asked.

“Just answer the question.”

Hero knew by now not to test Supervillain.

“I, uh, beekeepers take care of the bees?”

“Honeybees to be specific.” Supervillain amended, “Apis mellifera Linnaeus, or, the honeybee, is a remarkable little insect. Like humans, they are a eusocial species. Unlike humans, however, honeybees are known to have swarm intelligence, also known as a hive mind. This collective mentality allows the colony to thrive and keep the hive running. The most important bee is of course, the queen bee. She has the power to determine every action of the hive, via pheromones that only she can secrete. It’s the beekeeper’s job to make sure that the hive has a good queen.”

Supervillain paused, smiling to themselves.

“The bees crave subjugation you see. Much like humans. Without a leader, the colony would die. Without control, the colony would cease to operate. This would of course cause environmental collapse and the ramifications of that would likely be irreversible. Therefore, control is life-sustaining, but resistance is unequivocally destructive.”

Hero glared; they weren’t sure what Supervillain was getting at, but they were definitely sure that it wasn’t good.

“The only issue is… humans don’t know what they crave. They keep trying to find what’s missing, all the while resisting what would satisfy them. That’s where you come in.”

Supervillain turned to the giant computers in front of them. They typed in a code, pulling up the plans to create an army of cryogenically enhanced super-soldiers.

“I am the beekeeper, you see, and you, Hero, are the queen I have chosen. With your powers, I will send my worker bees to assimilate the rest of the world into the hive.”

Hero’s eyes went wide. This is why Supervillain wanted them the whole time.

“Get them ready,” Supervillain said, “and bring Assistant. We’ll need to start human trials soon after all.”

Another dart was injected into their neck, and Hero’s world went dark.

Part 9

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[foxthebeekeeper]

I guess it’s swarm season again!

[beasbees]

Swarm capture!

A couple of weeks ago (it's been busy lol), I got called out to capture a swarm and check out a potential wild hive. The swarm was easily accessible in a young Crepe Myrtle tree, and was a very quick and painless process. The wild hive however was a whole different story!

[chanterhailwand]

BEES IN MAGICK

The symbol of a bee can seal a spell with sweetness for allies and those who appreciate goodwill and a sting for thieves and cheaters.

If you wish to use the body of a bee in your magic spell, seek them out in the autumn as the weather cools as many bees meet their natural end during this time. You will find them on the ground near their hives and favorite foraging spots but take care.

Some bees may appear to be dead because the temperature is too cold for them to move but will come to life as soon as it warms up. Bees resting on plants and flowers are probably just sleeping, while bees on the ground are more likely dead.

According to some modern word-of-mouth: bees are closely associated with the fae and their presence in your garden indicates the blessings of the fae. Encouraging bees, by putting up bee houses, hives, planting bee-friendly plants and waterers and not using pesticides, encourages the blessings of the fae, while harming bees can incur their wrath.

Honey is used often in magick to sweeten a situation. The Honey Jar spell is an example. Anointing your lips with honey will make your words sound sweeter.

BEE OMENS Sighting a single bee is lucky. A swarm foretells bereavement. (If you are a beekeeper who happens to have an empty hive, it foretells free honey.) If a honeybee lands on you, it’s a good thing. On your hand, you’ve got money coming in, On your head, success. Bees buzzing around a child’s head foretells a happy, successful life. If it lands on the child’s mouth or face, he will be a great poet. A bee flying into your house is lucky, as long as you let it fly out under its own power. Alternatively, it means a guest is coming. If you kill it, the guest will bring you dire news.

DREAMING OF BEES If you are dreaming of bees, you may be receiving a good omen as detailed above. Bee dreams are almost always about relationships and interactions with other people.

Or the bees in your dreams may be telling you to take a look at your social networks. They may be pointing toward a desire for more harmonious and functional relationships or celebrating the ones you have. (Only you can know this for sure, take a look at your life.)

A visit from a bee in a dream may also be putting you on noticed that some beloved friend or family member is in need of communication from you. You will know as this person will also pop into your mind somehow. This dream indicates that you should call them or perhaps, that you will hear from them soon.

Dreaming of a beehive usually relates to the home and family or your business and coworkers. A happy, buzzing hive means a happy, buzzing home. It may foretell incoming abundance and fruitful times ahead. If the bees are swarming around the hive, rather than working in it, proceed with caution. There is a lack of harmony that is interfering with productivity.

A swarm of bees may indicate that you feel that a group of people upon whose cooperation you rely (family, coworkers, coven) is becoming chaotic and out of control, or perhaps your need to balance your own interaction with your different business and social groups for your own sanity.

GODS ASSOCIATED WITH BEES Aphrodite Cybele Freya Odin Pan Ra Thor Vishnu Neith Amun Min Potnia Artemis Demeter Kamadeva Aristaeus

[beekeep]

getting back into beekeeping and seeing some…interesting…arguments floating around. not my concern whether someone does or doesn’t think beekeeping is inherently “ethical” but I do think it’s worth addressing and dialoguing about what beekeeping is and methods used so

1) “beekeepers clip the wings of the queen”

This one is new to me, though the sources given by the person making these arguments are a lot less “anti-beekeeping” as much as they’re just interested in bee welfare. Nothing wrong with that. I’ve personally never clipped my queens’ wings nor do I know anyone else who has, and it seems to me that ending that practice in commercial and small beekeeping is a good idea.

2) “they destroy queen cells”

Yeah that does happen. This action in itself isn’t really a huge moral crisis, though, it’s the bee equivalent to an abortion. Probably a lot less painful than what naturally happens when a new queen hatches, which is that the newly hatched virgin queen will go around stinging unhatched queens and destroying their cells. Gruesome! But not something to get worked up over.

3) “they cull queens they don’t like”

This makes it sound like beekeepers are just going around picking petty fights with queens and killing them over it. The source given provides some context, which is that this is done when a queen is influencing her hive to be very aggressive. It’s the equivalent of hiring a new manager to replace an old, bad one, though obviously yes, the old queen is killed. The hive isn’t hurt by this, they accept any new queen within days. This also happens when a queen is old, runs out of stored semen, and loses her ability to lay worker bees. When this happens, the hive can become unable to live as a unit, which is why queens are replaced to help the hive continue to thrive.

4) “they use pheromones to prevent swarms”

The wiki source given doesn’t even support this argument. That’s just not a thing that happens. What does sometimes happen is that bee swarms can be captured using lemongrass oil, which mimics swarming pheromones. Equivalent of using food to catch a stray cat.

5) “they prevent intermixing with African bees”

The use of the word “intermixing” here is wild and from my perspective makes it seem like it’s a race issue which is…odd. Regardless, there’s nothing wrong with selective breeding of bees for desired traits. Africanized bees are much more difficult to manage compared to their European counterparts. Some beekeepers are equipped to handle them and don’t mind them. Others would prefer to keep bees with higher honey yields and less aggression.

6) “during artificial insemination, drones are crushed”

Yes and during natural insemination their endophallus can get ripped off after ejaculation, and they’ll bleed out and die. Or if they’re lucky enough to survive, they’ll get kicked out of the hive and die anyway.

7) “and extra queens are killed”

Refer to point #2 about what naturally happens to excess queens.

8) “beekeepers cull their hives before winter”

Yes, and the source given explains why. Bees with parasites will not survive winter, and combining them with other hives (as is the most common wintering practice) will only cause those hives to die, too. Additionally, not culling infected hives can result in the spread of parasites.

9) “honeybees are invasive and can spread parasites”

Yeah this one I actually agree with. But once again, the sources given are either not as conclusive as presented, or are more arguments against the commercial beekeeping industry and against beekeeping on public lands. Mass beekeeping can have deleterious effects on native bee populations, but not enough data exists to determine whether small beekeepers have such effects. Regardless, this seems to be more an argument in favor of preventing absconding/swarming, no?

Beekeeping is a millennia-old practice. Bees have evolved to produce way more than they can consume, and human beekeeping practices have evolved alongside them. Are there bee welfare issues to be addressed in common practices? Certainly. Is beekeeping an inherently immoral endeavor? Hardly. Good beekeepers maintain relationships with their bees. It’s a very personal and thoughtful activity and provides a healthier alternative to cane sugar. So rather than paint with broad strokes, it’s perhaps more productive to open dialogues to improve practices and promote bee welfare.