Have the bees showed up yet?

My peach trees are blooming but there are no bees. What gives? Are they blooming early? I haven't paid much attention in the past years. Is it too cold for the bees? I have been reading about the bee population dwindling and maybe I'm worrying over nothing?

You're not "worrying over nothing" melsalz...there's definately trouble brewing in the honey bee community. But I've had honey bees around my citrus blooms (in the "sort of" GH) all winter on warm days. Very few, however. This weekend my Carolina Cherry Laurel (P. caroliniana---a volunteer) burst into bloom, and was absolutely covered up with bees. My apple trees are blooming too, but I haven't looked for bees there. I will tommorrow. A bee-keeping friend on Johns Island tells me he hasn't noticed any decline in his hives/production, but he's watching closely...

Just thought I would make a note that I jumped the gun. My peach trees are swarming with bees.

You didn't jump the gun--mine, too, seemed like it came out in bloom before the insects arrived. Also seemed like the blooms didn't last long this year, and I am wondering about pollination. Like you, I just didn't see anything buzzing around it during the short time the blooms were open...guess we'll see in a few weeks if anything did or didn't occur....just paranoid after last year's freeze and really, really want some peaches!

Bees are everywhere in Roseville, I am baby sitting with grandkids and Grand daughter has gotten stung by bumble bee and the honey bees are all over the tulips.

See you all next week.LOL

Lavina

Yotedog, I still have blossoms over here. You guys must have either gotten an earlier start than us, or you got a freeze that we didn't. Somehow my trees survived the freeze last year. We had so many peaches that a large limb broke. Honestly I'm not trying to rub it in. I was as surprised as anyone. I usually have a horrible problem with the dang japanese and June beetles. They tend to swarm the entire tree, but the japanese beetles where almost non-existent last year. I did have the usual June beetle swarms tho. Dang I hate those things. I will keep my fingers crossed hoping that the bees did their job for you.

This message was edited Mar 28, 2008 1:32 PM

All I'm seeing here in Summerville are the bumble bees. I just saw a new article yesterday that pretty much confirms it's GMO crops and terminator genes that's killing them off. It compares pictures of bee's intestinal tracts. You can clearly see a remarkable difference in the tissue from bee's that have been eating GMO pollen and bees that have been eating non GMO pollen:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8436

Way back in 1999 it was known that GMO pollen could kill butterfly larvae:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/347638.stm

Only hives that pollinate organic crops are unscathed.


This message was edited Mar 28, 2008 1:27 PM

Anybody seen 'The Bee Movie'? Think that's the title--the one with Jerry Seinfeld's voice. Makes all this stuff look pretty scary.....

When I see stuff like this it reminds me of Jurassic Park when Jeff Goldblum says,

"Yeah but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could (create dinosaurs) they didn't stop to think if they should."

It staggers the mind to know that we have people with the ethics of a spider manipulating DNA.

X

LOL, I love (most) spiders. What a mean thing to say about them.....:-))))

I like spiders too, I was just an hour ago watching a very interesting program on Nation Geographic Channel called Spider Power .. about how smart jumping spiders are

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/photogallery/spiderpower/

Spiders are the ultimate predators, they can actually plan ahead and make complex hunting decisions with a brain the size of a grain of salt.

X

We got carpenter bees. They were buzzing around all day Thursday!

I've seen the big black Bumbles, and yesterday a Honeybee on a Grape Hyacinth (sp?)

Yep, we've got them, too, X, but ours just seem to be occupied completely with home building (their preferred site, of course, being in MY home!). Are they pollinators? I didn't think so--need to google this.

Are you talking about the ones that actually eat holes in the side of your house? If yes, they are Carpenter Bees:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7417.html

They are pollinators, but can do damage to your house. The article tells you how to control them.

X

Yes--they do some damage, that's for sure. Thanks for the info--I always wondered if they were pollinators as well as siding destroyers! Oh well, take the good with the bad....nothing a little wood putty won't fix, at least....

We have just displaced some carpenter bees and they are not happy campers. As part of our remodeling we had a new deck constructed and the bees have been tormenting the human carpenters.

When my viburnum suspensum was blooming about 6 weeks ago the flowers were covered with honeybees but we had to cut those shrubs back and dig them out for the new deck. I hope the honey bees found a new source of nectar.

I now have the carpenter bees buzzing. I just really don't like those buggers. I have an old barn and potting shed (1960's) and they just have a hey-day on my wood. I hate using chemicals because I don't want to kill my honey bees and butterflies. For fun I use the swatting method. Tennis or racquetball racquet. Last year I stood around my butterfly bush with a peanut butter jar and lid. I got good at scooping them up. Even my 79 yr. FIL got in on the scooping and disposing.

Xeramtheum: That was an interesting article on the demise of the honey bees. I have heard talk in the past about the problem with hybrid seeds. They may be on to something.
Also spiders are about the only bug that creeps me out. I''ve gotten better about them but I still get startled. My FIL had one living in his basement that he used to feed occasionally.

I control those carperter bees by sending my kids out with the tennis rackets!!! They are trying to eat holes through my arbor!

Watch out, those Bees Right Activist might be after me.

This message was edited Mar 29, 2008 10:52 PM

My two redbud trees seem to be vibrating with the sounds of bees, but I didn't try to identify what kind of bees they are. I was really surprised a few days ago to see a butterfly, too.

Didn't used to be leery of spiders until I was bit by a brown recluse. Still don't mind spiders, but I insist on seeing them before they see me!