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So the solution is to... buy more bees of the internet? Thank god we solved CCD
by orf 11y ago
So the solution is to... buy more bees of the internet? Thank god we solved CCD
- tptacek 11y agoCCD is an economic problem. The varroa mite wiped out feral North American honey bees --- which are not native to North America --- a long time ago. Supposedly, any honey bee you've seen in the wild for the past decade has been part of a proprietary hive. So, ordering more honey bee queens off the Internet seems to be a pretty reasonable response to the problem of a 10-20% increase in overwintering hive failures.
- thrownaway2424 11y agoWhat would a non-native honey bee in the wild look like? I live in California and the bees in my garden and in the local parks are various. Some look like bumblebees and some look like just bees but I don't know bees from bees.
- tptacek 11y agoHere's a good starting point: http://www.pollinator.org/PDFs/MontanaBeeGuide-Final.pdf http://www.pollinator.org/PDFs/MontanaBeeGuide-Final.pdf
- recusancy 11y agoIt would look like a honeybee https://www.google.com/search?q=honey+bee&safe=off&espv=2&biw=1709&bih=915&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIye2YrMyXxwIViUGSCh0idAsZ https://www.google.com/search?q=honey+bee&safe=off&espv=2&bi... A lot of what you're seeing are probably wasps (the yellow jacket being one variety).
- wang_li 11y ago> What would a non-native honey bee in the wild look like? It would look like a honey bee. None of them are native. Native bees are orchard mason bees.
- kaitai 11y agotptacek has a very efficient guide to bees posted. Another nice national one that is very comprehensive is the USDA's guide at http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5306468.pdf http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb530646... . Scroll to page 17 or so to start looking at illustrations of particular bees if you don't want to read about their habits. But the best for CA is the Berkeley Bee Lab's page on native bees at http://www.helpabee.org/common-bee-groups-of-ca.html http://www.helpabee.org/common-bee-groups-of-ca.html There was a great art & education & science installation on native bees at the UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley a few years back (http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/article/Shirley-Watts-Mouthings-at-Botanical-Garden-2325642.php http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/article/Shirley-Watts-Mo...). I know they still have a beehive, and they might have some exhibits on native bees.
- thrownaway2424 11y agoThe Berkeley site is neat, but it's got a picture of the european honey bee right at the top and no mention of it being non-native.
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- orf 11y agoI might be missing something, but surely that's not a sustainable solution?
- tptacek 11y agoIf honey bees in the wild are an invasive species decimated by another invasive species, and pollinating honey bees in practice are all proprietary, than discussions of honey bee populations in the US aren't much different from discussions of dairy cow populations. So, no, I don't see how this is unsustainable.