Bees – Hinterland

Hungry Bees Like Flowers From Rural Areas Than In Urban Ones? Find Out Here Why

Ivan Annibal — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 21:17:47 +0000

Even bees have their preferred meal when they are hungry. Bees like flowers and their flavor when they are fresh from the rural areas rather than in the neighboring urban cities, researchers stated.

This newfound information will definitely challenge the urban beekeepers in how they will handle it. It will also debunk the long-believed thing that farmland and honey bees are incompatible, said authors of a new study from The Ohio State University. The researchers experimented on some honeybee colonies.

They placed the honey bee colonies in an apiary in a central Ohio cemetery right in the middle of where urban residential development meets the farmland. They left the colonies of honey bees to fend for themselves and choose what flower pollen and where to get nectar from. The outcome of the study has shocked the researchers. Almost every time, the honeybees went to the rural areas, unlike what they expected.

Middle class urban beekeepers blamed for town centre swarms

Ivan Annibal — Wed, 13 May 2015 19:53:19 +0000

This article tells of the dangers of unalloyed enthusiasm for keeping bees. I still chuckle at Harry Hill saying he kept bumble bees not for the honey but for the fur. In a more serious twist however some communities have been really threatened by the eclectic habits of our stripy friends.

According to experts, novice middle-class beekeepers could also be causing a spate of swarms in towns and cities. In recent weeks shoppers and motorists across the south of England have been plagued by swarms descending on high streets and parked cars. On Monday a swarm arrived on the high street in Marlborough, Wilts, settling on a parked car and almost covering it. On the same morning police in Chichester put up a cordon to protect the public from bees that had settled on a branch in the middle of the town. And over the weekend a car in Maidstone became a resting point for a swarm. Around 10,000 bees also arrived in Salisbury, settled on railings outside an Italian restaurant, and had to be removed by a local beekeeper.

Neonicotinoid ban hit UK farmers hard

Ivan Annibal — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 16:03:23 +0000

Neonicotinoids were introduced in the early 1990s as a replacement for older, more damaging chemicals. They are a systemic insecticide, meaning that they are absorbed into every cell in a plant, making all parts poisonous to pests. But some scientists have been concerned about their impact, almost since the moment they were introduced. Much of the worry has surrounded their effects on bees and in 2013 the European Commission adopted a proposal to restrict the use of 3 pesticides belonging to the neonicotinoids family (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam) for a period of 2 years. This article tells us farmers are struggling and think the environment is worse off. According to Peter Kendall, Chair of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (and past President of the NFU), ‘a crop that would usually have one seed treatment followed by a maximum two sprays, could have at least five. This comes at an extremely busy time of year for farmers and at a cost in machinery and man hours, as well as buying the pyrethroids. Kendall is expecting his crop to be down by around 30% and says the 700,000 hectare (17.2m acre) UK crop to be down by a quarter at a cost of millions. In some parts of the country, the oilseed rape crop is so badly infected with flea beetle, the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) approved emergency use for a neonicotinoid spray. Although it may be slightly weaker than the banned neonicotinoid, it is still a systemic pesticide taken up by the plant and surrounding soil. Dave Goulson, professor of biology at the University of Suffolk, points out that the banned neonicotinoids are still in the plant when bees come to forage, whereas the sprays being used by most farmers now break down in the soil. In his words: “You have to sympathise with farmers who have lost their crop. On the other hand you have to weigh up the damage of neonicotinoids over many years,” he says. “Doesn’t destroying the environment and the health of bees have greater ramifications than the loss of one crop?”

Bacteria found in honeybee stomachs could be used as alternative to antibiotics, scientists claim

Ivan Annibal — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 06:25:13 +0000

Bees are brilliant. Defra’s work to protect them is deeply important. Here’s one illustration why:

Bacteria found in honeybees could be used as an alternative to antibiotics and in the fight against antibiotic-resistant strains of MRSA, scientists have claimed.

Scientists believe its effectiveness could lie in a unique formula comprised of 13 types of lactic acid bacteria found in the stomachs of bees. The bacteria, which are no longer active in shop-bought honey, produce a myriad of active anti-microbial compounds.

The findings could be vital both in developing countries, where fresh honey is easily available, as well as for Western countries where antibiotic resistance is an increasingly concerning issue.

By applying the bacteria to pathogens found in severe human wounds – including MRSA – scientists from Lund University, Sweden, found that the formula from a bee’s stomach successfully counteracted the infections.

Researchers believe that the formula works so potently because it contains a broad spectrum of active substances, unlike conventional man-made antibiotics.

Beekeeping is a serious business in Rural England and we should all take it more seriously.

Bee declines: MPs attack government for opposing pesticide ban

Ivan Annibal — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 18:04:17 +0000

This article profiles another forceful strand of policy from an increasingly assertive Defra. One which I feel is increasingly unprepared to compromise in the face of public sentiment. It tells us:

Where have all the bees gone? The decline of many species of bee and other pollinating insects such as butterflies, moths and hoverflies have raised concerns about the impacts on food supplies, gardens and the countryside. In response, and back in June, the Government launched an “urgent and comprehensive” review of why bees were declining and what could be done to help them. The review is dividing opinion, with debates about whether the scientific evidence is there to support a ban on pesticides gathering pace.

The EU clearly thinks the scientific case has been made and placed a 2-year moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides from December; yet the Government maintains that the evidence does not point to risks to pollinators that would justify these Europe-wide proposed restrictions. The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has responded; calling on the Government to accept the case put forward by the European Commission and to apply the precautionary principle. Why are the bees dying, can they be saved, or are we heading for a world without bees?

On a lighter note – I went on a bee keeping course last year. I hesitated before getting any bees in view of the really hard work involved in keeping them well. In the meantime Mrs A filled the void by buying a caravan and I now have no spare time whatever!!!

The honey trap: How the demise of Britain’s bees could cost us £1.8billion a year

Ivan Annibal — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:28:58 +0000

Scientists from the University of Reading have monetarised the value of the work of the humble bee. According to this article

“They worked out how many hours it would take them to cover all the crops in Britain and what they would be paid for their time at the minimum wage.

Using humans with paintbrushes to pollinate crops including apples, pears, strawberries, oilseed rape, field beans, courgettes, peaches and plums would cost £1.8bn – the equivalent of 60,000 teachers or nurses.

The shocking figure comes just a week after two studies last week found pesticides are stopping bees finding their way home.”

Humans with paint brushes!!! Come on……..