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Author Topic: This year marks the highest losses of honey bee populations in the U.S.  (Read 30683 times)

Offline Jim134

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Reason is that 50 years ago colonies were 1/3  that of modern hives.

Finski.........
    Most all beekeepers around where I live have used Langstroth hives for the lasts 125 years or so.



             BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
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"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline Finski

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Reason is that 50 years ago colonies were 1/3  that of modern hives.

Finski.........
    Most all beekeepers around where I live have used Langstroth hives for the lasts 125 years or so.



             BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)


And your bees there has been as productive layers like modern bees?

Where have you lost your breeding skill?

At least all bee races have come from Europe and in Europe hives have bee smaller 100 years ago.

. yes, I have seen a story about langstrothy hive...

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Offline D Coates

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Jim 134,

From the questions and links you keep posting you spend a whole lot of time looking for bad news.  It's easy to find bad news and worry yourself sick over it.  If that's how you want to spend your time so be it, but I honestly feel sorry for you.  Try turning off the computer, TV, and radio to head outside and enjoy the outdoors.  As for the video, it was from 2008 and it's CNN.  Notice how they claimed only 25% of all food needs bees not the 1/3 that's bandied about now?

I respect Kim, his book Backyard Beekeeper is the first one I read that got me into beekeeping.  His opinion is a exactly that.
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Offline Finski

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 hives for the lasts 125 years or so.


Jim, when you started 55 years ago, what size were the hives? How many langstroth boxes they had?

Here German Black bee disturbed beebreeding. Most of beekeepers did not selected their queens. They just kept them.

Then 25 years ago varroa started to kill colonies. German black went to sky and old fashion hives rottened.
You cannot keep modern queen in old fashion small hives.

Now almost 100% of  hives are here langstroth and most of hives are poly material.

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Offline luvin honey

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Oh I understood it perfectly.  Some people simply find it easier to accept and dwell on the negative without really considering the claims. 

Speaking of which lets do some math.  It's a common claim that 1/3 of all food is reliant upon bees for pollination correct?  The US population has increased from 151 Million in 1950 to 570 million in 2010 correct?  The amount of bees has gone down from 5 million hives in 1950 to 2.5 million hives in 2010 correct?  Going from 1950 numbers, how are we able to create food for 3.7 times the population with only 1/2 of the bees?  As per those accepted claims we should all be starving yet obesity is epidemic. 

This is exactly why this kind of Chicken Little stuff gains no traction.  Do you understand that?
I doubt the foods we are getting obese on are pollinated by bees.
The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.
---Emily Dickinson

Offline Finski

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Stupid debating.

But that is not stupid that the biggest bee company loses 40%  of hives. It is not at least lack of skills.

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Offline D Coates

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I doubt the foods we are getting obese on are pollinated by bees.

Undoubtedly.  I also question that 1/3 of all food must be pollinated by bees.  Are we talking physical mass, physical weight, caloric value, monitary value?  People like to spout the 1/3 of all food claims needing bees but are they simply parroting someone else?
« Last Edit: April 15, 2013, 03:09:40 pm by D Coates »
Ninja, is not in the dictionary.  Well played Ninja's, well played...

Offline rdy-b

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Stupid debating.

But that is not stupid that the biggest bee company loses 40%  of hives. It is not at least lack of skills.



 this is not a new situation for the countries largest operation--2008 just as bad

  http://blogs.covchurch.org/newswire/2008/05/30/6324/

**Last December, Adee sent 155 semi-trailers carrying 70,000 hives to California in order to pollinate the crops. Within two months he had lost 28,000 hives – 50 semi-trailers worth of bees. Each hive can have 40,000 to 60,000 bees.**


 

Offline Jim134

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 hives for the lasts 125 years or so.


Jim, when you started 55 years ago, what size were the hives? How many langstroth boxes they had?

Finski.......

When you started 56 years ago, what size were the hives?
(langstroth) This is the same size as today available in both 8 and 10 in frames hives

How many langstroth boxes they had? ALL
I over wintered in 2 Hive Body 10 frames deeps (9 5/8") 1957 to 1983
Now I use all 10 frames mediums 3 for the brood nest (6 5/8") 1984 to Now


              BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
« Last Edit: April 16, 2013, 03:45:54 am by Jim 134 »
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline Finski

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[
How many langstroth boxes they had? ALL

Can you answer, did they had 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 langstroth boxes.
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Offline Jim134

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How many langstroth boxes they had? ALL

Can you answer, did they had 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 langstroth boxes.

Comb Honey supers 4 3/4"
Shallow Super 5 3/4"
Medium Supers 6 5/8''
Deeps Hive Body 9 5/8"





            
                      BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline Finski

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[
Comb Honey supers 4 3/4"
Shallow Super 5 3/4"
Medium Supers 6 5/8''
Deeps Hive Body 9 5/8"



At least you have  good memory.  I do not even remember what I have now in hives.

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Offline Duane

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I doubt the foods we are getting obese on are pollinated by bees.

Undoubtedly.  I also question that 1/3 of all food must be pollinated by bees.  Are we talking physical mass, physical weight, caloric value, monitary value?  People like to spout the 1/3 of all food claims needing bees but are they simply parroting someone else?
If I were to assume the only pollinators are honey bees and if I were to assume that all honey bees were to die, I'm having trouble coming up with ANY significant food eaten by the masses which would no longer be pollinated. 

For example, almonds are a crop, which if were no longer pollinated would be devastating to almond growers.  However, how much of the diet of the obese masses do almonds play a part of?  True, they may not get to eat their deep fried, sugar encrusted, almond snack while watching TV.  But, if they couldn't get almonds, would they their bodies know it? 

What am I missing here, what food would make a difference to the masses, if it was not pollinated?

Offline Finski

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Guys are just breeding self pollinating almond.


Agricultural Scientists Develop Self-Pollinating Almond Trees


Apr. 8, 2010 — Self-pollinating almond trees that can produce a bountiful harvest without insect pollination are being developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. This is good news for almond growers who face rising costs for insect pollination because of nationwide shortages of honey bees due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and other factors.
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Offline D Coates

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If I were to assume the only pollinators are honey bees and if I were to assume that all honey bees were to die, I'm having trouble coming up with ANY significant food eaten by the masses which would no longer be pollinated. 

Any fruits or nut that are not self pollinating is all I'm coming up with.  Some folks don't want bees around during their pollination as it creates seeds in the otherwise self pollinating fruit (clementines).  I don't see how the 1/3 pollination number can be claimed.
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Offline Finski

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What I should do is to kill all little birds which eate my self pollinated berries! GRRRRR

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Offline Jim134

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How many langstroth boxes they had? ALL

Can you answer, did they had 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 langstroth boxes.

Comb Honey supers 4 3/4"
Shallow Super 5 3/4"
Medium Supers 6 5/8''
Deeps Hive Body 9 5/8"





            
                      BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
Finski .......
I Forgot one use a lot in the Western part of the USA 7 5/8" Supers and are still maker today at Western Bee www.westernbee.com 7 5/8" Supers are not use a lot in New England where I live.



                       BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline rdy-b

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Guys are just breeding self pollinating almond.


Agricultural Scientists Develop Self-Pollinating Almond Trees


Apr. 8, 2010 — Self-pollinating almond trees that can produce a bountiful harvest without insect pollination are being developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. This is good news for almond growers who face rising costs for insect pollination because of nationwide shortages of honey bees due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and other factors.


 there is much to be learned in this area-first the term self pollinate is often misused as is this case--what they are developing are self fertile strains-there is a difference--and it takes less bees -there will always be bees in almonds
 ;) ;) RDY-B

Offline Finski

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I do not know what they are doing but I read "self-pollinating".

"After 20 years of fruit-tree breeding and 15 years of working with almonds as director of Burchell Nursery’s breeding program, John Slaughter is edging closer to his goal of developing commercially viable self-fertile Nonpareil and California-type almond varieties."


Plan B
"ARS geneticist Craig Ledbetter is developing self-pollinating almond trees that can produce a harvest of nuts without insect pollination. "
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« Last Edit: April 16, 2013, 07:15:04 pm by Finski »
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Offline Nature Coast Beek

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Bear claws would be pretty boring without almonds and I'm sure there are plenty of those "obese" peeps eating them. Just because the average Joe Six Pack eats out of a box doesn't mean we all do. Don't know about y'all but I like my blueberries and blackberry cobbler. Just Google "crops requiring pollinators" and several papers in PDF format pop up with all the facts and figures fer yer cypherin'