Love this...saw it online and had to share.
It's from a store in California...
It really get's the point across huh? I love how they have the signs prepared to just fill in the blank with whatever would be impacted most if bees were suddenly gone from the eco-system.
Of course, all of this is referencing the die off/shortage of bees that is scaring scientists, and beekeepers, around the world. We are doing our part!
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| Garden Hives |
The bees are hanging in there this Summer heat, though one is thriving and bustling with activity, the other is a bit weaker. Not sure what is up there. "Ariadne hive" the one on the left, is crazy busy and building up and storing honey. "Persephone hive" on the right has much less activity. They are producing, but just not as much as their next door neighbor.
That's why we did two the first year, to learn what works, what might not, and of course to see how two colonies with the same start, same environment and conditions, can have one thrive and another one not so much. We'll just have to see how the first bee season ends for us.
I remember as a child walking through the lawn (which had tons of clover in it) and having to be careful because of all the bees. Now? Nothing.
ReplyDeleteI let a local beekeeper keep his hives on my property in the "off" season. He knows I won't spray anything anywhere here. We all know (well, everyone but MONSANTO) what is doing the bees in. It's sad. What on earth do we think we are going to do without bees???
Great message the supermarket put up.
ReplyDeleteCould be the heat to where one is weaker than the other.
https://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/4h/beekeep/basbeop.htm
bees need water, breathe air and exhale carbon dioxide. As mentioned about sunlight, water is an imperative in the bees’ consumption, but also in the maintenance of hive temperature in the summer months. Having a clean water source for honeybees is important in ensuring hive health throughout the year.
Moving water, like a river, stream or creek will draw in the bees as the scent of water is alluring, but the challenge? Bees can drown very easily so they prefer areas where they can stand on wet rocks, mud or grass comfortably. This means that because there is a moving water source, it doesn’t mean that the bees are actually going there for water. Bees actually prefer a still water source, wet soil, or rocks.
Lemongrass or wintergreen essential oil and sugar: When you have decided the location that you have set up for your bees to gather water from, you can encourage them to orient to the water location by using a few drops of oil and a tablespoon of sugar. Eventually you can completely cut out the additions to the watering source as the bees become accustomed to using the location.
– Don’t let the water source go dry: If you let the water go dry, the bees will focus on finding another watering source and orient to that new location, which will force you to start the oil and water regiment again.
Bee Poop
Bees do not poop within the beehive, and therefore will poop on their exit from the hive. This means that if the hive is facing the side of a house, fence, or vehicle, there will be streaks of bee poop on these locations without much that can be done to stop it. This is noticed more greatly in the winter and spring months as the bees don’t fly as far from the hive, so the density of the poop increases. Bee poop can be very difficult to remove. Coca Cola and a tooth brush works on vinyl siding and vehicles, but it is tedious to remove. So, keep this in consideration when placing bees in a location that you are planning on wintering them at.
colleen above provides some really good info. however, my friend PioneerPreppy from The Smallhold blog is the bee king (http://smallhold-pioneerpreppy.blogspot.ca/) and he can answer any of your questions and has a ton of great bee info on his site.
ReplyDeletecolleen mentions how important water is to bees and i read years ago that during the winter, birds and bees have a hard time finding water. so we always have bird baths set up all over the yard - some are fancy - some are old yogurt containers - bahahahahah! we make sure to change the water every day and we put rocks in the containers for the bees and butterflies in the summer. i swear everytime i am out in the yard doing something, there is a bee watering himself on the rocks. i know you guys can't be out to the farm during the week but what if you got a kiddy pool and put some rocks in it for the bees? just a thought.
sending much love to both of you! your friend,
kymber
Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteLove the sign.
great signs! hmmmm...this is interesting. they are so close you would think they would function the same way. can't wait to hear what you figure out. when do you harvest the honey?
ReplyDeleteLove that sign.
ReplyDeleteWe need bees. More than we need Monsanto.
I love those signs! People are clueless about the impact of pesticides on the food supply.
ReplyDeleteI just found a hat pin for my bee loving brother that says "save the bees". He put it right on.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely need bees and I love those signs!
ReplyDeleteLove those signs!
ReplyDeleteYou're definitely doing your part to "save the bees" !
I'm learning so much by this post AND the comments,
ReplyDeleteHooray for you!!
ReplyDelete