Category Archives: Pollination
Rhodo Poison?
The rhododendron is a beautiful plant, but it’s rumoured to intentionally maim and kill honey bees. My mother had a favourite rhododendron bush in the yard by our house in the Appalachian foothills. Now that I am older and presumably … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination
Tagged Appalachian, azalea, bees in warfare, John Lovell, poisoned bees, poisonous honey, rhododendrons
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Ecology 1,2,3
On Friday, I led an ecology program at the local elementary school. My 32 students ranged in age from 6 to 12. They were part of an experimental class where kids in their school could select their interest and indulge … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Outreach, Pollination, Save the Bees
Tagged Benny the Bee, Ecology, school outreach, teaching beekeeping, wax foundation
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Pollinator Friendly Gardening
Pollinator Friendly Gardening: Gardening for Bees, Butterflies, and Other Pollinators, by Rhonda Fleming Hayes, is a new book for the gardener who wants to help pollinators. With all the news about loss of habitat, warming climate, and pesticides, most wild … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination, Save the Bees
Tagged gardening, pollinators
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Almonds, Water, and Bees
February is almond pollination month in California. A couple of nights ago, the CBC aired a story about almonds, water, and bees. They try to cover everyone involved – the consumer who loves the heart-friendly food, the almond grower who … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination
Tagged almond pollination, almonds, California, migratory beekeeping
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Bees on a Caffeine Buzz
Video: Dr Couvillon shows that caffeine tricks honeybees into working harder. It seems bees may suffer from the same drowsy morning moods and weary fatigued afternoons as their human cousins. And it may be similarly cured with a … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination
Tagged bee communication, bee foraging, caffeine, coffee
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Bees: The World’s Pollinators
There are thousands of species of bees in the world. Our favourite, the honey bee, is just one of the estimated 25,000. It’s not even the cutest, friendliest, or most interesting. Those qualities go to some fascinating creatures you will … Continue reading
Buzzing Out-of-Sync
If flowers bloom a month earlier than usual – as they reportedly did last year in Maryland – what does that mean for bees? According to Will Plants and Pollinators Get Out of Sync? it could mean trouble. The story … Continue reading
Robo-Bees to the Rescue!
Beekeepers are having a tough time keeping their hives alive. So far, they have been succeeding – there are more colonies of honey bees in the world now than there were 20 years ago. (Contrary to hype, honey bees are … Continue reading
Posted in Humour, Pollination, Save the Bees
Tagged advanced technology, almond pollination, Robobees
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Dead and Dying
California almond pollination season is finished. And so are many of the bees which made the trip to the west coast to participate in the largest honey bee mosh pit ever in the history of beekeeping. (For those of you … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Pesticides, Pollination
Tagged almond pollination, EPA, lawsuits, migratory beekeeping, neonicotinoids
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Bees Delivering Pesticides
This sounds so bizarre. At first. Canadian researchers have found an odd way to potentially deliver benevolent viruses, fungi, and bacteria to greenhouse vegetables. Before some lucky bees are allowed to fly inside glasshouses to pollinate peppers and cukes, they … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Pesticides, Pollination, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Beauveria bassiana, bee vectors, genetic modification
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Bad Beekeeping Blog 