Buzzy busy

[altivo]

Buzzy. Bumble bees. Noticed this last summer, noticing it more now. Most of you have probably heard that there's some as yet uncertain problem that is affecting honeybee populations seriously. It's worst in the US and apparently Canada, but has been observed in Europe as well and I'm not sure where else. The official name for it is CCD, or colony collapse disorder, and the symptom is that thriving colonies of bees just up and disappear, leaving their honey and hive empty and unguarded. There is much concern, not just for commercial honey production, but for the important role honeybees play in pollination of food crops. Many important fruits and vegetables (apples, for instance, and squash, and cucumbers) depend on bees for pollination. I wondered who had pollinated our apples and pears here last year, as we were seeing absolutely no honeybees.

Well, it may have been the bumble bees. We are seeing increasing numbers of them, and also of the native American bees (smaller and greenish, they live in burrows in the ground.) The bumbles are fat and sassy right now and I'm seeing them all over. Apples and pears are due to burst into blossom as soon as tomorrow, so I'm cheering the bumble bees on.

Today was busy. Animal chores, of course, and grocery shopping. Gary got through two of his three final exams and I took him to lunch to celebrate. One to go on Wednesday. I made some progress on a little programming exercise that's been wasting my time. Tess went out in the grass for a full hour. We watched Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa after dinner. It had its moments, but we both agreed the original was better.

Tomorrow the car goes for an oil change in the morning, then I have to do the guild newsletter. Should have had it done already, but as usual was held up by late arrival of necessary items for inclusion.

Something is tunneling under the arena. Gary caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye and thinks it was a woodchuck. Live trap set, but it probably got away.

Comments

Bees!

[bladehorse.livejournal.com]

There here,as I was out in the back yard planting the other day, and they were buzzing up a storm on the clover, and I think Alfalfa (Some type of lentil I think as it Loves to climb) THis is the most honeybees that I have seen in years, with the exception of the psychoswarm last year.
We were Just going to start mixing and pouring the pad for the spa, when the odd sound became more like a wtf noise.louder and louder till it sounded like a sportbike.I looked over and my jaw dropped as a swarm 3 times the size of our house was just starting to cross the road. we grabbed the mutt, and ran inside wondering WTF was going on.They were so loud we could hear them over the swamp cooler running. They left a shadow on the ground as they passed over, and headed down the hill out twards the blm land. I was very tempted to call the local Ag dept, but didnt want to seem a fool. They were either bees, or wasps, as they looked like it as they passed. If that was a paper wasp swarm, the nest must have been the size of our livingroom, or house. I wonder if what ever disturbed them survived... What a hellish way to go :( Ewwww

Re: Bees!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

My guess is that what you saw were Mormon crickets, the ones named after the famous "miracle" in which sea gulls appeared to eat the crickets that were in turn eating the Mormon settlers' food in early Utah.

Paper wasps don't really travel in swarms like that and certainly not that large. A bee swarm can be about the size of a basketball or two when compacted, but not much larger. Spread out, I don't think that would produce the effect you describe. Crickets or grasshoppers, though, do travel in clouds and make a buzzing sound.