Where are the Bees?

[Carol Dee]

DH set up a small bee operation this spring. We see them coming and going from the hive but seldon see them at work in the garden! Since things are looking great and producing I will assume they are SHY and doing their work when we are not looking.

 

[thistlebloom]

The bees that aren't at 'Rabbits garden are at mine. I've been seeing honey bees, bumbles and various small wasps on the flowers.

Also the yellowjackets, which I'm not happy to see because they are obnoxiously aggressive and one of my boys is allergic.

 

[journey11]

I guess it just depends on how close by there are any hives. It may be that there are none within a 6 mile radius of your home. My dad's farm has no honeybees around this year, but lots of other pollinators. I got a second hive this spring, so you literally can't step one square foot without seeing a honeybee on the clover. In my yard, that would be their favorite thing...white clover.

The thing about honeybees is that they are more particular than your wild pollinators. They don't really want a little of this and a little of that. They will pick one thing that is blooming at the time and work it until it is pretty much gone. Tulip poplars, black locust trees, blackberries, clover, wild mustard, goldenrod, etc. Now if there isn't a lot of any one thing, say like in the city or suburbs, then you will see them more often on odds and ends of things. They like herbs a lot. And fruit tree blossoms. I grew out my kale and turnips for seed this spring and they were ALL over that.

The main pollinators on my veggies and flowerbed are the mason bees (look like small bumblebees). They are great for pollinating the cukes and squash. Now there are some hard workers! They will work anything they can get and they are territorial toward other pollinators about it and I often see them still collecting pollen and nectar long after the honeybees have gone to bed for the evening.

 

[JimWWhite]

Call your local Ag extension office. I would imagine almost every county in the US has an office. Someone there will know who the beekeepers are and how to get in touch with the local association. Find out and go online to their site or call the president or secretary of the association. Again, the Ag agent will know who that is. Go to the next scheduled meeting. Most meet once a month and are well attended. All you have to do is raise you hand and ask for help. You'll have at least three know-it-alls like me, your's truly at your service. My guess is you have at least two or three of the local members who sell bees and beekeeping supplies, including the hives, and equipment. I'll guarantee you dollars to donuts that someone will volunteer to come out to your house and help you set up a hive and if you notice something odd afterwards, a whole group of them will respond and want in on the action. That's just the way of the Beekeeper. If you don't believe me, try it. And if you're afraid of bees I've got to tell you in almost five years I've been stung one and that's because I was being stupid and not paying attention to what was going on around me.

And one other thing: I've heard and read many times that cucumbers are one of the few plants that exist only because of the bee. Apparently nothing else pollinates them.

 

[so lucky]

So Jim, or anyone else who has hives, what are the possibilities that a bee keeper would put up one of their hives on my property, and retain ownership/responsibility of it? How often do they need tending? Maybe a beek would not see any advantage to putting up one hive that he still owns, if he would need to attend to it frequently.
I'm not terribly afraid of bees; guess you could say I have plenty of respect for them. But how does one go about mowing around them (or do you let the weeds grow?)

(I realize this is not a bee keeping forum, so I won't try to glean all the needed info from here.)

 

[journey11]

Trying to stop a beek from talking bees is like telling the ocean to stop waving. We all love talkin' bees around here, a frequent topic of conversation.

If you have a good-sized area available and could accomodate a few hives, most serious beekeepers would take you up on the offer. Bees can multiply quickly through splitting of hives or catching new swarms, so it is easy to outgrow your bee-yard. Assuming some other considerations fell in line: like good forage for the area, nearby water source, a little shelter from strong winds, no (or very minimal and wisely applied) pesticide use in the area, and some form of written agreement to cover any legal liability for both parties. I don't think they would be likely to want to place just one, although there are some circumstances in which a beek needs to move a hive temporarily, like when I combined to weak hives into one and had to reorient their location...but that is rare.

We put down a bed of gravel with a perimeter of landscape timbers to make mowing easier around my bee stand. Mulch would probably work too. Some people will use round-up to keep the grass down. Tall weeds make easy bridges for ants to climb into the hives.