Bees!

After several years of almost absolute silence on the bee radar here at Chez Norma, there is a large increase in their population this year. It is not up to the pre-2006 levels, but it's definitely getting there. Our yard of flowers and flowering weeds is a very inviting place for them, and the silence, when they were not here for the past few years, was almost deafening. Now it's quite alive with buzz again, at least for now -- a fact that makes me very happy. 

A focused eye can see many varieties represented, far beyond the bumblebees who seemed to be the only occasional visitors and pollinators, for the past few years. Earlier in the season, this did not appear to be the case. I was very concerned about my fruit trees not being pollinated, because I saw frighteningly little bee activity. Some of that might have been because of the never-ending rainy weather, but in any case, I am very happy to see many of the bees back. I have not seen any actual honeybees yet, however. I suppose I should consider putting in a hive, but I seriously wonder: Do I really need to take on yet another thing?

I tried to capture some of the bee activity photographically, but it is very hard to do. 

Just when I step in to take a photo, the bees sense my presence and take off. Then I stay still for a while, but when I press the shutter, a bunch of them will fly. I try to focus close-up to a single bee, and I end up getting the stamen of the flower, or a real nicely focused shot of the hosta, or Hank the garden gnome, seven feet behind the bee I'm trying to photograph. I try to take a wider shot to show you the volume of activity in a patch, and the camera doesn't pick up most of the bees, or it's blurred.

Sigh.

But anyway, here are a few, to give my environmentalist and bee-loving friends -- and hell, anyone anywhere who eats fruits and vegetables -- some hope.

 

 

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Comments

[Seanna Lea]

Beekeeping is one of the things I've considered getting into. I'm not sure it is allowed in my area (Quincy doesn't allow chickens even though one of the neighboring towns and one of the most citified towns I've lived in do).

It's good seeing the activity spike up. I've definitely considered going out there with a paint brush and doing the job by hand.

[Martha]

I was all gung ho on taking a beekeeping class & putting in a hive, but then one of our customers did it & gave me the impression it's a decent amount of work. I just don't have the time. So anyway, my two cents: tempting, but not a trivial amount of work.

[gayle]

My husband has considered keeping bees, but we've already got our hands full with all the other critters. Maybe after we're no longer both working full-time?
In the meantime, my brother has several hives, so we always have a gallon of honey in the pantry.
I haven't seen anything but bumbles this year, yet, but I haven't looked very hard either...

[Tracey]

Around here I think some people loan out their yards to beekeepers - they get the benefits of the hive without the work. Maybe you could do that?

[margene]

We have a boatload of hives in our garden. The beekeeper thinks it's a perfect place to build healthy queens. He's had trouble keeping healthy queens, which are key to healthy hives. I'll get a picture and hope to meet the beekeeper soon! (Maybe some honey, too!)

[Jennifer B. / Brooklyn]

Ooh! Thank you for the pictures; I can almost smell the Queen Anne's Lace and hear the buzzing. It's enough to make a displaced country girl smile.

[Adelaide]

Wish I could say bee activity had improved in these parts, but it hasn't, at least not yet.

[laurie d]

I see Bees!

[Joannah]

Glad to hear about your bees! Hope they have a very sweet summer.

[DebbieB]

Owning my Bee-love. Hurray for more bees!

[Marianne]

You have bees again, that's fantastic! of course they'll be telling all their bee friends that Norma's place is The Place to Be!

[Cookie]

Thank goodness the bees are returning to you. Let's hope it's a sign of more to come.

[elizabeth a airhart]

we are so hot and dry in my part of florida
i have'nt heard the sound of frogs for
a very long time all the deep croaks after
a good drenching rain we are bee short

did you know that butterfly bushes now come
in a smaller variety check proven winners

i would rent a hive

[Manise]

Some of your bees look like bee imitating hover flies. The angle of their wings are splayed out a bit. I had one of them trapped in the house today that I caught in a bug box and googled after. This is what I found:

http://www.gardensafari.net/pics/vliegen/zweefvliegen/eristalis_nemorum_hs4_3453.jpg

The main link is:

http://www.gardensafari.net/english/hoverflies.htm#hommel

Fascinating stuff. Great post and photos.

[Lynn Howell]

Glad to know that there are some bees still out there. Here in Central FL, the Epcot Flower and Garden show had abt 4 bees buzzing around, MUCH lower than the last couple of years. Plus my bee keeping friends say the population has gone down DRASTICALLY. Wonder what that means for our orange trees......

[Robingetsalife.blogspot.com]

Hurray for the bees! And yes, they are impossible to photograph... Mr Jefferies is much more accommodating.

[Nicole]

I say, "get a hive!"
you can set up in a weekend, your bees arrive in the mail, and once you are set ip, you CAN ignore the bees until honey harvest time. Honey harvesting should take a weekend or two.
The biggest trouble is the expense of the gear to do it... And getting stung.

Even here in Alaska, lots of busy folks keep bees. Our trouble is getting them to survive winters. Most people here just get new bees every year.
We have beekeepers on both sides of us, so our garden enjoys the benefits... And our neighbors always have honey to spare.
:)