where are the honey bees?

My new cherry tree NW of Baltimore didn't seem to have many bugs fertilizing it. Just 4 when I looked, two honey bees and two other things about half as big and all black.

Is this because of the deaths of so many honey bees?

What were these other things?

I'm not sure they were even big enough to do the accidental fertilizing that honey bees do.

Do you think this will cause a shortage of fruit on the tree? It had loads of flowers,

If there isn't much fruit, how do I fertilize the flowers myself next year? A brush? A toothbrush?

Reply to
micky
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Hi, Fertilize or Pollinate????

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Whichever would not be humiliating. Perhaps that is pollinate.

Reply to
micky

I wonder if an unusually cold winter may have something to do with it? I think a lot of the bugs aren't around here in Alabamastan after the very cold winter weather we had. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Don't worry, Monsanto is working on some genetically modified bees that can withstand being drenched in glyphosate.

Reply to
joe

There aren't any more stink bugs, afaict, and two bushes in front of my house which have been dying slowly, finally died completely, and the ivy that was all around the bed all seemed to die, the first time that any ivy died.

For next year, if necessary, I know you can buy lady bugs, but I've never heard of buying honey bees, unless it's a whole hive. I don't want to be bothered with a whole hive. Plus I suppose it would be expensive these days. It's still a small tree. If the flowers were still there, I'd be happy to pollinate them myself. It would have take no more than 2 hours, I think.

Reply to
micky

I'll be taking posession of my hive later this month . I'm getting a going hive with a brood super and one honey super for $350 - that's hive , bees and all . I could have done it mail order package bees and built my own supers/frames/etc for less money , but ... This will be an established "family" , vs the mail order route which is basically a new queen and a bunch of strangers . Additionally , these bees are local , and acclimated to this area . And once I have a hive going well I can split it for just the cost of hive bodies/etc . I think this first hive will be going over in the orchard . I just wish it were here already , the blueberries are blooming and the blackberries are budding , expected to bloom in 3-6 days .

Reply to
Terry Coombs

And I gather there aren't enough air-crittrers to pollinate the black and blue berries? I'll bet you could do it yourself with some sort of brush.

350 isn't such a bad price, but I'm not in the mood for more projects.

Won't I need gloves and overalls and hat with a mask? Won't I have to read bee podcasts? Or beecasts, as I call them. Well, you didnt' say I'd have to do anything, only what you were doing. Fair enough.

Reply to
micky

I seem to recall something about beekeepers renting out their bees to farmers. Like renting a bull out to stud, the beekeepers bring their hives to the farmer's fields to pollinate his crops. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Hi, Honey bees are taking a toll due to some kinda virus going around. Last I heard they figured out the remedy + lousy weather lately.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Jeez Micky, could you put any more "straight lines" in a single post? (-

"Mommy, what's that man doing to the tree?" EEEWWWW!

"Is that how you make cherries and cream?"

Etc.

Here's how you can do it without bees.

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Reply to
Robert Green

I don't think about such things, but if I had, I'd have counted on the adults here not to spend time on such things.

Thanks a lot. Q-tips or small artist brush. I could do that.

OTOH, if I could really do it in two hours, maybe the 4 bees could do it

3 days. After all, they didnt' have to think about whether they were doing it right, and maybe they worked 12 hours a day. The branches flowered close to the trunk at first, and later near the end of each branch.

If all the flowers lead to cherries, I'll have to find those bees and give them a medal. I'm afraid though that if I pin medals on their chests, I'll kill them. Maybe a ribbon around their neck.

BTW, the url you gave refers to tart cherries as self-fruitful, but they've created varieties now that are sweet and only require one tree for pollination.

Reply to
micky

The bees all across the USA have been hit by a mysterious syndrome called colony collapse disorder. A lot of research has been done, but AFAIK, no one is sure if it's a disease, pesticide, etc. Pesticide seems unlikely because it's so sudden and widespread. I haven't seen a single honey bee here in NJ for several years now. Right now the dandelions are blooming and you used to see bees all over going after them. this year, I haven't seen one.

Reply to
trader_4

It's more extensive than you think. Some bees have a lot of miles on them, spending the summer in Iowa and the winter in California. I've seen flatbeds loaded with hives with a big net over the whole mess headed down the road. I don't even want to think about loading/unloading. Fortunately, I've only ever hauled bee wood, the new frames amd so forth.

Reply to
rbowman

They're not around anymore - because of this:

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And to make their products more "acceptible" to the public going forward, look for the word "bees" to be removed from these labels, but the words "wasp" and "hornet" will stay. But old pharts will still buy the product to kill anything that makes a nest or hive, regardless how harmless, manageable or beneficial they are.

Reply to
HomeGuy

Most folks have no idea how complicated farming is. Many of them think a farmer is a fellow in overalls watching plants grow while chewing on a grass stem and chugging on a jug of moonshine. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Hi, Probably farmers/fisher men are hardest working bunch to feed us. I respect them whole heartedly.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

We haven't had a problem with non-pollination , and I'm for sure not going to crawl around in the woods hand pollinating several dozen blueberry bushes .

The beauty of doing it this way is that the seller does all the really hard work - getting things going . I'll be attending a beekeeping class later this month , but don't expect to have a lot of time invested until time to collect some honey .

There are a lot of local beekeeping orgs around , but nothing says you have to join ... you can probably find all the info you need in an afternoon , print it out for later reference . Gloves , screened hat , smoker , and a couple of small hand tools can all be had for well under a hundred bucks . We decided to get into beekeeping as much for the honey as for the pollination aspect . We have pollinators here , but they don't have the added bonus of hunney ...

Reply to
Terry Coombs

Fertilizie, using a woodie? Pollenate with small artists paint brush maybe.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

There are a lot of people who work very hard. I've been disabled for 20 years and couldn't hold a job flipping burgers but before I became too ill to work, wound up on Social Security Disability then dropped dead of a heart attack, I worked my ass off. I worked on those days when I wasn't so sick and in pain to get out of bed. I do my best to help my roommate with his business so I don't turn into a mushroom but I'm so frustrated to lack the strength to run up and down ladders as I could when I was in my 50's. Most of the guys I know who own their own service businesses are disabled in one way or another. They work when they can and like I did, find someone in better health to help with the business. There is a whole invisible workforce out there composed of the working disabled who receive no government help. I didn't want to receive any help from government programs but I became too ill to work. It's so frustrating to be unable to be completely self reliant as I once was and it's very difficult for me to depend on anyone else. I spent most of last May in the hospital after dropping dead of a heart attack and was sent home to die while receiving home hospice care. After 6 months, my nurse told me I was being dropped from hospice care because I wasn't dying fast enough. It's because I never gave up and I'm too ornery to give up and die. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

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