a couple bumbles in the gooseneck and a honey bee in the clover

My wife hated late May or early June warm and humid days especially weekends if we had plans to go some place, that would be the time the bees would swarm and she would go by herself while I stayed home climbing a tree or what ever to capture a swarm.

grub killers be aware !!!!
 

I Just returned from a bee keepers farm

he told me that the scientists are zero- ing in on the cause
of colony collapse disorder CCD

and it's from the chemical people are using on their lawns to
kill the lawn grubs

apparently it collects in the pollen which the bees also collect
as their bread....

and in the fall it concentrates in the pollen and then makes them loose
there navigation abilities.

You mean Bayer's Merit?
CHO - Fact Sheet on the grub killing pesticide Merit Insecticide containing Imidacloprid

Fact Sheet on "Merit" insecticide (grub killer)
(active ingredient: Imidacloprid)
(Instead of using Merit please consider using natural Nematodes, which eat grubs!

Overview:

- Imidacloprid is the active ingredient used in the grub killing pesticide named "Merit"
(Merit and Bayer are trademarks of Bayer CropScience)

- imidacloprid is a chlorinated nicotinoid compound, that affects the nervous system

- Imidacloprid is manufactured by Bayer

- Imidacloprid is banned in Italy, Germany, Slovenia, and restricted in France (see: source).

- Imidacloprid works by fitting into nerve receptors meant to receive the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh). By blocking these acetylcholine receptors, an excess of acetylcholine accumulates causing paralysis and eventual death

- Adverse effects of imidacloprid may include apathy, difficulty breathing, loss of the ability to move, staggering, trembling and spasms[1]

- The thyroid is particularly sensitive to exposure of imidacloprid, which is linked to causing thyroid lesions.[2]

- Imidacloprid is very toxic to earth worms,[3] with an LD50 of between 2 and 4 parts per million in soil

- Imidacloprid is extremely toxic to honey bees [see product label example] and is restricted in France because of plummeting bee populations.

- Imidacloprid kills parasitic wasps that control grub larvae. This is counter-productive, setting the stage for repeated, more extensive grub infestations.

- Imidacloprid is applied to seeds because it acts as a bird repellent. Birds such as starlings and robins eat very large numbers of grubs. Repelling this important natural control would be counter-productive.

- Imidacloprid use has been linked to eggshell thinning in birds.[4]

- Imidacloprid is highly toxic to certain species including the house sparrow,[5] pigeon, canary and Japanese quail[6]

- Imidacloprid severely limits the mobility of lady beetles[7] and other predatory insects such as marid bugs and lacewings.[8]

- At exposures of 0.2 ppm, imidacloprid has been shown to cause deformed sperm and 0.5 ppm for DNA damage[9].

- When imidacloprid was fed to pregnant rabbits between the sixth and eighteenth days of pregnancy, there was an increase in the number of miscarriages and an increase in the number of offspring with abnormal skeletons.[10] Imidacloprid-exposed rats also gave birth to smaller offspring.

- The label stipulates that food crops cannot be planted for a year after imidacloprid application. Thus, two growing seasons would have elapsed before harvest. Our children are not afforded the protection of two growing seasons before exposure to turf that has been treated with imidacloprid.

- Breakdown of imidacloprid in the environment is very complex and slow, and some degradation products are more toxic than the parent compound. Thus, the possibility exists that soil will become more toxic rather than less toxic with the passage of time. This may not happen if sufficient pesticide was washed away, but pollution of our water is not a desirable outcome either.

- Compared with 11 other popular pesticides, imidacloprid moved more quickly through soil than any of the other pesticides tested.[11] The EPA places imidacloprid in category I as having the highest leaching potential.

- There is a potential for the compound to move through sensitive soil types including porous, gravelly, or cobbly soils, depending on irrigation practices [12]

- The New York State Department is concerned that imidacloprid is found in an "increasing number of detections in private homeowner wells" -- click here to view

- Imidacloprid is extremely long-lasting. It has a half-life up to 730 days, yet is approved for annual applications. It has been observed to build up over the years, in agricultural application.

- Inert ingredients / contaminants of the imidacloprid product "Merit" have been reported to include naphthalene and crystalline silica. Both napthalene and crystalline silica are proven cancer causing agents [13],[14]

- Imidacloprid degrades into toxic, persistent, 2-chloropyridine. This was not considered in the federal assessment.


Recent News:

- On August 25, 2008, The Coalition against Bayer Dangers initiated a lawsuit against Werner Wenning, chairman of the Bayer AG Board of Management, and Bayer CropScience for "marketing dangerous pesticides and thereby accepting the mass death of bees all over the world." The alleged dangerous Bayer pesticides are imidacloprid (used in "Merit") and clothianidin. Both are "neonicotinoid" insecticides. Harro Schultze, attorney of the Coalition against Bayer Dangers, said "we're suspecting that Bayer submitted flawed studies to play down the risks of pesticide residues in treated plants” For more info, please see: The Coalition against Bayer Dangers, News item 1, News item 2 and PMRA's 2004 assessment of Clothianidin - which on page 30 found studies "to be deficient in design and conduct".

bees...my Hero's
 

msnbc.com Video Player

now being trained to sniff out explosives and are more accurate than dogs

BEE's Update 7 mil. acres
 

7 Million ACRES will be set up to
feed the bee's by the Obama administration

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/19/politi...t-pollinators/

fungi perfecti is doing some literally amazing research
feeding bee brood different mushrooms to thwart mites
similar to their ant controls....

I've seen plenty of bumble bees around my flowering shrubs, but no honey bee sightings. It is a concern.

Becoming a bee keeper is my next
Adventure
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

8 cousa squash plants and not one squash,,,, no bees, no squash

Scary stuff. Imagine what those pesticides are doing to our health too.

I had thought about that too, but where I live it's not feasible (too many nocturnal intruders to contend with).

If the lawn care chemical concern is valid, you may be fighting a lost battle from the start if you have neighbors that treat their lawns with that stuff.

Reminds me of an old neighbor who thought that the issues of their neighbor's yards had no effect on theirs, like bugs, birds and weeds wouldn't cross property lines.

Hopefully if you try, you will be successful and get a decent honey harvest!

Do you know about the bees of the Himalayan mountains that make halicagenic honey?
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Of course he does he uses a teaspoon every day
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

LOL !
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

That would be from Hunza
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

IF U ment hallucogenic ,now I know Y I ran naked thru woodstock festival....there were plenty of honey's.........LOL....:)

Nebe made a spelling error. A rare event
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

no it's yellow snow
 

don't eat the yellow snow
because they ate a rare red topped mushroom
and their pee is just hallucinogenic

how else would reindeer fly? hmmmmm :read:

Amanita Muscaria. The Mongols use to have one guy eat the mushroom and the rest would drink his pee as the hallucinogenic properties were not diluted in the pee.