Honey Bee Rescuers

13/09/2021

🐝 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐞𝐞'𝐬 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚! 🐝

Did you know just like cows, chickens, pigs and other livestock, honey bees are NOT native to North America and are essentially domesticated animals, according to National Wildlife Federation Naturalist David Mizejewski.

Colonists brought honey bees from Europe beginning in the 1620s as a source of wax and sugar. Legend has it they were known as “white man’s flies” because Native Americans often spotted the insects before the human settlers.

North America’s native bees, on the other hand, are in trouble—and these insects bear little resemblance to the familiar honey bee. Unlike honey bees, more than 90 percent of our nearly 4,000 native bee species live not with other bees in hives but alone in nests carved into soil, wood or hollow plant stems. Often mistaken for flies, the majority are tiny and do not have queens or produce honey. Without a hive’s larvae and food supplies to defend, “native bees almost never sting,” Mizejewski says. “Most people know close to nothing about our continent’s native bees.”

If you want to help bees, “the most important thing to do is grow a diversity of flowering native plants that bloom throughout all seasons,” Mizejewski says. Many native bees are pollen and nectar specialists, so include plants that they need. For nesting sites, leave bare patches of soil and, if safe, fallen logs or dead trees. “Let plant stems stand through winter,” he adds, “and never use pesticides.”
Can you guess which honey bee is native to North America?

The Seven Species of Honey Bees:

A. Apis mellifera
B. Apis koschevnikovi
C. Apis nigrocincta
D. Apis cerana
E. Apis dorsata
F. Apis florea
G. Apis andreniformus

Photo Credit: Michael S. Engel, University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute.

13/09/2021

10/09/2021

Africanized Honey Bees

Damages Caused By Africanized Honey Bees

A higher density of highly defensive bee colonies results from the immigration of Africanized honey bees. Africanized honey bees produce increased numbers of stinging bees over much greater distances in response to activity near their colonies. This can be fatal, especially to people who are allergic to bee stings or have limited ability to flee (the young, old, and handicapped), as well as confined livestock or pets. They have killed humans and animals in every country to which they have migrated.

Africanized honey bees are difficult to transport and manage, also wreak havoc on beekeeping. The best defense is to keep European bee colonies away from areas where Africanized honey bees are present, but beekeepers face higher costs, more difficulty finding bee sites due to public fear, and increased liability concerns.

Africanized Honey Bee Removal & Relocation

Africanized honey bees are far more aggressive when compared to European honey bees, and if not dealt with properly, they can become very dangerous. Regardless of how aggressive they are toward intruders, Africanized honey bees are still beneficial to the environment. The bees can be captured, relocated, and re-queened in some cases, resulting in a much less aggressive honey bee. It’s difficult to tell whether feral bee swarms will be aggressive or not, which is a problem for non-beekeepers.

Bees treated improperly with products purchased at a local hardware store or a DIY pest control store cause dozens of injuries and, in some cases, death. Never use over-the-counter products to treat an active hive, and never use foam to seal the bees in. Both of these will result in a lot of money being wasted and a huge mess. Bees residing inside a wall void or attic space can become trapped inside the house with no way out. If you trap bees inside your home, thousands of bees could end up inside.

When dealing with feral honey bee swarms or established hives, please consult a professional. Attempting to treat bees or sealing them in with a can of foam is dangerous and can result in injuries and a worsening of the problem.

https://honeybeerescuers.com/africanized-honey-bees/

10/09/2021

15 Interesting Honey Bee Facts

1. A bee will die if its stinger is lost.
2. Drones are the male bees in the hive.
3. Pollen is carried in a pollen basket, or corbicula, by bees on their hind legs.
4. Worker bees are female bees in the hive (except the queen).
5. Bees have a total of five eyes.
6. To make one pound of honey, foragers must collect nectar from approximately 2 million flowers.
7. Around 50,000 bees can be found in an average beehive.
8. Bees have been around for roughly 30 million years.
9. In her lifetime, the average forager produces about a tenth of a teaspoon of honey.
10. In the United States, the average per capita consumption of honey is 1.3 pounds.
11. The wings of a bee are divided into two pairs.
12. Because bees are insects, they have six legs.
13. The highest number of eggs laid by a queen is 2,000 per day.
14. Bees fly at a speed of about 20 miles per hour.
15. Chemicals called pheromones are the primary means of communication among honey bees.

https://honeybeerescuers.com/bee-facts/

10/09/2021