Where have all the bees gone?

[isaac3d]

It's been pretty dry down south and if that is causing the flowers to drop (and/or have very little or no nectar) then the bees might be foraging only close to places with a good source of water such as near streams.
Alternatively, all the bees may have died and we are soon going to starve.
Hmmm... option 1 please.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Loads up here in Cumbria, says the third generation beekeeper with 50 hives in his garden....

 

[dickm]

I also have two more apple trees arriving shortly, so the wee beasties can help keep me in cider (and mead)! Does 5 apple trees, a pear tree, a cherry tree and a plum tree qualify as an orchard?
PS low yield of runner beans is probably due to the excessive temperatures we've had this summer. It pretty much killed the cucumber plants I keep in the greenhouse and even the outdoor tomato plants started to wilt... out with the secateurs and trim off a couple more leaf branches... that saved the day.

Read somewhere that 7 trees constitute an orchard.
Even up here, everything is wilting and Scottish Water have asked us all to economise.

 

[D_W]

Plant clover in your yard or let it grow without spraying it - you'll find them.

Agriculturally, they are fewer here (honeybees) due to difficulty that beekeepers are having.

However, if you grow clover, I guess they're coming from wild colonies - if they have access to clover here, they won't spend too much time in gardens. Our garden is full of bumblebees and a huge 100 foot wall of rose of sharon is also a bumble bee display as soon as it flowers. Hummingbirds will frequent it once in a while as will moths and pollinating flies. If you find yellowjackets in it, you know they have a local nest. Not sure if you have those in the UK, but they will eat sweets or meat and can make it difficult to eat outside in peace. they also are very ill tempered and will sting like bald faced hornets do -you can just get stung running or walking somewhere in the yard. The hornets do less stinging, but they are generally focused on the head and face.

 

[baldkev]

If you find yellowjackets in it, you know they have a local nest. Not sure if you have those in the UK, but they will eat sweets or meat and can make it difficult to eat outside in peace. they also

Is a yellowjacket a wasp?

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Pathetic for beans, lots of flowers but very few setting.

Beans don't like hot. A trick that I have not tried is to spray the flowers with water of an evening - allegedly it helps them to set. I have never had sufficient water or time to try it, so it might work...

 

[clogs]

def, a yellow jacket is a wasp...although in some of states it's a hornet....
when living in France they were a BIG problem, even stinging the dogs.....
best cure is find the nest and spray it with a stong solution of washing up liquid in a pump up sprayer....
here they are almost harmless, we find the nests and kill em cos the tourist dont like em....
right now they are on a meat diet.....
Hornets a plenty but no trouble at all.....interesting to watch them butcher a dead Chikada....

wont be bothering with runner beans any more, like cucumbers which the ants take apart....
but the French/Spanish pencil beans are still giving plenty....
Just found a horse stable that will let me take away some POO, so hopefully a better year in the veg patch next year...
the Oliander bushes we have are now in their second flush of flowers....
and always have bee's.......
pinks are Olianders and the spikey tree's are Yukas.....remember them from the 70's....house plants....hahaha.....

plenty of these critters.......

 

[sawtooth-9]

I

def, a yellow jacket is a wasp...although in some of states it's a hornet....
when living in France they were a BIG problem, even stinging the dogs.....
best cure is find the nest and spray it with a stong solution of washing up liquid in a pump up sprayer....
here they are almost harmless, we find the nests and kill em cos the tourist dont like em....
right now they are on a meat diet.....
Hornets a plenty but no trouble at all.....interesting to watch them butcher a dead Chikada....

wont be bothering with runner beans any more, like cucumbers which the ants take apart....
but the French/Spanish pencil beans are still giving plenty....
Just found a horse stable that will let me take away some POO, so hopefully a better year in the veg patch next year...
the Oliander bushes we have are now in their second flush of flowers....
and always have bee's.......
pinks are Olianders and the spikey tree's are Yukas.....remember them from the 70's....house plants....hahaha.....
View attachment 141326

plenty of these critters.......
View attachment 141325

Can't believe you drink Starbucks
Get some REAL coffee
We get roasted beans and keep them REALLY cold, until ready to grind - then straight into a REAL coffee machine ( Italian )

 

[clogs]

nah....I stole it coz it's nice n big....hahaha....
have'nt found a coffee we like yet here.....
mostley u could stain wood with it and or dont spill it on yer shoes as it attacks the stiching....lol...
there's a new herb, cum coffee, T supplier shop opening soon.....
we'll be in there asap....

 

[stuart little]

def, a yellow jacket is a wasp...although in some of states it's a hornet....
when living in France they were a BIG problem, even stinging the dogs.....
best cure is find the nest and spray it with a stong solution of washing up liquid in a pump up sprayer....
here they are almost harmless, we find the nests and kill em cos the tourist dont like em....
right now they are on a meat diet.....
Hornets a plenty but no trouble at all.....interesting to watch them butcher a dead Chikada....

wont be bothering with runner beans any more, like cucumbers which the ants take apart....
but the French/Spanish pencil beans are still giving plenty....
Just found a horse stable that will let me take away some POO, so hopefully a better year in the veg patch next year...
the Oliander bushes we have are now in their second flush of flowers....
and always have bee's.......
pinks are Olianders and the spikey tree's are Yukas.....remember them from the 70's....house plants....hahaha.....
View attachment 141326

plenty of these critters.......
View attachment 141325

Oh you mean 'Starbucks'! At first I thought it was the mantis! Ha Ha.

 

[conrad]

The times they are a changing. Unfortunately, we are not.

 

[D_W]

Is a yellowjacket a wasp?

Yes, I think the ones here had european origin. They are a "social wasp" usually underground that I've found and like cover, so you can expose a nest by accident.

they sting fast, and they mark with pheromone when they sting so you have to run away, not just walk.

The stings burn and then after the pain goes away, they itch.

They are also pushy and nosy when you have food - persistent even if you swat them away. If you swat around at them near an unknown nest, they are aggressive. Completely different than the docile paper wasps that are common here - the ones that take material from graying wood.

 

[D_W]

def, a yellow jacket is a wasp...although in some of states it's a hornet....
when living in France they were a BIG problem, even stinging the dogs.....
best cure is find the nest and spray it with a stong solution of washing up liquid in a pump up sprayer....
here they are almost harmless, we find the nests and kill em cos the tourist dont like em....
right now they are on a meat diet.....
Hornets a plenty but no trouble at all.....interesting to watch them butcher a dead Chikada....

wont be bothering with runner beans any more, like cucumbers which the ants take apart....
but the French/Spanish pencil beans are still giving plenty....
Just found a horse stable that will let me take away some POO, so hopefully a better year in the veg patch next year...
the Oliander bushes we have are now in their second flush of flowers....
and always have bee's.......
pinks are Olianders and the spikey tree's are Yukas.....remember them from the 70's....house plants....hahaha.....

they (yellowjackets) are a big problem due to their pushy nature and their desire to sting, mark with pheromone and sting the marked person several times quickly. There are sting pain articles that come out from time to time and they rate the yellowjacket in the middle, but I don't know where they get their ratings.

I've always found the sting painful - it feels like a hot needle, persistent and the site reaction and itch that occurs afterward is a big pain.

When we found the nest when I was a kid (rural) we'd gas and light and then enjoy the show - with one eye partially open in case a separate exit showed itself with them pouring out.

They're fast erratic fliers - as a kid, I used to like to get them with badminton rackets because the hitting surface is big and the strings often separate them into parts.