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?

micky wrote:
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?

Hi,
Fertilize or Pollinate????

On Sun, 04 May 2014 18:28:38 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:

micky wrote:
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?

Hi,
Fertilize or Pollinate????

Whichever would not be humiliating. Perhaps that is pollinate.

On 5/4/2014 8:45 PM, micky wrote:
On Sun, 04 May 2014 18:28:38 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:
If there isn't much fruit, how do I fertilize the flowers myself next
year? A brush? A toothbrush?

Hi,
Fertilize or Pollinate????

Whichever would not be humiliating.
Perhaps that is pollinate.

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

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Mon, 05 May 2014 16:13:29 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 5/4/2014 8:45 PM, micky wrote:
On Sun, 04 May 2014 18:28:38 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:
If there isn't much fruit, how do I fertilize the flowers myself next
year? A brush? A toothbrush?

Hi,
Fertilize or Pollinate????

Whichever would not be humiliating.
Perhaps that is pollinate.

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

I'll look around for some small artists.

micky wrote:

I'll look around for some small artists.

Toulouse-Lautrec has been dead for a long time. Good luck.

On Tuesday, May 6, 2014 2:43:02 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
On Mon, 05 May 2014 16:13:29 -0400, Stormin Mormon

wrote:



On 5/4/2014 8:45 PM, micky wrote:

On Sun, 04 May 2014 18:28:38 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:

If there isn't much fruit, how do I fertilize the flowers myself next

year? A brush? A toothbrush?



Hi,

Fertilize or Pollinate????



Whichever would not be humiliating.

Perhaps that is pollinate.



Fertilizie, using a woodie? Pollenate with

small artists paint brush maybe.



I'll look around for some small artists.

Try finding a cereal rapist

On 5/4/2014 7:04 PM, micky wrote:
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?


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

On Sun, 04 May 2014 20:04:45 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

On 5/4/2014 7:04 PM, micky wrote:
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?


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. ^_^

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.



TDD

micky wrote:
On Sun, 04 May 2014 20:04:45 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

On 5/4/2014 7:04 PM, micky wrote:
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?


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. ^_^

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.


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 .
--
Snag

On Sun, 4 May 2014 21:29:41 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

micky wrote:
On Sun, 04 May 2014 20:04:45 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

On 5/4/2014 7:04 PM, micky wrote:
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?


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. ^_^

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.


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 .

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.

micky wrote:
On Sun, 4 May 2014 21:29:41 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

micky wrote:
On Sun, 04 May 2014 20:04:45 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

On 5/4/2014 7:04 PM, micky wrote:
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?


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. ^_^

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.


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 .

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.

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
.. actually , these are low-bush huckleberries


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

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 .



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.

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 ...
My wife is a big fan of the W the P character Eeyore , and so our place
has been named "The 12 Acre Wood" and the house is "Eeyore's Hideaway" ...
and so we'll be getting "hunney".
--
Snag

On 5/4/2014 8:35 PM, micky wrote:
On Sun, 04 May 2014 20:04:45 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

On 5/4/2014 7:04 PM, micky wrote:
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?


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. ^_^

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.

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

The Daring Dufas wrote:

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. ^_^

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.

On 5/5/2014 8:40 AM, rbowman wrote:
The Daring Dufas wrote:

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. ^_^

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.

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

The Daring Dufas wrote:
On 5/4/2014 7:04 PM, micky wrote:
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?


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
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.

On 5/4/2014 6:04 PM, micky wrote:
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?


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

"micky" wrote in message
stuff snipped here and there

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.

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

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.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/pollina...ees-58916.html

--
Bobby G.

On Mon, 5 May 2014 02:00:45 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"micky" wrote in message
stuff snipped here and there

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.

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

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.

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.


Here's how you can do it without bees.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/pollina...ees-58916.html

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.

On Monday, May 5, 2014 7:05:13 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:

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.

trader_4 wrote:

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.

The use of neo-nicotinoid-coated seeds by farmers is also somewhat
sudden in US/Canada.

Neonicotinoids are a class of neuro-active insecticides chemically
similar to nicotine and I believe they are now banned or restricted in
Europe and will probably soon also be in US and/or Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonicotinoid

------------
Neonicotinoids are the first new class of insecticides introduced in the
last 50 years, and the neonicotinoid imidacloprid is currently the most
widely used insecticide in the world.
------------

Imidacloprid is the typical active ingredient in consumer
over-the-counter insecticide products sold by big-box retailers in
US/Canada for at least the past 5 years.


------------------
The use of some members of this class has been restricted in some
countries due to some evidence of a connection to honey-bee colony
collapse disorder. In January 2013, the European Food Safety Authority
stated that neonicotinoids pose an unacceptably high risk to bees, and
that the industry-sponsored science upon which regulatory agencies'
claims of safety have relied may be flawed. A study by Italian
researchers, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America on October 21, 2013,
demonstrated that neonicotinoids disrupt the innate immune systems of
bees, making them susceptible to viral infections to which the bees are
normally resistant.

In March 2013, the American Bird Conservancy published a review of 200
studies on neonicotinoids including industry research obtained through
the US Freedom of Information Act, calling for a ban on neonicotinoid
use as seed treatments because of their toxicity to birds, aquatic
invertebrates, and other wildlife. Also in March 2013, the US EPA was
sued by a coalition of beekeepers, as well as conservation and
sustainable agriculture advocates who accused the agency of performing
inadequate toxicity evaluations and allowing registration of the
pesticides to stand on insufficient industry studies.

On May 24, 2013, the European Commission imposed a number of use
restrictions on neonicotinoid insecticides, which are suspected to be a
contributing factor of bee colony collapse disorder. Recently published
evidence that neonicotinoids disrupt the immune systems of bees may lend
political support to the EU's actions.
--------------------

The term "neonicotinoid" is now somewhat common over the past year or
two in general media news stories about bee colony reductions and
deaths. It was an unknown term prior to 2 years ago.

"trader_4" wrote in message
...
On Monday, May 5, 2014 7:05:13 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:

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.

Insecticide killing honey bees?
DDN Correspondent Posted on 10 May, 2014 at 10:34:AM
Honey bees are dying en masse due to exposure to a certain class of
insecticide, claims a recent study.

The phenomenon of en masse death of honey bees is called Colony Collapse
Disorder (CCD) and it is responsible for mass decline of the population o
the bee in the last five-six years, claimed the study.

The report was published today in the Bulletin of Insectology and it
recreated a 2012 study which first linked the bee-killing disease with
neonicotinoids. The same team of researchers from the Harvard School of
Public Health who was involved in the 2012 study did this study too.

According to lead author Chensheng (Alex) Lu, "We demonstrated again in this
study that neonicotinoids are highly likely to be responsible for triggering
CCD in honey bee hives that were healthy prior to the arrival of winter."

At least 18 bee colonies in three different locations in central
Massachusetts were examined by the researchers. For the study, the
researchers split each colony into three groups - one treated with a
neonicotinoid called imidacloprid, one with a neonicotinoid called
clothianidin, and one left in pristine condition to serve as a control
group.

The study put to rest the speculation that honey bees were dying due to
parasites.

"When CCD first emerged in honeybee colonies in the mid 2000s, N. ceranae
was put forward as a possible cause. Subsequent research in Europe, however,
has suggested N. ceranae was widespread in many areas before CCD and is not
associated with the phenomenon. Although other studies have suggested that
pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids, cause bees to become more
susceptible to mites or other parasites that then kill off the bees, today's
study found that bees in the CCD hives had the same levels of parasite
infestation as the control colonies," said a researcher.



http://www.delhidailynews.com/news/I...es-1399718807/

"Sherlock.Homes" wrote:

Insecticide killing honey bees?
DDN Correspondent Posted on 10 May, 2014 at 10:34:AM

Honey bees are dying en masse due to exposure to a certain class of
insecticide, claims a recent study.

The report was published today in the Bulletin of Insectology and
it recreated a 2012 study which first linked the bee-killing disease
with neonicotinoids.

I've already posted in this thread, last Monday (May 5), that the reason
was neo-nicotinoids. Seeds coated with the stuff planted by farmers.

"micky" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 5 May 2014 02:00:45 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"micky" wrote in message
stuff snipped here and there

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.

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

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.

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.

Relax, Micky. Adults? Here in AHR? Are you feeding me straight lines
again?

It was a homage to a former English professor of mine, James Dickey. Some
will remember him as the author who penned "Deliverance" but he also wrote
about how farmboys will put their organs of generation in anything they can:

The Sheep Boy

Farm boys wild to couple
With anything with soft-wooded trees
With mounds of earth. . . .

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/guide/179991

It's really a remarkable poem and 100% Dickey who was by all means larger
than life. He wrote another interesting poem calling "Falling" based on an
actual event. He had heard a stewardess had fallen out of a plane and wrote
about what she might have been thinking on the long, long way down to her
death (she undresses - which is a far more common reaction to
hyper-stressful situations than people might think - a doctor friend says
it's because when people have serious breathing troubles they feel that
their clothes, particularly shirts, jackets, etc are too tight and keeping
them from breathing - who knows for sure?)

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.

I think that entomologists tag them with a little plastic numbered plaques
and a dab of crazy glue. They might object to any award, though. (-:

Glad I could help. Be sure to let us know if it worked. I suspect from
what I've read you'll still have cherries but not nearly as many as you
might with a health population of bees. FWIW, I was outside working and I
saw no shortage of big fat bumblebees working over the Roses of Charon. So
it's not only the honeybees out there facilitating fruit tree sex. Soon,
you too will be artificial inseminating cherries. Reminds me of an Ag Fair
I once covered where this lovely young blonde that looked a lot like Tiger
Wood's ex donned this super long plastic glove that looked like a clear
opera glove, slicked it with goo and just rammed it right up a cow's rump.
What was even more amazing was that the cow was so used to it, it didn't
even twitch.

As for those poor honeybees - they get trucked all over the country, exposed
to more and different threats than they ever would as a fixed colony.
That's why I really suspect neonictinoids as the culprit. The EU ban will
precede ours so if their colonies recover and ours are still in collapse
we'll have our smoking gun.

Be thankful bee medical research isn't done like human research. The dead
bees are scooped up, blended into a puree and the centrifuged out to find
out what should be there, what's not, etc.

"Grandpa just died and they're putting him in the NIH cement mixer to see
what was wrong with him."

--
Bobby G.

micky wrote:

where are the honey bees?

They're not around anymore - because of this:

http://www.dillonchem.com/images/PRO...m/CDRA2987.JPG

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.

On Monday, May 5, 2014 10:02:50 AM UTC-4, HomeGuy wrote:
micky wrote:



where are the honey bees?



They're not around anymore - because of this:



http://www.dillonchem.com/images/PRO...m/CDRA2987.JPG



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.

I have bees to battle the Africans

On Monday, May 5, 2014 10:02:50 AM UTC-4, HomeGuy wrote:
micky wrote:



where are the honey bees?



They're not around anymore - because of this:



http://www.dillonchem.com/images/PRO...m/CDRA2987.JPG



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.

You must be a real genius to figure out what all the scientists
working on the problem haven't be able to. If it were related to new
pesticides used by farmers, then you'd expect to see colony collapse
disorder in areas with lots of farming that uses those pesticides and
not in similar areas with little or no farming and in areas where they
don't use those new pesticides at all. AFAIK, there is no such correlation..
As of now, no one knows that the cause is, if there is a single cause,
if there are multiple causes, etc. Everything from pesticides, to viruses,
and electromagnetic waves are on the list.

On 5/6/2014 10:07 AM, trader_4 wrote:
On Monday, May 5, 2014 10:02:50 AM UTC-4, HomeGuy wrote:
micky wrote:



where are the honey bees?



They're not around anymore - because of this:



http://www.dillonchem.com/images/PRO...m/CDRA2987.JPG



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.

You must be a real genius to figure out what all the scientists
working on the problem haven't be able to. If it were related to new
pesticides used by farmers, then you'd expect to see colony collapse
disorder in areas with lots of farming that uses those pesticides and
not in similar areas with little or no farming and in areas where they
don't use those new pesticides at all. AFAIK, there is no such correlation.
As of now, no one knows that the cause is, if there is a single cause,
if there are multiple causes, etc. Everything from pesticides, to viruses,
and electromagnetic waves are on the list.



I would not be convinced that chemicals don't have something to do with
c.c. More importantly, with bee hives being hauled around the country
to pollenate commercial crops, I think they likely get
disoriented/stressed. For commercial pollenating, they would likely
encounter higher doses of chemicals. In nature, they build a hive and
stay there, travelling to the yummiest pollen/nectar in the near area.

The last time I saw a lot of honey bees around was about 1970, when we
had a yard full of clover....got my first bee sting then. In gardening
in Florida, I would see one or two, now and then; very infrequently.
Now, with a new home and newly installed flower/hedge beds, I began
seeing a lot of them last year on my sedum plants; succulents with flat,
fuzzy reddish or pink blooms. The odd thing about these is that they
spend warm, daylight hours moving around on the plant; they don't seem
to travel back and forth to a hive.

On Tuesday, May 6, 2014 10:36:30 AM UTC-4, NorMinn wrote:
On 5/6/2014 10:07 AM, trader_4 wrote:

On Monday, May 5, 2014 10:02:50 AM UTC-4, HomeGuy wrote:

micky wrote:







where are the honey bees?







They're not around anymore - because of this:







http://www.dillonchem.com/images/PRO...m/CDRA2987.JPG







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.



You must be a real genius to figure out what all the scientists

working on the problem haven't be able to. If it were related to new

pesticides used by farmers, then you'd expect to see colony collapse

disorder in areas with lots of farming that uses those pesticides and

not in similar areas with little or no farming and in areas where they

don't use those new pesticides at all. AFAIK, there is no such correlation.

As of now, no one knows that the cause is, if there is a single cause,

if there are multiple causes, etc. Everything from pesticides, to viruses,

and electromagnetic waves are on the list.







I would not be convinced that chemicals don't have something to do with

c.c. More importantly, with bee hives being hauled around the country

to pollenate commercial crops, I think they likely get

disoriented/stressed. For commercial pollenating, they would likely

encounter higher doses of chemicals. In nature, they build a hive and

stay there, travelling to the yummiest pollen/nectar in the near area.



Yes, but the problem with that is that it's also happening to native bees,
bees in areas where they aren't near farming that's using the new
pesticides that are possible suspects. And if it's older pesticides,
then the folks who supplied hives to farmers for decades would have
had dead bees for decades, being at ground zero. If it's pesticide,
you'd expect those bees taken to farms to be heavily impacted, while
native bees in remote areas would not be impacted at all. Yet it appears
to be happening everywhere.



The last time I saw a lot of honey bees around was about 1970, when we

had a yard full of clover....got my first bee sting then. In gardening

in Florida, I would see one or two, now and then; very infrequently.

Now, with a new home and newly installed flower/hedge beds, I began

seeing a lot of them last year on my sedum plants; succulents with flat,

fuzzy reddish or pink blooms. The odd thing about these is that they

spend warm, daylight hours moving around on the plant; they don't seem

to travel back and forth to a hive.

Google-groper trader_4 double-spaced and unnecessaryly full-quoted:

Yes, but the problem with that is that it's also happening to native
bees, bees in areas where they aren't near farming that's using the
new pesticides that are possible suspects.

Are you sure, or are you simply extrapolating from news reports that
stake-holders (bee keepers) are seeing declines, and you are just
supposing the declines are also happening in urban areas, as reported by
backyard gardeners or casual observers?

If it's pesticide, you'd expect those bees taken to farms to be
heavily impacted,

The bees that get trucked around to polinate cash crops *are* being
heavily impacted.

while native bees in remote areas would not be impacted at all.
Yet it appears to be happening everywhere.

Are there media reports where ecologists have measured bee populations
"everywhere" - in all possible settings, or just the ones that matter to
humans and are easily accessible?

"trader_4" wrote in message news:15f40a95-
micky wrote:

where are the honey bees?

They're not around anymore - because of this:

http://www.dillonchem.com/images/PRO...m/CDRA2987.JPG


You must be a real genius to figure out what all the scientists
working on the problem haven't be able to.

I guess he is:

A United States appeals court ruled on Thursday that federal regulators
erred in allowing an insecticide developed by Dow AgroSciences onto the
market, canceling its approval and giving environmentalists a major victory.
The ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in
San Francisco, is significant for commercial beekeepers and others who say a
decline in bee colonies needed to pollinate key food crops is tied to the
widespread use of a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/11...secticide.html

It probably didn't take a genius to figure out. The EPA approved in 2010
(without rigorous testing) a new form of insecticide unlike anything
previously used and suddenly:

The Agriculture Department said this year that losses of managed honeybee
colonies hit 42.1 percent from April 2014 through April 2015, up from 34.2
percent for 2013-14 and the second-highest annual loss to date.

At least now the science will be done:

In its ruling, the court found that the E.P.A. relied on "flawed and
limited data" to approve the unconditional registration of sulfoxaflor, and
that approval was not supported by "substantial evidence."

--

Bobby G.

On Friday, September 11, 2015 at 11:33:21 PM UTC-4, Robert Green wrote:
"trader_4" wrote in message news:15f40a95-
micky wrote:

where are the honey bees?

They're not around anymore - because of this:

http://www.dillonchem.com/images/PRO...m/CDRA2987.JPG


You must be a real genius to figure out what all the scientists
working on the problem haven't be able to.

I guess he is:

A United States appeals court ruled on Thursday that federal regulators
erred in allowing an insecticide developed by Dow AgroSciences onto the
market, canceling its approval and giving environmentalists a major victory.
The ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in
San Francisco, is significant for commercial beekeepers and others who say a
decline in bee colonies needed to pollinate key food crops is tied to the
widespread use of a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/11...secticide.html

It probably didn't take a genius to figure out. The EPA approved in 2010
(without rigorous testing) a new form of insecticide unlike anything
previously used and suddenly:

The Agriculture Department said this year that losses of managed honeybee
colonies hit 42.1 percent from April 2014 through April 2015, up from 34.2
percent for 2013-14 and the second-highest annual loss to date.

At least now the science will be done:

In its ruling, the court found that the E.P.A. relied on "flawed and
limited data" to approve the unconditional registration of sulfoxaflor, and
that approval was not supported by "substantial evidence."

--

Bobby G.

It's once again amazing how you find year old, long, off
topic threads and then revive them. And once again, you're
mistaking the facts and jumping to conclusions. You're mistaking
a court decision that enough testing was not done on sulfoxaflor
prior to approval
in the USA as scientific proof of the cause of colony collapse disorder
around the world. Then you try to link it's first use with colony
collapse disorder, without bothering to even see if it's used at
all in other countries that also have CCD. A quick check shows
that sulfoxaflor was just given approval for use in the EU last
month. Yet the EU has had CCD for years. In fact, they banned
neonicotinoids another insecticide, two years ago because they
bought some early and inconclusive science that possibly implicated
that insecticide. Now two years later, CCD still exists in the EU
and with large crop losses, the EU is reconsidering the ban.
The UK has already reversed the ban for those reasons.

The majority of scientists studying CCD, all the honest ones,
freely admit they aren't sure what causes CCD. One big problem
is that it's occurring in areas where neonicotinoids are used
and in areas where they aren't. Same thing with your sulfoxaflor.
CCD is occurring in areas with lots of agriculture and agricultural
chemical operations that use those insecticides and it's occurring
in areas without.

In short, court decisions on inadequate regulatory review of
a pesticide prior to approval doesn't make science that proves
anything about CCD. You're once again confused and grasping at
straws.

On Sat, 12 Sep 2015 05:25:00 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

In its ruling, the court found that the E.P.A. relied on "flawed and
limited data" to approve the unconditional registration of sulfoxaflor, and
that approval was not supported by "substantial evidence."

--

Bobby G.

It's once again amazing how you find year old, long, off
topic threads and then revive them. And once again, you're
mistaking the facts and jumping to conclusions. You're mistaking
a court decision that enough testing was not done on sulfoxaflor
prior to approval
in the USA as scientific proof of the cause of colony collapse disorder
around the world. Then you try to link it's first use with colony
collapse disorder, without bothering to even see if it's used at
all in other countries that also have CCD. A quick check shows
that sulfoxaflor was just given approval for use in the EU last
month. Yet the EU has had CCD for years. In fact, they banned
neonicotinoids another insecticide, two years ago because they
bought some early and inconclusive science that possibly implicated
that insecticide. Now two years later, CCD still exists in the EU
and with large crop losses, the EU is reconsidering the ban.
The UK has already reversed the ban for those reasons.

The majority of scientists studying CCD, all the honest ones,
freely admit they aren't sure what causes CCD. One big problem
is that it's occurring in areas where neonicotinoids are used
and in areas where they aren't. Same thing with your sulfoxaflor.
CCD is occurring in areas with lots of agriculture and agricultural
chemical operations that use those insecticides and it's occurring
in areas without.

In short, court decisions on inadequate regulatory review of
a pesticide prior to approval doesn't make science that proves
anything about CCD. You're once again confused and grasping at
straws.

My favorite is when Boobie G was a reporter on the police beat.
Implied that facts don't matter or can't be met when Editors want
deadlines met.

PBS has a great episode on CCD. How it was in Europe, etc.

"Never let the facts interfere with the writing of a good report!" --
Jim Haslip, Army CID Investigator (ret)

On Sunday, May 4, 2014 8:04:35 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
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?

Boko Haram can sell you a little girl to do it for $12.

On Mon, 5 May 2014 20:18:54 -0700 (PDT), Rod Bahlzenal
wrote:

On Sunday, May 4, 2014 8:04:35 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
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?

Boko Haram can sell you a little girl to do it for $12.

You're disgusting.

http://www.wired.com/2014/05/wild-be...rfly-declines/

But it's not just honeybees that are in trouble. Many wild
pollinators-thousands of species of bees and butterflies and moths-are also
threatened. Their decline would affect not only our food supply, but our
landscapes, too. Most honeybees live in commercially managed agricultural
colonies; wild pollinators are caretakers of our everyday surroundings.

"Almost 90 percent of the world's flowering species require insects or other
animals for pollination," said ecologist Laura Burkle of Montana State
University. "That's a lot of plants that need these adorable creatures for
reproduction. And if we don't have those plants, we have a pretty
impoverished world."

Compared to honeybees, wild pollinators are not well studied, and their
condition has received relatively little public attention. Most people don'
t realize that there are thousands of bee species in the United States. Even
many butterflies are overlooked, with the plight of just a few species,
particularly monarchs, widely recognized.


'Species that used to be in all our yards are dropping out.'
Wild bees and butterflies are out on the landscape, making them difficult to
count, and a lack of historical baselines makes it challenging to detect
long-term trends. Slowly but surely, though, results from field studies and
anecdotal reports from experts are piling up. They don't paint a pretty
picture. Many pollinator populations seem to be dwindling.

According to a recent survey organized by the Xerces Society, an
invertebrate conservation group, nearly one-third of North American
bumblebee species are declining. Other studies have reported similar trends,
documenting dramatic declines in once-common species such as the American
bumblebee. If that's happening to bumblebees, says Xerces Society executive
director Scott Black, it's quite possible, even likely, that others are
hurting, too.

"There's very little information status on most of the bees other than
bumblebees, but if you look at the life histories of these groups, many are
likely even more sensitive to the disturbances leading to the declines, such
as pesticides and habitat loss," Black said. "Although we don't know what's
going on with all bees, I think we could be seeing real problems."

Among other pollinators, iconic monarch butterfly declines are well
documented: Their numbers are now at a small fraction of historical levels.
And entomologist Art Shapiro of the University of California, Davis spent
most of the last four decades counting butterflies across central
California, and found declines in every region. These declines don't just
involve butterflies that require very specific habitats or food sources, and
might be expected to be fragile, but so-called generalist species thought to
be highly adaptable. Many other entomologists have told Black the same
thing.

"Species that used to be in all our yards are dropping out, but nobody's
monitoring them," Black said.