User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Bees

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/bees_april_20.jpg[/img]

I wonder if that is enough bees to pollinate my garden?

cynthia_h
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7500
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 7:02 pm
Location: El Cerrito, CA

Um...I dunno; looks like a lot of white hive boxes to me! :lol: Are they full of colonies of bees? It's kind of hard to tell from here... :wink:

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

orgoveg
Green Thumb
Posts: 468
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Ohio

That's awesome. I'm not too concerned about my local population with the mild winter along with early and abundant sightings of bees this spring. My son tells me that the hive in a nearby tree is extremely active. He watched them attack a bird that landed near the hive.

I hear that the US Postal Service is having issues dealing with the bee shipments this year. There is alot more interest in beekeeping now than there has ever been in recent history. That's good news.

nosta
Senior Member
Posts: 149
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2011 7:46 am
Location: Upstate South Carolina

I don't know....looks like maybe too many. I would be willing to give a good home to a couple od hives for you. :D

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30504
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

:D Are they starting to stir yet?

In my garden, bumble bees are very active, and small probably native bees, but not many honeybees yet. I'll see a lot more of them once the clovers start blooming.

User avatar
Ruffsta
Green Thumb
Posts: 428
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2011 2:17 pm
Location: Ohio

I hate bees.. and I garden.. go figure!

User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Yes, 28 colonies, and yes, they are very active when the temp is above 50°. Most days now get that warm. We even got into the upper 60s the other day.

Dandelions and fruit trees are blooming. The bees are loving these blossoms. Our big honey flow comes from alfalfa, but that is in June and July.

User avatar
SPierce
Greener Thumb
Posts: 732
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2011 9:57 am
Location: Massachusetts

I am SO jealous! As soon as I get my own place, bee keeping is definitely on my to-do list! Until then, I'm simply enjoying all of the bees that are coming around our beds full of hostas, and planting some flowers in my garden in the back to convince a few to head to the back yard too :D

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7392
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Hay.....thats not fair. I want some too.

User avatar
Francis Barnswallow
Green Thumb
Posts: 696
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 7:28 pm
Location: Orlando

I found a few wasp nests in my neighbors bushes. I have seen wasps flying in and around my garden lately. And I'm not gonna tell the neighbor about them either. :>

stryper
Full Member
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:03 pm
Location: Belleville, IL

Back in March, the bumble bees were all over our Wisteria. I had cut it back over the "winter" and there were purple blossoms everywhere. When you walked by it the bush literally hummed.

Can't wait to see what they do this summer. Hopefully, the cold snap, as brief as it was, didn't do them in.

Duets
Full Member
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2012 6:43 pm
Location: West ~ zone 11

You are a much braver soul than I am.

I just took down one of the hummingbird feeders here, because the yellow-jackets took it over, yikes. Ha, I hung a wind chime in it's place. I still have hummingbirds visiting & I have one bumble bee, who sounds like a B2 bomber who visits. :D

User avatar
PunkRotten
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1989
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 8:48 pm
Location: Monterey, CA.

Do bumble bees like particular flowers or something? I never see them. I've got 2 different hummingbirds regularly visiting my garden. One of them actually tries to chase the other one off. I am seeing a lot more bee activity since adding a lemon tree and lime tree, plus other flowers.

GardenGnome
Greener Thumb
Posts: 755
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:26 pm
Location: paradise,ca

I get every bee type in my yard. Bee, some blacks ones that are bigger then bees but all black and shine, and bumble bee's the buzz is so loud you can hear it across the yard.

Duets
Full Member
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2012 6:43 pm
Location: West ~ zone 11

PunkRotten wrote:Do bumble bees like particular flowers or something? I never see them. I've got 2 different hummingbirds regularly visiting my garden. One of them actually tries to chase the other one off. I am seeing a lot more bee activity since adding a lemon tree and lime tree, plus other flowers.
I purposely plant a variation of flowers in the garden to help with polinizaton.

Different pollinators are lured by certain colored flowers. Mostly red, yellow, & orange, & purple will do the trick!! Hummingbirds prefer tubular flowers that will accomodate their beak, such as tullips; while others prefer the flat-er flowers, such as bees etc.

https://www.buzzaboutbees.net/plant-pollination-process.html

User avatar
PunkRotten
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1989
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 8:48 pm
Location: Monterey, CA.

Yeah the hummingbirds seem to be fond of the Aloe Vera flowers.

User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Different bees are attracted to different flowers. I have a flowering plum that is just loaded with bloom. The small wild bees and bumble bees are all over it, yet the honey bees are avoiding it. Go figure. The honey bees are all over the apple trees and dandelions. None of the bees seem attracted to the daffodils and tulips. The honey bees are working the grape hyacinths. Its fun to watch the bees.

GardenGnome
Greener Thumb
Posts: 755
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:26 pm
Location: paradise,ca

I was standing by my apple tree watching them go from blossom to blossom. Little underside packed with pollen. Once my english leather bushes flower I get thousands of bees.

orgoveg
Green Thumb
Posts: 468
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Ohio

I don't know much about bees, but I know the honeybees spend most of their time on the white clovers all over my lawn. I do my best to avoid mowing when they are around. You might benefit from letting weeds grow in your grass instead of killing them off.



Return to “Vegetable Gardening Forum”