My guess is it's just a combination of factors -- this is the first time in history colony collapses have been observed, it's just the latest and possibly more severe then historical occurances. So you may have some underlying natural history at work.
Add to it stresses from being exposed to damaging but non-fatal doses of instecticdes and other toxins, plus newer diseases and parasites like the mites...makes for unhealthy bees.
At my house, I seldom see a honey bee (nearest hives I know of are, oh, 1/2 mile through the woods?).
But I do have a healthy population of bumble bees, and I encourage them by: -- Leaving sections of my lawn (I have 2 acres) high in the spring to let dandelions & clover bloom to give them early flowers; -- Having some wildflowers (um, really unmown lawn...) near the garden -- Planting flowers in the vegetable garden. Although the damn rabbits took out this year's sunflower patch.
I figure if I give the bees lots of food sources, I'll have more bees...even if the bumbles aren't as efficient pollinators as honeybees.
I'd love to keep hives, but I know it would go horribly wrong for me :) Same reason I don't own a motorcycle.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - A Lifetime of David Brown - by Samuel Kennedy. I was born in 1950 and reared on my family�s 100 acre farm. It was a fairly typical Northern Ireland farm where the main enterprise was dairying but some pigs, poultry and sheep were also kept. Potatoes were grown for sale and oats were grown to be used for cattle and horse feeding. Up to about 1958 the dairy cows were fed hay with some turnips and after that grass silage was the main winter feed. That same year was the last in which flax was grown on the farm. Flax provided the fibre which w
... [Read Article]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
