I am so very sad. I think we will lose at least 2 hives, and possibly all 3 that we care for. All because of selfish, thoughtless, ignorant humans.
I know this happens. It is a fact of urban beekeeping. However, every time I lose a hive it costs me heartache, hours of cleanup time and around $300 in replacement costs. My bees are helping people, why are they so inconsiderate in spraying pesticides?
I posted the problem on a local web site, and others local to me noticed dying bees from about 4pm yesterday within 0.5 miles from me. The dead bees are everywhere. On sidewalks, in parks, in gardens.
Red arrow points to extended proboscis = poisoned by insecticides.
Iām so sorry Dawn! Thatās a fear of mine too!!! Ugggggh! I wish everyone knew the dangers instead of shopping for poison at their local home improvement store!
So sad Dawn, and even sadder that it is becoming more common. I wonder if the local media would pick up on your story as an example of what humans are doing to the environment. It only takes a few to ruin it for all of us.
Cheers
Yes it is a sad time and seems the āmeā factor, bugger anyone else is at play here. As long as pesticides are safe for humans, nothing else seems to matter.
Thatās absolutely devastating Dawn, Sadness, Grief and Anger ā¦ Never has there been so much interest in the plight of bees and the work being done to keep them healthy and yet, we still have idiotic government agencies and āpeopleā who can only see ātheir little problemā and not the bigger picture.
ugh! I am so sorry for the losses Dawn and I really hope enough bees survive to save the colonies.
Just today I have seen what looks like it may be poisoning at one of my own hives. I just canāt believe how people can just spray deadly poisons everywhere- as if our cities were not polluted enough- or nature pushed enough. And the vast majority of the time for no good reason at all.
Oh my dear, I am so sorry to see this!!! Just devastating. Those poor bees. I echo everyoneās responses and agree with Peterās idea of contacting local media!
Meanwhile, my heartfelt condolences to you and David and the other beekeepers there
Actually an executive producer from CBS has contacted me after I posted the story on www.nextdoor.com. They want to do a short segment about it, advising people of alternatives to spraying.
David made a couple of short videos showing what we saw bees doing on the weekend.
Hard to believe, but one neighbor is contesting the concept that it is insecticide-induced. Perhaps predictable that he used to work for Monsanto, Bayer and others as an environmental scientist. He claims to be an āapiaristā too. What a jerkā¦
A great job well done by David and you, and excellent that CBS are concerned for the environment as well.
Monsanto, Bayer and those like them are only interested in profit for share holders and their own bonuses. They are incredibly short thinking and narrow minded. Your neighbor sold his soul to the highest bidder, if he is genuinely an apiarist he would be a whistle-blower too. I think ājerkā would be a good fit for himā¦
Well done for doing your bit for the environment and bees.
Cheers
We inspected the hive yesterday. It stank to high heaven of dead bees. There were a few thousand left alive inside, plus some very nice brood. We saw the queen, but she was moving slowly. The entrance was blocked with dead bees, so we took the hive apart and cleaned off the bottom board. I would give it a 10% chance of surviving. Here is a video of the bottom board:
Those images are very hard to look at. Iām glad your story will be told to a wider audience in your area, and hope that so-called scientist gets a dose of his own double-talk someday. Wow.
Well, I am embarrassed to say that yesterday we were seen on local TV. I donāt know if you can watch this clip, but just in case it is available to a wider audience, here is the link:
Dawn- is there any chance you could condense it down to a Nuc box? If there are not many bees left they will probably recover fast in a smaller box? I do this if a hive swarms and is massively reduced in numbers. I hope you have some luck with those poor bees.The news piece was very good, well done- and letās hope it influences a few people to change how they do things.
Out of curiosity- what is that conflicted neighbor of yours suggesting as the cause?
Well done Dawn. Hopefully if the mountain of information gets high enough something will happen to ensure bees are safe from insecticides and herbicides.
