Honeybees
I was really happy to see a lot of honeybees buzzing around the community garden the other evening. The bees all looked quite healthy, were completely non-aggressive, and were distributing pollen quite enthusiastically.
Throughout the country, the bee population has been decimated by the combination of various fungal infections and bee mites. In the southern areas of the country, there has also been the introduction of africanized bees that are extremely aggressive and, apparently, not terribly effective at spreading pollen amongst flowers. This is quite worrying in that a healthy honeybee population is critical to food production.
August 6th, 2005 at 9:26 pm
I don’t think I’ve ever been stung by a bee. People keep confusing those damn Yellowjackets with bees, severely damaging the poor bees’ reputation.
August 7th, 2005 at 2:05 am
I have been stung by honeybees many times, but that was because I grew up with a hive and did some really stupid things. The agression, though, is very real and a product of the africanized strains that have been introduced.
August 7th, 2005 at 4:33 am
Last night, i have seen a documentary about Africanized bees somewhere in the Amazon. They pointed out their agressiveness, however they also mentioned a tribe which very well adjusted to these bees and now lives lives with them, harvesting about double the honey they harvested with the regular bees.
So don’t let the Mass-Media influence you too much with their usual “cause a climate of fear” kind of reporting (not a native english, i can’t put this in the right words).
August 7th, 2005 at 1:12 pm
The africanized bees in the US are a very real and very dangerous problem. The venom from the AHB [africanized honey bee] is significantly stronger than the EHB [european honey bee] and, as such, it requires many fewer stings from AHBs to kill an adult vs. the EHB. Something like 50 versus 300 to 400.
That, combined with the much stronger defense response of the AHB, makes the bee significantly more volatile in urban settings. In particular, EHB hives in cities are quite an asset to the gardens and potted plants in the area (http://www.citybees.com/, for example). If an otherwise stable hive becomes africanized, that same hive can become quite a threat.
The AHB does quite well in a totally rural setting. Unfortunately, less and less of the honey producing habitat in the united states is “totally rural”.
Certainly, the whole AHB issue has been way overblown in the media. Still, it isn’t a non-problem and as the bees advance more people will die. Probably the worst problem will be the demonization of EHBs along with AHBs. The last thing we need is yet another “plague” reducing bee populations.
August 8th, 2005 at 3:36 am
August 8th, 2005 at 3:38 am
BTW: these 2 photos are awesome. What shutter time did you use on the first one (with the blue background)?
August 8th, 2005 at 10:44 am
1/60th of second, f 13, 85mm FL, ISO 100. I threw the camera in Aperture Priority mode and turned on the flash since the background was so bright.
August 13th, 2005 at 12:00 am
Beautifull images.Amazing. I have lot’s of experince ot stunging by the bees in my childhood days.
August 15th, 2005 at 11:50 am
BBum, your photography skills have grown amazingly quickly! You’re particularly talented with macro photography, as you’ve amply demonstrated with these photos. Terrific work!