Don't kill dandelions

[Luddly Neddite]

As you already know, bees are dependent on dandelions as a first food. I just took this photo. And, really good news is that wild bees moved in to our hive.
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You better hope they are not killer bees from Africa or South America.

Killer bees have been spreading in the Southwest USA here since they escaped their confines in Brazil.

They produce very little honey and they are very aggressive -- just like their primate equivalents called Negroes.

Africanized bee - Wikipedia

Negro - Wikipedia

When I lived in AZ, Africanized bees were a real problem. Over several years, I had swarms removed 3-4 times. They haven't gotten as far north as I am now.

Keep your racist garbage to yourself and educate yourself. YOU are a primate.


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[Luddly Neddite]

Without bees, there would be no food unless you are just a straight meat eater.
I used to pull the dandelions from my lawn until I learned what Luddly just posted some years back. A bunch used to grow near the backyard willow tree and I always left them alone. They are pretty if in a group.

Thanks Gracie.

Even "straight meat eaters" are dependent on some of the plants that bees pollinate.

There are other pollinators but damn, why would we want to give up honey bees? And bees are better at it.

I've read that there are traveling bee keepers. They truck their bee hives from farm to farm, unload, let the bees do their thing for a while and then move on. Interesting but I remember very well that, when I was a kid, there were always blooming wild flowers covered with honey bees. Its a sad loss, very dangerous for future generations and I'll do whatever I can to put it off.

Here we have miles and miles of wild blueberries growing on 'barrens.' In May when the bushes are blooming, they truck in hives of bees to pollinate them. It is a very worrisome problem; some people say the moving the bees about, from state to state and to drastically different environments, is what is killing them off.
But the bees, en masse, can be something of a nuisance. I have to put up the windows while driving by a barren while the hives are there. They frequently put them near the road so they will pollinate berries on both sides of the road. So it is like driving through a locust swarm, bee guts all over the windshield. And my favorite old spot on the barrens, where a farmstead once stood, still has a hedge of lilacs and a bunch of daylillies near the old cellar hole. The lilacs are covered with bees, though, during their bloom time, so no snitching a few to take home and put in Grandma's milk pitcher.

We've got wild blueberries too. It's hard to believe how really good they are.


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[Dekster]

Without bees, there would be no food unless you are just a straight meat eater.
I used to pull the dandelions from my lawn until I learned what Luddly just posted some years back. A bunch used to grow near the backyard willow tree and I always left them alone. They are pretty if in a group.

Thanks Gracie.

Even "straight meat eaters" are dependent on some of the plants that bees pollinate.

There are other pollinators but damn, why would we want to give up honey bees? And bees are better at it.

I've read that there are traveling bee keepers. They truck their bee hives from farm to farm, unload, let the bees do their thing for a while and then move on. Interesting but I remember very well that, when I was a kid, there were always blooming wild flowers covered with honey bees. Its a sad loss, very dangerous for future generations and I'll do whatever I can to put it off.

Make sure there is lots of clover in your yard. Weed and feed is killing the bees.

 

[JoeMoma]

I love bees.

That's all I will say.

I love bees as long as they don't sting me.
I have other things to say, but not here.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Without bees, there would be no food unless you are just a straight meat eater.
I used to pull the dandelions from my lawn until I learned what Luddly just posted some years back. A bunch used to grow near the backyard willow tree and I always left them alone. They are pretty if in a group.

Thanks Gracie.

Even "straight meat eaters" are dependent on some of the plants that bees pollinate.

There are other pollinators but damn, why would we want to give up honey bees? And bees are better at it.

I've read that there are traveling bee keepers. They truck their bee hives from farm to farm, unload, let the bees do their thing for a while and then move on. Interesting but I remember very well that, when I was a kid, there were always blooming wild flowers covered with honey bees. Its a sad loss, very dangerous for future generations and I'll do whatever I can to put it off.

Make sure there is lots of clover in your yard. Weed and feed is killing the bees.

Up above, I posted that I just don't get why people drench their homes, inside and out, with poison. I also don't understand why people slave over their poisoned yard that they can't eat and where shouldn't let their kids and pets.

We've already done enormous damage to our crops, wildlife and children and its going to get worse.

 

[Dekster]

Without bees, there would be no food unless you are just a straight meat eater.
I used to pull the dandelions from my lawn until I learned what Luddly just posted some years back. A bunch used to grow near the backyard willow tree and I always left them alone. They are pretty if in a group.

Thanks Gracie.

Even "straight meat eaters" are dependent on some of the plants that bees pollinate.

There are other pollinators but damn, why would we want to give up honey bees? And bees are better at it.

I've read that there are traveling bee keepers. They truck their bee hives from farm to farm, unload, let the bees do their thing for a while and then move on. Interesting but I remember very well that, when I was a kid, there were always blooming wild flowers covered with honey bees. Its a sad loss, very dangerous for future generations and I'll do whatever I can to put it off.

Make sure there is lots of clover in your yard. Weed and feed is killing the bees.

Up above, I posted that I just don't get why people drench their homes, inside and out, with poison. I also don't understand why people slave over their poisoned yard that they can't eat and where shouldn't let their kids and pets.

We've already done enormous damage to our crops, wildlife and children and its going to get worse.

I guess it depends a lot on your interpretation of what "poisoned" is. Some of the stuff breaks down more readily than others. I overseed my yard at least once a year but never put down weed and feed. I like having a variety of grasses because nothing does well 365 days a year so whenever something is dying back, something else is starting to kick in. My way the yard stays green enough all year. If it weren't, it would quickly become a mud hole as parts of it are very high traffic and when the grass is gone, it is very difficult to get it restarted in those areas.

As for bees, sometimes I have to break out the bee killer. Yellow jackets and a person in my home who is allergic to bees do not mix, so if they nest near a door or some place the human frequents, the bees die. I also kill them if they nest in the ground anywhere near the house for that reason as well. Most bees I leave alone, but yellow jackets get aggressive enough that I have to be proactive with them specifically.

 

[BoSoxGal]

Yellow jackets are wasps, not bees. They mainly eat other insects and don't really pollinate much, because they don't have the fuzzy legs and bodies that carry pollen from one plant to another via bees. Bees only sting rarely, when stepped on or otherwise threatened. Bees die after they sting you. Wasps will sting you for the fun of it. Repeatedly! Definitely exterminate wasps.

Please try to avoid killing bees - they are generally very low threat and super beneficial for your yard and the world.

Here's a great resource to help you tell which is which :

 

[BoSoxGal]

Here's a funny:

(Biggest identification tip is the fuzziness - bees are fuzzy, wasps are not.)

 

[BoSoxGal]

 

[MaryL]

Bees used to be a constant humming around in the summer, NOW? I haven't seen a one for years. Also, maybe off topic, but same thing about earthworms, as well. They also seem to be disappearing. Like the winter is slowly getting shorter and shorter...

 

[Marion Morrison]

That is all.

 

[BoSoxGal]

 

[BoSoxGal]

I do a lot of gardening, last year I worked at a golf course tending all the flowerbeds and ornamentals. Many days I would be right in the garden, surrounded by plantings above my head as I knelt or was on my knees weeding among them. Very often I was also surrounded by many dozens of bumble bees or honey bees. I mean so many that there was a steady loud buzzing all around me. Bees are not at all aggressive when out and about gathering pollen. You literally have to grab one and start squeezing on it to get stung. I used to catch and play with bumble bees when I was a child. The only time bees will hurt you is if you inadvertently step onto a nest directly.

Africanized bees are a whole other thing, but they are not yet in most of the US, just primarily the southwest.

Wasps will go out of their way to sting you. And sting, and sting, and sting. They can sting infinitely. Their stings are also very painful. They are attracted to human food so keep an eye out when picnicking or BBQing. The only good wasp is a dead wasp; if you see a nest, eradicate it. But do so carefully! Best to ask your local extension for instructions or go online and find information from a reputable source. Don't just willy nilly knock down a nest or spray some shit in it, you have to plan carefully and do it right because a large swarm of stinging wasps can kill a person who isn't even allergic.

Anyone with anaphylaxis sensitivity should definitely have an epipen handy whenever they are out in nature - even if you sprayed every nest in your own yard, bees and wasps will travel quite a bit of distance in the course of foraging for food.

 

[Dekster]

Bees used to be a constant humming around in the summer, NOW? I haven't seen a one for years. Also, maybe off topic, but same thing about earthworms, as well. They also seem to be disappearing. Like the winter is slowly getting shorter and shorter...

I haven't really noticed that about earthworms, but I do compost a lot so maybe they migrate to the goodies.

 

[Abishai100]

Don't stomp on ants either.

"Small moves make for big spirituality"

 

[blastoff]

As you already know, bees are dependent on dandelions as a first food. I just took this photo. And, really good news is that wild bees moved in to our hive.
View attachment 117207


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Friggin' bees can get all the fast food they want from someone else's yard as mine is a weed-free zone, dandies and everything else. Walt the yard guy knows I hate weeds and works his magic to keep me happy.

 

[Manonthestreet]

Got more than enough for the bees that I dont need to go lenient on weeds