Dan, You are a HONEY yourself. Such good news about bees, wonderful music of memory you bring us back to appreciate again. I look forward to everything you share with us.
Oh you know they'd most definitely be Democrats, because we're the only ones that will protect their environment. If we could get Billionaires out of our gov't/politics, we could defeat fascism that has grown within the GOP. How do we get people & ALL the parties to STOP the sick nonsense of giving tax breaks to Billionaires & the rich & shafting the poor? It's shameful. There ought to be a law!
It's so nice to read a positive story. I remember that there was always a story like this on the evening news. A tradition that should never have been reduced to what we have now.
The Washington Post has a section called the Optimist in which they write positive articles. Nice to take a break from the rest of the news and read about pink grasshoppers.
Thank you Dan, for this really uplifting and totally non-political news. Bees are among the few insects I totally love. Unlike wasps and hornets there isn't a mean streak in their little bodies. The only time I've ever been stung by a bee was when I accidentally stepped on one while barefoot, and I truly felt sorry for the little girl (I have been corrected!), by adding baking soda and a little water I was relieved of the burning sensation but the poor little bee lost its life. Lets hear it for the BEES!!!!
However, if you see a hornet, get out of the way. The mean streak comes from being too close to their nests. Bad part is when we don't see them, but they are big. Leave them alone for the birds to eat them. I once saw a Pileated Woodpecker in winter on a hornets nest in a tree, just pecking away, as if it were his New Year's Day dinner. Cheered him / her on.
Most wasps are small and important insect killers. For example, the parasitoid wasps lay their eggs on the tomato hornworms. When the eggs hatch, they eat the hornworm. I usually plant a couple of throw away tomatoes in pots far away from garden for them or put them on random horse nettle in my yard. I want these wasps in my vegetable garden. Wasps are like bees and important pollinators and killers of unwanted insects.
Yellow jacket wasps are similar to them, but underground, so stepping on them is not fun.
Thank you, Sandy. What a lot of people don't understand is honey bees only sting, and when they do part of their body stays with the stinger resulting in the death of the bee. This is why a bee never attacks on impulse - you have to threaten it (such as me stepping on the poor little guy. Wasps and hornets not only sting, they bite with their mandibular pincers. I had a wasp take a quarter inch piece of flesh from my calf (I was wearing shorts. Since I was leaning on the sill of the car talking to my husband, I certainly wasn't threatening it or its nest. You are also correct that "yellow jackets" - wasps, build their nests underground. Hymenoptera - the family that includes bees, wasps, hornets, mud daubers, bumble bees, and ants.
I agree that wasps and hornets also pollinate; but I'd be happier with more bees and fewer wasps.
Oh I know that. They are aggressive & worst than wasps. They are the black & white (although sometimes black/yellow), but they have a long butt & are larger. Hornets can bite & sting. I was attacked by 3 & stung & bit in the face, my ginger & my leg, when I accidently stood by a hive & I've been afraid of them ever since. They sometimes get in the house & they have a louder buzz too. I take spray after them. If it's a Bee, or wasp I open the door for them. I wouldn't open up a door & stand there & let a hornet fly out because it might attack me instead of leaving.☠︎
Oh my goodness. What a horrible ordeal. I would stay away, but if they are in the house, then you need to spray. Keep Benadryl nearby in case you are attacked.
A friend was hiking in the Smokies and stepped on a yellow jacket's nest, she was instantly bitten at least 17 times. They got up her pant leg, so she had to take off her pants. She went to the hospital. It was scary. She does carry Benadryl in her back pack, just in case.
Oh my gawd that's horrible. I was standing right next to a nest & by the time I figured it out they attacked me. I was so stricken by it that I went silent. I was 12 yrs old & the fact of one of those critters on my finger & face & leg about nauseated me. It was awful.
And for the most part, if you don’t bother the bees, they won’t bother you. My wife thinks I’m crazy when I go into the yard to trim a plant that’s past due for a good hack with lots of flowers and bees. Move slowly and methodically, keep an eye on the bees and watch them shift to flowers away from the branch you’re clipping. Always leave some of flowers for the bees. They’re happy. The bush got trimmed, I’m happy.
So, if you stepped on a bee, it was very likely a ‘gal’. The only males are a few drones used to fertilize the queen..and then they die. All the working bees are female. Go Ladies!!
Thank you Cathy, it's been 50years since I was in college and more than that since I took Biology 1A - at that time the worker bees were thought to be males. Since I've never been that interested insects I haven't kept up, So yes, it must have been a poor little girl I stepped on barefoot.
I love that they’re all ladies!! I’m no expert but I had the opportunity to have a hive one summer. Fascinating, the cooperation and communication between all the bees could teach us humans a lesson or two!!
Honey bees are not native insects, but they are important pollinators. There are over three thousand species of native bees in my area and most live underground. It is important to not spray or treat your lawns because you are killing them, along with many others such as Fire Flies.
Planting native plants to your area attracts beneficial native insects. It is a better way to growing fruits and vegetables without using poisons, in other words, organic gardening. There is a native plant movement going on right now and this is a way we can all do better to help the planet and fight climate change.
Native plants and native insects depend on each other. We depend on them for our existence. Plants can live without us, but we cannot live without plants. Plants produce oxygen and most of our food.
Last year I didn’t cut my yard until June and I may wait later this year, all of the pollinators loved it as did my back. The bees are busy working all of my late winter and early spring flowers 🌺 which I like to photograph, they could care less about me being there. All manner of flying creatures are moving pollen around now, it’s a really nice time to be outdoors, among them.
A delight to read! Thank you for sharing this good news. I feel like there is such a dearth of good news these days, I find myself a bit weepy reading posts such as these.
My maiden name means beekeeper in Polish. I guess that’s why I’ve always had a soft spot for bees 🐝. Regardless this is great news and farmers and gardeners of every sort should be celebrating!.
I am so heartened by this news! At our house we don’t use pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides. We love all creatures that buzz or flit on our six acres. (Butterflies are pollinators, too!)
Dan, You are a HONEY yourself. Such good news about bees, wonderful music of memory you bring us back to appreciate again. I look forward to everything you share with us.
Can we get these bees signed up as democrats. Please bees.
We need democratic bees to buzz around.
You made me smile. Can't you just imagine a Republican pushing the GOP to a hive! I think they would get out of town quickly.
LOL thanks for the smile.
Oh you know they'd most definitely be Democrats, because we're the only ones that will protect their environment. If we could get Billionaires out of our gov't/politics, we could defeat fascism that has grown within the GOP. How do we get people & ALL the parties to STOP the sick nonsense of giving tax breaks to Billionaires & the rich & shafting the poor? It's shameful. There ought to be a law!
I thought Dan was addressing me personally, but the article was still "sweet".
Oh that’s really great news!
We would not survive if bees were to disappear!
Yay for bees! 🐝🐝🐝🐝
It's so nice to read a positive story. I remember that there was always a story like this on the evening news. A tradition that should never have been reduced to what we have now.
Thank You Mr Rather!!!
The Washington Post has a section called the Optimist in which they write positive articles. Nice to take a break from the rest of the news and read about pink grasshoppers.
Thank you Dan, for this really uplifting and totally non-political news. Bees are among the few insects I totally love. Unlike wasps and hornets there isn't a mean streak in their little bodies. The only time I've ever been stung by a bee was when I accidentally stepped on one while barefoot, and I truly felt sorry for the little girl (I have been corrected!), by adding baking soda and a little water I was relieved of the burning sensation but the poor little bee lost its life. Lets hear it for the BEES!!!!
Hear! Hear! For the Bees! Love this.
However, if you see a hornet, get out of the way. The mean streak comes from being too close to their nests. Bad part is when we don't see them, but they are big. Leave them alone for the birds to eat them. I once saw a Pileated Woodpecker in winter on a hornets nest in a tree, just pecking away, as if it were his New Year's Day dinner. Cheered him / her on.
Most wasps are small and important insect killers. For example, the parasitoid wasps lay their eggs on the tomato hornworms. When the eggs hatch, they eat the hornworm. I usually plant a couple of throw away tomatoes in pots far away from garden for them or put them on random horse nettle in my yard. I want these wasps in my vegetable garden. Wasps are like bees and important pollinators and killers of unwanted insects.
Yellow jacket wasps are similar to them, but underground, so stepping on them is not fun.
Thank you, Sandy. What a lot of people don't understand is honey bees only sting, and when they do part of their body stays with the stinger resulting in the death of the bee. This is why a bee never attacks on impulse - you have to threaten it (such as me stepping on the poor little guy. Wasps and hornets not only sting, they bite with their mandibular pincers. I had a wasp take a quarter inch piece of flesh from my calf (I was wearing shorts. Since I was leaning on the sill of the car talking to my husband, I certainly wasn't threatening it or its nest. You are also correct that "yellow jackets" - wasps, build their nests underground. Hymenoptera - the family that includes bees, wasps, hornets, mud daubers, bumble bees, and ants.
I agree that wasps and hornets also pollinate; but I'd be happier with more bees and fewer wasps.
Just a small correction. Nearly all the honey bees you see aren't little guys. They are little girls.
Yes, Sandy already informed me - that's what happens when you get really old and it's 50 years since college. LOL
Oh I know that. They are aggressive & worst than wasps. They are the black & white (although sometimes black/yellow), but they have a long butt & are larger. Hornets can bite & sting. I was attacked by 3 & stung & bit in the face, my ginger & my leg, when I accidently stood by a hive & I've been afraid of them ever since. They sometimes get in the house & they have a louder buzz too. I take spray after them. If it's a Bee, or wasp I open the door for them. I wouldn't open up a door & stand there & let a hornet fly out because it might attack me instead of leaving.☠︎
Oh my goodness. What a horrible ordeal. I would stay away, but if they are in the house, then you need to spray. Keep Benadryl nearby in case you are attacked.
A friend was hiking in the Smokies and stepped on a yellow jacket's nest, she was instantly bitten at least 17 times. They got up her pant leg, so she had to take off her pants. She went to the hospital. It was scary. She does carry Benadryl in her back pack, just in case.
Oh my gawd that's horrible. I was standing right next to a nest & by the time I figured it out they attacked me. I was so stricken by it that I went silent. I was 12 yrs old & the fact of one of those critters on my finger & face & leg about nauseated me. It was awful.
And for the most part, if you don’t bother the bees, they won’t bother you. My wife thinks I’m crazy when I go into the yard to trim a plant that’s past due for a good hack with lots of flowers and bees. Move slowly and methodically, keep an eye on the bees and watch them shift to flowers away from the branch you’re clipping. Always leave some of flowers for the bees. They’re happy. The bush got trimmed, I’m happy.
So, if you stepped on a bee, it was very likely a ‘gal’. The only males are a few drones used to fertilize the queen..and then they die. All the working bees are female. Go Ladies!!
Thank you Cathy, it's been 50years since I was in college and more than that since I took Biology 1A - at that time the worker bees were thought to be males. Since I've never been that interested insects I haven't kept up, So yes, it must have been a poor little girl I stepped on barefoot.
I love that they’re all ladies!! I’m no expert but I had the opportunity to have a hive one summer. Fascinating, the cooperation and communication between all the bees could teach us humans a lesson or two!!
You've got that right, and they don't kill each other to cooperate
I had no idea there were such efforts were underway. This is great news!
Honey bees are not native insects, but they are important pollinators. There are over three thousand species of native bees in my area and most live underground. It is important to not spray or treat your lawns because you are killing them, along with many others such as Fire Flies.
Planting native plants to your area attracts beneficial native insects. It is a better way to growing fruits and vegetables without using poisons, in other words, organic gardening. There is a native plant movement going on right now and this is a way we can all do better to help the planet and fight climate change.
Native plants and native insects depend on each other. We depend on them for our existence. Plants can live without us, but we cannot live without plants. Plants produce oxygen and most of our food.
Last year I didn’t cut my yard until June and I may wait later this year, all of the pollinators loved it as did my back. The bees are busy working all of my late winter and early spring flowers 🌺 which I like to photograph, they could care less about me being there. All manner of flying creatures are moving pollen around now, it’s a really nice time to be outdoors, among them.
Love this comment. The less mowing and spraying, the better it is for the environment.
We have a "no mow May" to help the Bees. I always participate in that every year.
Excellent post, Sandy! Very good advice.
Thank you, Denise.
Credit where it's due.
A delight to read! Thank you for sharing this good news. I feel like there is such a dearth of good news these days, I find myself a bit weepy reading posts such as these.
My maiden name means beekeeper in Polish. I guess that’s why I’ve always had a soft spot for bees 🐝. Regardless this is great news and farmers and gardeners of every sort should be celebrating!.
Thank you for this! Great to get a break from the lunatic!🕊️
Well, that's the bee's knees of a story.
I am so heartened by this news! At our house we don’t use pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides. We love all creatures that buzz or flit on our six acres. (Butterflies are pollinators, too!)
You bet they are 👍
What lovely hopeful news! Thank you!
Great news!
Yay! Good news!!!
Thanks for sharing the best news of the day! 🥰
Wonderful news.