Bee Die-Off Soars, Putting Crops at Risk

[Valley Oak]

A mysterious malady seems to have expanded drastically in the past year, wiping out as many as half of the beehives needed to pollinate much of America’s produce.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/s...y.html?hp&_r=0

[AJL]

I have just gotten a top bar hive full of bees, and can make more if anyone is interested in a bee temple for the bees, not for harvesting honey.

A mysterious malady seems to have expanded drastically in the past year, wiping out as many as half of the beehives needed to pollinate much of America’s produce.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/s...y.html?hp&_r=0

[Claire]

A mysterious malady seems to have expanded drastically in the past year, wiping out as many as half of the beehives needed to pollinate much of America’s produce.

All 3 of our honeybee hives are dead now. This last colony had been with us for well over a decade (through 2 moves) re-queening themselves as needed and receiving no medication of any sort and very little interference from us. We just gave them more room to spread into and they thrived the entire time.
We caught two of their swarms and colonized the other 2 hives that way.
It's so depressing on many levels. I guess we will start again and buy some more bees. I don't think we'll try to catch a swarm as I really appreciated the gentleness (within reason) of the Italians we got from Western Farm Center in SR, but if a swarm came here I would surely accept the blessing.
My Spring garden is full of borage just for them and it's pretty quiet out there. So damned sad.
~ Claire

(I have no idea if this is even remotely related but this happened when our rural neighborhood became infested with PG&E smart meters. )

[Gene]

Here's something from today's BBC.

Ban pesticides linked to bee deaths, say MPs

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22021104