Spring! And A Lot About Bumble Bees
Today is the first day of spring because a giant bumble bee flew in our window, and it is the first one I have seen this seasonal rotation. It flew in the window and I though it must be some giant alien insect come to kill me it was so noisy, but it turned out to not be that after all.
Now, the giant bumble bees, especially those flying around at the start of spring, are the QUEENS. They have to lay the eggs, collect the food and raise the "children" all on their lonesome until the first little larvae turn into big grown-up bees and start helping out around the house. So, please don't kill them and please rescue them if they get stuck. I like all bumble bees, but I don't mind so much what your response is to a small one later in the season, but wiping out a potential nest in one blow is a bit harsh. Another thing is to not leave blue containers out where they can collect water as the bumble bees will fly in and drown themselves, being attracted to the blue.
What if you don't care about bumble bees, why should you bother? Well, in NZ the varroa mite has reached the lower South Island this season, and so this is probably the last year of wild honey bees in NZ, although maybe the very south will last another year. So pollination of flowers, fruit and some vegetables will be dependent on domestic honey bees, native bees and bumble bees. Non-honey bees are either solitary or have small colonies, so they will find it hard to fill the gap left by the death of the wild bees, so there will be a dearth of bees unless more domestic hives are set up. So the bumble bees need all the help they can get to try and help fill the gap.
Maybe you don't think the problem is really that bad, I mean how much difference can it make, and do bees really do that much? Well, the advice to home gardeners is to try and encourage all types of bees to the garden, but that most people will STILL experience a significant drop in yield, so if you usually have plants that depend on insect pollination, the next few years will not be very productive. I'm not entirely sure on the commercial sector - I assume orchards and so forth will set up their own hives and try to get other people's hives onto their property, otherwise they will obviously be hit hard.
Outside of NZ, the bumble bee had to be imported back into the UK recently to replace the dwindling population that is native to there, and in the USA they are of course experiencing hive collapse disorder or whatever they called it, and presumably are experiencing pollination problems too.
So, protect the bumble bees, and happy spring! (for those in the appropriate places of the world of course)
Now, the giant bumble bees, especially those flying around at the start of spring, are the QUEENS. They have to lay the eggs, collect the food and raise the "children" all on their lonesome until the first little larvae turn into big grown-up bees and start helping out around the house. So, please don't kill them and please rescue them if they get stuck. I like all bumble bees, but I don't mind so much what your response is to a small one later in the season, but wiping out a potential nest in one blow is a bit harsh. Another thing is to not leave blue containers out where they can collect water as the bumble bees will fly in and drown themselves, being attracted to the blue.
What if you don't care about bumble bees, why should you bother? Well, in NZ the varroa mite has reached the lower South Island this season, and so this is probably the last year of wild honey bees in NZ, although maybe the very south will last another year. So pollination of flowers, fruit and some vegetables will be dependent on domestic honey bees, native bees and bumble bees. Non-honey bees are either solitary or have small colonies, so they will find it hard to fill the gap left by the death of the wild bees, so there will be a dearth of bees unless more domestic hives are set up. So the bumble bees need all the help they can get to try and help fill the gap.
Maybe you don't think the problem is really that bad, I mean how much difference can it make, and do bees really do that much? Well, the advice to home gardeners is to try and encourage all types of bees to the garden, but that most people will STILL experience a significant drop in yield, so if you usually have plants that depend on insect pollination, the next few years will not be very productive. I'm not entirely sure on the commercial sector - I assume orchards and so forth will set up their own hives and try to get other people's hives onto their property, otherwise they will obviously be hit hard.
Outside of NZ, the bumble bee had to be imported back into the UK recently to replace the dwindling population that is native to there, and in the USA they are of course experiencing hive collapse disorder or whatever they called it, and presumably are experiencing pollination problems too.
So, protect the bumble bees, and happy spring! (for those in the appropriate places of the world of course)
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