Honey bees making a comeback?

[poppy]

They've been scarce here for a couple years. In mowing our yard of about 1/2 acre, I would only see 2 or 3 on the clover in the grass. This year I see them everywhere, literally hundreds of them while mowing. Same thing when I mow my MIL's yard 8 miles away.

[whiterabbit454]

cant say their here as of yet

[Wisconsin Ann]

There's been a significant recovery from whatever it is that caused the "colony collapse". Scientists STILL don't know what it was definitively. Lots of theories, but they can't point and say THAT is what caused the dropoff in bees.

Whatever it was, the bees are recovering naturally. (heh. go figure..mother nature is STILL better than science) Whatever it is...it's great.

[MelissaW]

They seem to be more plentiful here this year too. The lavender and bok choy flowers have been absolutely covered with them the last few days. It sure is good to see! I was thinking yesterday that I haven't seen a single snake all year, though. Wonder what's become of them. Nature is a mystery!

[mnn2501]

Have not seen many bee's this year and my tomatoes and peppers are suffering (un-pollinized blooms).

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

I have enuff to get the job done, but I saw more honeybees in my fields last year.

RF

[Callieslamb]

I have seen a lot of bumble bees and other kinds of bees but not honey bees. I see a few of my bees in the clover and parts about, but not too many in the garden. I am comfortable with clover honey anyway....

[hillsidedigger]

My stand of 720 sweet corn plants located just off the deck has at least a dozen honey bees in each stalk tassle at this moment.

[WisJim]

I have seen absolutely NO honeybees around our place this year. Pollination of fruit trees and bushes has been real spotty. I did see a few bees on a crab apple in town, 3 miles from home, but none at all at home, although I have looked long and hard since April. Last year I didn't see many, but they started showing up in May and June, but not now.

[yarrow]

For the last couple years we've gotten excited about seeing even ONE honey bee...this year? Started out slow, but last week the clover was suddenly simply covered.. by HUNDREDS!!!... it was very exciting for my daughter & I..we just stood and watched them, buzzing flower top to flower top.
susie MO. Ozarks

[baldylocks]

I keep bees and they started off pretty rough but are great now. I was out picking blackberries yesterday and saw a bunch of honeybees on nearby clover. They could have been mine but I doubt it. It seemed unusual to see so many so far from my place. I hope it is a good sign as well.

[rickd203]

I have only seen 1-2 so far this year. My garden is also suffering from a lack of pollinators.

[chickenista]

We bought our "new" old place last year and I swear it is the only 80+ year old farm in the world with NO flowers or herbs on the property. Last summer I counted 6 bees. 6!!
This year I let a portion of the yard go wild and did not mow it. That helped a bit.. the clovers grew as did the blooming weeds. I also made a point to plant loads of perennials last year that bloom for the bees.. bee balm, lemon balm, hyssops, thyme, butterfly bush, and more borage than anyone should have! This year I have more than 6 bees, but I still notice more bumble/carpenter/orchard bees than honeybees.
But, hey.. at least they are pollinating my squash this year...last year I didn't make one squash.

[Mo-Town]

We seem to have plenty of honey bees in my neck of the woods. A few months ago, I would have chalked this up to all the rental hives used in the nearby almond and apricot orchards, but those hives have been gone for a few months and we still have a lot of bees in our garden. They really seem to like the over grown cat-nip plant. I see about two dozen bees hovering around it whenever I go out to pick my veggies.

One thing I'm a bit concerned about is the influence of the africanized bees. They're in southern California and making their way northward toward my part of central California. Not sure I want too many of those in my garden. lol.

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by WisJim

I have seen absolutely NO honeybees around our place this year. Pollination of fruit trees and bushes has been real spotty. I did see a few bees on a crab apple in town, 3 miles from home, but none at all at home, although I have looked long and hard since April. Last year I didn't see many, but they started showing up in May and June, but not now.

I haven't seen any here at all for a couple years. There used to be dozens any time I went outside except in the winter.

[Wisconsin Ann]

A lot of apiaries were completely wiped out last couple years. Not a lot of bees to buy this year, either. cost was up because of the low supply and the high demand. Will take some time to recolonize many places.

[Jaclynne]

We've never had bees like this year. The pea vines are literally covered, thankfully they seem to be of a mild temperament, since I just wade right in picking peas with them.

I wondered if some had moved some hives into my area or something.

Halo

[Freeholder]

Bees are generally mild when away from their hive out foraging. It's when you get too close to the hive that the Africanized bees (and any bee, really) is going to go after you. The African bees have a wider area around their hive that they protect than the European species do, and are much more aggressive about it, which is why they have such a bad reputation. I hope they can't survive in our climate, if they are moving up into Northern California!

Kathleen

[Danaus29]

They are thick in my milkweed right now. In the early spring the "almond" tree that broke was actually buzzing from all the bees in it. We had bees last year but not to the extent we have now.

[Maura]

We have lots of honeybees, but we did last year to. This year, however, I'm seeing lots of bumblebees, little ones.