Who keeps bees on BYC?

[SamG347]

I am interested in feral bees that are hardier and have adapted to the areas they are in better. I do plan on getting some mason bees for my garden and fruit trees in a couple of weeks, how do they interact with honey bees? Do I just need to keep them 600' apart or should I take other precautions?

Don't want to burst your bubble but there really is no such thing as feral bees anymore. Or was there ever. Feral or wild colonies are really just Domestic bees that swarmed and setup shop in a tree hollow...house...rock outcrop...etc. Though some make it most are killed...especially by mites. Which whiped out almost all of the feral colonies of true old time wild bees. Remember honey bees aren't native to NA english settlers brought them here.
Here is a "wild" colony I collected.

And if your going to have honey bee hives...don't bother with Mason bees.

 

[Lesa]

I have honey bees and a mason bee house, which I'll put out in spring...

 

[sgtmom52]

Quote:
Nice picture! You don't often see comb built out in the open like that.

 

[upintheholler]

I have kept bees for close to 12 or 13 years I guess.Very enjoyable hobby.Subscribe to the American Bee Journal.The magazine is full of ideas and projects plus a whole lot of advertising.Bees are kind of expensive to keep.Especially if you have to buy everything to start.I make all of my hives except the frames.Frames are inexpensive though.There isseveral breeds or types of honey bees.Do your research.I have always liked the lighter bees.The darker bees seem to be more tempermental.The Buckfast bees are a pleasure to work with.So are most of the Italian bees.You need to keep them where they will get sun most of the day.And away from the house at least 40 to 50 yards or so.Vibrations can and will set them off.Weedeaters lawnmowers and so on.You dont wanna have to put a bee suit on to mow or weedeat.Talking from personal experiance here lol.A very good learning experiance for everyone.And the reward in the end is what its all about.There is nothing better than fresh honey still in the comb.If you have to buy bees buy 1 package no more.Settle them in play with them all summer.If all goes well in the spring buy you a mated queen and make you a split and then you will have 2.This should keep them from swarming.But you need to keep you an empty hive body setting around just in case.You cant stop mother nature.Sometimes they swarm anyway.As soon as you have a couple stands you will be catching swarms and making splits until you run out of room.Kinda like chickens very addictive.I doubt there are any feral bees left.If you find some they are probably somebodies swarm from that year or the year before.The mites really hurt them.A hive left untreated rarely lives over 2 years.Some breeders claim they have bred high mite resistant bees.I personally dont know Im just talking from my exoeriances.Anybody got any questions just ask.Thanks Rodney

 

[ijon1]

I got some bees this winter while cutting wood. After i seen the bees I quit cutting the log. Took it home set it on end and put a rubbermade tub on top of the log. There is a hollow knot for air. Will they need helper food during the winter?

 

[upintheholler]

Ihad one of the hollow log hives one time I cut a piece of plywood the size of a super put slits in the center so the bees could move up and set a super full of honey on it by spring they was all in the super and I moved them to a hive body.

 

[thebritt]

Quote:
Don't want to burst your bubble but there really is no such thing as feral bees anymore. Or was there ever. Feral or wild colonies are really just Domestic bees that swarmed and setup shop in a tree hollow...house...rock outcrop...etc. Though some make it most are killed...especially by mites. Which whiped out almost all of the feral colonies of true old time wild bees. Remember honey bees aren't native to NA english settlers brought them here.
Here is a "wild" colony I collected.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f94/SamG347/PA Bees/Honeybeecluster.jpg

And if your going to have honey bee hives...don't bother with Mason bees.

If, by "feral bees", she meant native to N America bees, according to The Xerces Society, "there are about 4,000 species" of N American native bees. One can google said society and click on the "Native Bee Biology" link on the sidebar for more info. Many natives do not form hives, but build small nests in holes in the ground, in rotten wood, etc., and many are solitary.
Yay natives!

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
Don't want to burst your bubble but there really is no such thing as feral bees anymore. Or was there ever. Feral or wild colonies are really just Domestic bees that swarmed and setup shop in a tree hollow...house...rock outcrop...etc. Though some make it most are killed...especially by mites. Which whiped out almost all of the feral colonies of true old time wild bees. Remember honey bees aren't native to NA english settlers brought them here.
Here is a "wild" colony I collected.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f94/SamG347/PA Bees/Honeybeecluster.jpg

And if your going to have honey bee hives...don't bother with Mason bees.

If, by "feral bees", she meant native to N America bees, according to The Xerces Society, "there are about 4,000 species" of N American native bees. One can google said society and click on the "Native Bee Biology" link on the sidebar for more info. Many natives do not form hives, but build small nests in holes in the ground, in rotten wood, etc., and many are solitary.
Yay natives!

Actually I meant feral as in they were domesticated at one time but have reverted to a wild state. Although I would also love to cultivate any native species if it would help the population not hinder. Here's the dictionary's version of "Feral" though the first reference did say "wild, never domesticated, native" so I guess Feral means both.

fe⋅ral1  /ˈfɪərəl, ˈfɛr-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [feer-uhl, fer-] Show IPA
–adjective
2. having reverted to the wild state, as from domestication: a pack of feral dogs roaming the woods.

Yes, domestic bees that leave home and set up in trees and old buildings etc. usually die but from what I read in Discover magazine there are some that have thrived and become very resistant to the diseases that have plagued the domesticated honey bee. http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/19-who-killed-all-those-honeybees-we-did/?searchterm=feral bees.
These are the bees I was specifically interested in. Does anybody else know about this?
Oh and in answer to the other comment, about not needing mason bees and honey bees, I have some fruit trees that bloom very early and the problem I've had the past three years is that it has been cloudy and/or windy for the entire time these trees were blooming and the mason bee (from what I've read) will fly in these conditions (unless it's very windy) and a honey bee will not. The fruit from these trees is outstanding (when they get pollinated)! I'm afraid we are limited on our pollinators here in the high desert. I don't even think that honey bees will thrive in this area unless they are a hardier species.
Thanks for all the info "thebritt", "Lesa", "SamG347" and everyone else. I am enjoying this thread very much!

 

[sgtmom52]

Quote:
I was in northern Japan visiting my daughter last spring ~ land of the famous Fuji apples. In Japan they use only Mason Bees to pollinate the apple crops. They have shelters filled with mason bee blocks set in front of a "mud hole" in the ground throughout the apple orchards. The area that this is in has a climate similar to western New York State with a good amount of snow in the winter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itayanagi,_Aomori They have been using this method of pollination for hundreds of years.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
I was in northern Japan visiting my daughter last spring ~ land of the famous Fuji apples. In Japan they use only Mason Bees to pollinate the apple crops. They have shelters filled with mason bee blocks set in front of a "mud hole" in the ground throughout the apple orchards. The area that this is in has a climate similar to western New York State with a good amount of snow in the winter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itayanagi,_Aomori They have been using this method of pollination for hundreds of years.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g46/sgtmom52/Beekeeping/P1040874-1.jpg

That's a cool setup! It would keep my chickens out of the nests. Why the mudhole? Just for water access?