No Honey for chrimbo!

[Glenn]

I've been following this story with interest as I am a honey fiend and cannot live without honey.

Is there a way of breeding more bees or is it the habitat that is being affected more than their numbers in the wild?

[Mike]

found this on the beeb this morning...

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Bee mystery in Italy

not just us then:(

[beesontoast]

Originally Posted by Glenn

Is there a way of breeding more bees or is it the habitat that is being affected more than their numbers in the wild?

Yes, it is possible to breed more bees - that is what I and many others are trying to do right now - see Top Bar Beekeeping with the Barefoot Beekeeper - using methods as close as possible to nature.

The idea is to breed bees that are able to deal with their own problems, without becoming dependent on chemical inputs. Unfortunately, the like of Bayer and other criminal organizations are doing their best to create conditions in which bees cannot survive, by spreading their filthy pesticides around the planet in pursuit of ever-bigger profits at the expense of the environment. While governments allow them to sell neo-nicotinoids that are lethal to bees in molecular quantities, we have little hope of winning the battle to save the bees.

If you want to do something to help, lobby your MP for a ban on all neo-nicotinoid pesticides, and avoid buying products - like some of Levingtons' composts - that contain them.

Bayer Pesticides Kill Bees

[gavlar]

beesontoast, is this situation restricted to honey bees or is it a "general bee" thing?

I ask as I dont think i have seen half as many bumble bees as normal!

And this year my masonary bee home has stood empty :(

[beesontoast]

Pesticides kills all insects, including all kinds of bees. In fact, honeybees are particularly susceptible because of the wide range they cover, and the sheer quantity of material they harvest. A good sized colony in a favourable summer may gather upeards of 500 pounds of nectar. Imagine how many flower-visits that represents, and how many opportunities for exposure to toxins.

[Andy]

Im ready to do my bit! local school are looking into Bee keeping for next year, though i think there is a little opposition from some parents.

[EcoCentric]

I'd love to keep bees, but really possible in central london :o(

I read a very interesting article on this in the new statesman a few weeks ago, that the government weren't willing to put in the funding for bee keeping, although pollination of loads of our counrty's crops rely on them.

Is this right, does anyone know?

[Green Beginnings]

I'd love to get our school to keep bees but not sure what the health and safety implications are with regards to little people.

[Glenn]

I spoke to an Apiarist today at the Farmers Market we went to who advised that I will be very hard pressed to find comb honey before June / July next year and in his neck of the woods the availability will be severely limited.

This is very disappointing as I love honey and want to do my bit to encourage a good climate for the fuzzy little creatures.

Any initiatives to support these little guys is welcomed.

What, other than lobbying chemical companies (which is a one way battle), can be done to support the growth of bee communities in the UK?

[goispro]

I don't really know much about bees and apiculture, but out of interest - we have found ourselves moving into an area of Central Portugal where honey production has been central to the way of life and local economy for as long as anyone can remember. Everywhere you go in the mountains you can see rows of beehives in seemingly inaccessible places, and in the autumn "Chestnut and Honey' fairs are held in every little town. I do hope that it is not inevitable that the bees here also fall into decline - the honey is hardly marketed out of the area, but is integral to this part of the world - and wonderful, rich dark honey it is too. It would be tragic if the bees were lost. Unfortunately, the local population has embraced the use of pesticides relatively recently - does every developing country have to take on all the mistakes of the previously developed rather than learning from our mistakes?