Sheffield bumble bees dropping like flies?

[ninjastu 10]

The ones that have taken up residence in my loft definitely aren't dead!

 

let them bee

[MazR 10]

They're all living in the little park behind my house. The trees are full of them, it's amazing standing underneath them - the loud collective hum that surrounds you is quite remarkable Don't know what trees they are but there is a white substance on the leaves which they seems to love...

 

---------- Post added 30-06-2016 at 08:53 ----------

 

and I thought it was only me that went around rescuing bees, but seemingly not, which is great

 

Me too - nice feeling when they come back to life, shake themselves off and buzz off

[Lex Luthor 10]

Rescuing a bee is something I never thought was an option. Thanks to posters in this thread for raising this as a possibility.

 

I've found these, but they're not cheap.

 

http://www.beestation.com/about.html

 

I wonder if anyone has any ideas for a make your own bee station?

[spilldig 188]

Rescuing a bee is something I never thought was an option. Thanks to posters in this thread for raising this as a possibility.

 

I've found these, but they're not cheap.

 

http://www.beestation.com/about.html

 

I wonder if anyone has any ideas for a make your own bee station?

 

I second that. Without bees we are in a bad way.

[Glennis 15]

its probably been this crazy weather freezing and raining one minute red hot next

 

Yes, they do not like to much rain and water.

[blackydog 40]

Not seen one this "summer"!

 

Pop round to mine, I got a nest.

[birobasher 27]

i don't think your supposed to give them honey, I could be wrong though. thought it was something to do with disease spread if the honey was contaminated.

 

Honey is bad for them, it contains toxins that could kill them. A mixture of sugar and water is better.

 

---------- Post added 02-07-2016 at 09:49 ----------

 

There's a lot of studies going on to discover the causes of bee decline, in particular what's known as 'Colony Collapse Disorder', which as the name suggests, has entire hives dying off at once. Some theories: industrialised farming of honey via monoculture crops lowers bee resistance to disease. Also, when the monoculture crop is gone, there's vast swathes of countryside (particularly in USA) with almost no alternate pollinator plants, hence no food within reach of the bees.

 

Neonicotinoid pesticides contain toxins that impair bees movement and ability to forage. The movement is important because they 'dance' to communicate to others in the hive where they found pollen. The EU had banned neonicotinoids on a precautionary principle, based on existing research, but agrichemical corporations are fighting hard to ignore that and keep selling the pesticide.

[The Oil Man 11]

Bee hive yourself!

 

Not very often I laugh out loud but this made me, such a long time since I heard the parrot sketch and it`s funnier wrote down, well done.

[Jimi Hendrix 10]

Due to the bad weather ( Rain / Cold etc.) They are starving as the cannot get to the flowers to feed, if it is raining. A mate of mine keeps Bee's and he was saying the other day, that he had a message from the Bee Keepers Association, instructing them to feed the bees with Sugar Water, which is something they only do through the Winter Months or times like now due to the bad weather. Sometimes bees can look dead but are just starving or dehydrated... Bees need looking after because without them, the world would not survive as a civilization due to the important part they play in our eco system..

Edited July 3, 2016 by Jimi Hendrix

[S1 1DJ 11]

Pop round to mine, I got a nest.

 

Encountered a couple now - one flew into me whilst cycling and had one rest up during a storm on my landing!

Edited July 5, 2016 by S1 1DJ

[sheffbloomer 10]

I love Bees and really want to help them. I heard that they are becoming an endangered species!

Please guys, don't squash or spray bees-they aren't aggressive and will VERY rarely sting you (they die after they sting so only use it when very scared)

Wasps on the other hand are the little asbo cousins that enjoy causing trouble

[Mr Bloke 1,445]

I love Bees and really want to help them. I heard that they are becoming an endangered species!

Please guys, don't squash or spray bees-they aren't aggressive and will VERY rarely sting you (they die after they sting so only use it when very scared)

Wasps on the other hand are the little asbo cousins that enjoy causing trouble

Which raises some interesting philosophical questions...

 

... How do they know they're going to die if they use their sting, and if they do know, then why would they use it anyway?

 

Do we now have a new generation of extremist bees who are prepared to die for their cause?