octopusgardener0 t1_iwc1yzq wrote
Reply to comment by Bill_Nihilist in The lifespans of honey bees living in laboratory environments has dropped about 50% over the last 50 years, hinting at possible causes for the worrisome trends across the beekeeping industry, according to new research by University of Maryland entomologists. by Wagamaga
I'm a backyard beekeeper, and we're recommended to replace our whole frames every two years because the wax gets full of toxins to the point it starts affecting the bees at that point. On top of that, all package bees are bred in massive farms scattered around the US (the eastern half all comes from one farm in Georgia, don't know if there's any more out there) which have dubious genetics at the best of times, plus varroa mite infection can cause developmental issues if they get into the brood cells before they cap them.
There's a lot of variables that can affect domesticated bees before adulthood, have they done any documentation regarding the states and histories of the hives they took them from?
carlitospig t1_iwccb5k wrote
Yup, my first thought would be checking that Georgian farm too.
GrayMatters50 t1_iwcqtym wrote
West coast & Georgia bees may have instincts that can detect other aggressive colonies in their vicinity. Look what stress does to humans!
Tribe_of_Mexicans t1_iwcac5s wrote
Interesting. But more so, you breed octopi in your backyard and keep bee's, is that for fighting?
Tripwiring t1_iwcf0be wrote
Bee vs Octopus 2: Octwopus
static_moments t1_iwd7xww wrote
Octowhoopass!
( a word I didn’t think I’d be saying when I woke up this morning)
CaptainGoose t1_iwcfxgk wrote
He's trying to cross breed them, the evil bastard.
Susan-stoHelit t1_iwcg5hn wrote
No, for breeding. A bee with 8 stingers on its tentacles! And octopus making honey!!!
TooOldToDie81 t1_iwcmmok wrote
When you want that sweet inky flavor, nothing beats octopus honey.
Tr8ze t1_iwcqmyw wrote
Thanks for this. Fascinating. Do you have any recommended resources for folks interested in becoming backyard beekeepers, and for those wondering what to plant in the garden to help out bees?
[deleted] t1_iwcs7jn wrote
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Aartvaark t1_iwdm143 wrote
Screwing with nature introduces chaos. No matter how carefully bees are 'kept', they're still 'kept', not free to live their natural bee lives.
They adapt to keeping instead of nature. Of course they're going to mutate in favor of their new lifestyle.
I don't understand why this wasn't predicted and avoided.
octopusgardener0 t1_iwdnsx0 wrote
Normally I'd agree with you, but beekeeping is actually heavily weighted in the bee's favor, they're free to leave if they feel the hive is unsafe or not comfortable (which I've had done), or if they feel it's a poor location for resources, and they've been bred through the millenia to produce more than they need. However, honeybees can actually be considered an invasive species to North America, and I recommend if you want to keep bees in your backyard and want a more naturalistic way of doing it, to look for native bee houses or plant flowers that favor native bees, like nightshades, to bring more around.
Fun fact, native bees actually have a 90% pollination rate to the honeybee's 5% rate, but native bees are more solitary so honeybees match their rate through sheer numbers.
As an aside, my bee houses are foundationless as I believe they know what kind of comb they need better than I do, and I refuse to use artificial treatments for the hive, electing for more natural ones, like formic acid (concentrated venom) pads for mites, and ultimately hope I can reach a level where my bees are healthy enough I can go treatmentless and they can keep themselves so I interrupt them less.
Aartvaark t1_iwdq5tb wrote
This is exactly my point. I get why you're defending and I applaud your practices, but as careful as you are, you don't realize how much you're changing their natural lives and lifestyle by providing what you think is beneficial and helpful.
Your end game is honey.
Their end game is survival.
I can live without honey. Maybe the bees should live without us.
[deleted] t1_iwebkbn wrote
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FwibbFwibb t1_iwh314e wrote
> I don't understand why this wasn't predicted and avoided.
Apparently this wasn't a problem 50 years ago.
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