An afternoon with the critters

[al2n]

Busy day on the mini-farm.

Put three rabbits in the fridge today. Had one for dinner and the others are aging for a day or two before hitting the freezer or grill.

Kids got into this for the first time. A few months ago, they would have never even thought of eating a rabbit let alone helping with processing one. My oldest got some hands on learning on rabbit skinning 101 with the last one.

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Then I get a call about a bee swarm over in Ashland. I head over and find a small swarm, about the size of a couple softballs in a bush. The wind was blowing pretty good and the rain was coming in sideways so the bees did not put up much of a fuss. Managed to get them home and into a hive pretty easily.

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Pretty good Sunday afternoon.

[KG4NEL]

I'm highly allergic to those flying bastards. You wouldn't get me that close without a truckload of Epi pens and a lot of whisky.

[KG4CGC]

Be kind to bees. Monsanto is killing them.

[Bubba]

Hey, You killed bugs bunny !!!

[NA4BH]

Don't mind the grill, Mr. rabbit, somebody left it here while they are moving. We don't know how to use it.

http://pbpl.physics.ucla.edu/About_Us/Bios/Carl_Spackler/caddy01.jpg

[N8YX]

The rabbit kicked the bucket??!!??

[K7SGJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKPOhFZuFQg

[NQ6U]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGhQ2BDt4VE

[WX7P]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGhQ2BDt4VE

That one is an all time favorite.

[NQ6U]

That one is an all time favorite.

It's a classic.

[WX7P]

Mike, do you keep bees?

I was listening to a couple of guys on 20 meters, one of which was in Oregon. He said he had an infestation of bees and his neighbor, who was a beekeeper came over to clean them out. The guy showed up with minimal protection and managed to capture the entire hive without any stings (or so the station said). It sounds like there is a real art to beekeeping.

It's too bad you're not out here. We have rabbits-a-mundo roaming around. They are fearless little guys and they eat everything in sight. If my cats weren't so picky about the cold weather/rain, the rabbits would be cut down immensely. Some of the rabbits are pretty big. They even eat the seeds that fall out of the bird feeder!

I'm considering buying a trap to capture the little creatures and dump outside of town.

[NQ6U]

Mike will be able to give you more info on this but I tried keeping bees on my place in Oregon. I wasn't very successful (a bear wiped out my hives one night) but I did learn that bees are not inclined to sting when they are swarming. They don't really start to get aggressively protective until they begin building a new hive.

[K7SGJ]

Mike will be able to give you more info on this but I tried keeping bees on my place in Oregon. I wasn't very successful (a bear wiped out my hives one night) but I did learn that bees are not inclined to sting when they are swarming. They don't really start to get aggressively protective until they begin building a new hive.


Or when they are frightened.




BOO BEE

[n2ize]

Be kind to bees. Monsanto is killing them.

That's debatable. Actually, when used properly modern day pesticides are much lless harmful to pollinators than older generation pesticides. If they are killing bees II would suspect that some farmers are applying it too late in the growing season or are applying too much of it.

[n2ize]

Mike, do you keep bees?

I was listening to a couple of guys on 20 meters, one of which was in Oregon. He said he had an infestation of bees and his neighbor, who was a beekeeper came over to clean them out. The guy showed up with minimal protection and managed to capture the entire hive without any stings (or so the station said). It sounds like there is a real art to beekeeping.



My father used to keep bees. I often handled them without wearing any protective gear and never got stung. Also during swarmming they were never aggressive. Only time they would get aggressive is when the honey was harvested.

[al2n]

Mike, do you keep bees?

I was listening to a couple of guys on 20 meters, one of which was in Oregon. He said he had an infestation of bees and his neighbor, who was a beekeeper came over to clean them out. The guy showed up with minimal protection and managed to capture the entire hive without any stings (or so the station said). It sounds like there is a real art to beekeeping.

It's too bad you're not out here. We have rabbits-a-mundo roaming around. They are fearless little guys and they eat everything in sight. If my cats weren't so picky about the cold weather/rain, the rabbits would be cut down immensely. Some of the rabbits are pretty big. They even eat the seeds that fall out of the bird feeder!

I'm considering buying a trap to capture the little creatures and dump outside of town.


When they are swarming they are pretty docile and not likely to sting unless you squish one. I am allergic to bee stings so I wear the jacket and hood, but go without the gloves so I can feel what I am doing when working a hive. I learned the hard way that I have an allergy. :nono: Carry an epipen with me these days just in case. With this swarm I cut the twig shown in the photo and then used my hand to get the rest of the cluster off the main branch and into my capture box.

Honey bees are pretty easy to work with once you get past the fear factor. This is my first year keeping bees and have enjoyed it a lot so far. Been on a shoestring budget so catching swarms is how I am filling my hives. Buying bees can get costly real quick. I have partnered up with a local beekeeper who has more experience and equipment than I do. I give him the swarm calls that I do not have the skills to handle and he gives me the easy ones in return.

The main theory I have heard about the dying of the bees has to do with the new pesticides that are out there. They are not harmful right away, but after a few generations of exposure, the wax in a hive becomes saturated with them and it effects the nervous system of the bees. Currently there is no bees wax out there that is not contaminated with pesticides to some degree. The stuff stays in the wax for years and the bee larva end up being raised in the equivalent of a toxic waste dump as the levels increase with each generation.

[n2ize]

The main theory I have heard about the dying of the bees has to do with the new pesticides that are out there. They are not harmful right away, but after a few generations of exposure, the wax in a hive becomes saturated with them and it effects the nervous system of the bees. Currently there is no bees wax out there that is not contaminated with pesticides to some degree. The stuff stays in the wax for years and the bee larva end up being raised in the equivalent of a toxic waste dump as the levels increase with each generation.

Most new generation pesticides are designed to breakk down and decompose quite raapidly. This is what maakes them safer than older pesticides which were stable compounds which could persist for decades. If the bees are picking it up I would suspect that some farmers/gardiners are applying it too close to flowering time when pollinators are at work. It is supposed to be applied early in the plants growing cycle.

Why it would accumulate in the wax I am not sure. One possibility may be that perhaps the compounds don't break down as readily since the inside of the hive is dark the compounds are not exposed to UV which may reduce their decomposition causing them to persist longer.

[al2n]

Most new generation pesticides are designed to breakk down and decompose quite raapidly. This is what maakes them safer than older pesticides which were stable compounds which could persist for decades. If the bees are picking it up I would suspect that some farmers/gardiners are applying it too close to flowering time when pollinators are at work. It is supposed to be applied early in the plants growing cycle.

Why it would accumulate in the wax I am not sure. One possibility may be that perhaps the compounds don't break down as readily since the inside of the hive is dark the compounds are not exposed to UV which may reduce their decomposition causing them to persist longer.

Many of the new pesticides are impregnated into the seeds and remain on and in the plant throughout its life. They have been banned in parts of Europe and the bee populations there are on the rise once more. Plus some new independent studies indicate that the pesticides do not break down as quickly as originally reported. Some indicate that they remain in the soil and water for years at low levels.

[n2ize]

Many of the new pesticides are impregnated into the seeds and remain on and in the plant throughout its life. They have been banned in parts of Europe and the bee populations there are on the rise once more. Plus some new independent studies indicate that the pesticides do not break down as quickly as originally reported. Some indicate that they remain in the soil and water for years at low levels.

Hmmm... Interesting. The problem is that it puts the farmers between a rock and a hard place. They stand to lose revenue if they don't use pesticides yet they stand to lose pollinators and revenues if they do. Maybe it's time to go back to older pesticides. DDT might be a safer and more effective way to go. Even Rachel Carlson didn't propose a total ban on DDT but rather proposed that we use less of it and take steps to assure that it doesn't make it into water.

Newer is not always better.

[VK3ZL]

Good to see you doing a bit of hobby farming to stock the table Mike..I used to love wild rabbit many years ago but with the eradication diseases introduced into Oz to reduce the rabbit population I am not inclined to eat them these days..I keep a two box hive here and harvest some honey from time to time and the bees love our gardens.. I always find that it is best to work a hive after 10 in the morning on sunny days....The bees tend to be fairly docile in the warmth...They hate horses, dogs and motor mowers and I used to get chased inside when I mowed around the hives...These days we are all garden and no lawns...Good luck...

Bob..VK3ZL..

[al2n]

Did an inspection last night to see how the bees were doing.

Found the queen and she is laying as fast as the workers can draw out comb for her. This swarm is so small, it will take a while for them to build up their numbers. Probably no honey for me this year from them, but there is hope for next season.

[K7SGJ]

I don't want to drone on, but maybe you should mind your own beeswax. Sorry, I was just pollen your leg. :)

[NQ6U]

I don't want to drone on, but maybe you should mind your own beeswax. Sorry, I was just pollen your leg. :)

I think I'm growing allergic to your puns, Eddie. That last one gave me hives.

[K7SGJ]

I think I'm growing allergic to your puns, Eddie. That last one gave me hives.

Buzz off.

[NA4BH]

Buzz off.

That's when you say "Honeycomb" the tangles out of my back hair.

[WØTKX]

Desert rat is punny, but reeks of stale vaudevillian cheese.

[NA4BH]

His cheese has been cut many times

[WØTKX]

Many times? As in a worn out whoopie cushion? :shock:

[NA4BH]

Many times? As in a worn out whoopie cushion? :shock:


More like a duck through a bush-hog.

[K7SGJ]

Say WTF. I was busy elsewhere doing some kind thing for all humanity, and I come back to this? Oh the humanity, my blimp is burning.

[NA4BH]

Say WTF. I was busy elsewhere doing some kind thing for all humanity, and I come back to this? Oh the humanity, my blimp is burning.

Maybe you should listen to some Zeppelin, that would bring you down to Earth in a ball of flames. Cool it.

[WØTKX]

You should lay off the hydrogen, for the humanity.

[NA4BH]

You should lay off the hydrogen, for the humanity.

The way you gassed that was almost noble.

[WØTKX]

http://youtu.be/12GZyM0P2sM


http://youtu.be/12GZyM0P2sM

[NA4BH]

My brain works the same way.

[K7SGJ]

That would explain why you always seemed buzzed, no?

[NA4BH]

Hive never felt better.

[WX7P]

You should move to Utah...

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[K7SGJ]

You should move to Utah...

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I think Sting just played a concert there. He wore a really loud yellow jacket.

[WX7P]

I think Sting just played a concert there. He wore a really loud yellow jacket.

Must be a Georgia Tech fan...

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