CP3S said:

Nice topic, Anchorhead! Very interesting stuff. Had my second honey harvesting experience a few weeks ago and really loved it. Beekeeping is definitely a hobby I could really get into, if I ever have the property to do it on.

 

Excellent.  It's a lot of work, but it's fun too. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1GadTfGFvU&feature=related

Sorry.

                                                 ^Frink

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA7lv1SDzno

CP3S said:

Oh hey, look, another thread devolved into dumb pictures for no apparent reason, yay!

:p

Actually, wasps freak me out twice as much as bees.  But even worse are those dogs with bees in their mouth, and when they bark the bees shoot out at me.

Whoa there! That post is verging on Bingowings-level weird!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLCZjw2FXPE

I never would have guessed you were referencing Random Simpsons Episode #9876504

Kids today!

I know, right? The Aluminum Falcon is totally oblivious to our generation!

;-)

CP3S said:

Oh hey, look, another thread devolved into dumb pictures for no apparent reason, yay!

Better than another threat devoted to inane, go-nowhere arguments about politics, religion, or any other kind of ideology!

It's only a derailment if you want it to be.

If you ignore the the GIFs and keep talking about Bee keeping, humane alternatives to insect extermination etc some people possibly will respond, others may respond to the GIFs.

We have this sort of thing happen outside the Off Topic board were you get a few humour based posts and people have a giggle then the pick up the subject again.

It hardly ever becomes a terminal issue unless the subject has truly run it's course or another thread covers the same ground with greater efficiency.

So how did you get to experience your introduction to the bee fancying thing CP3S?

Bingowings said:

It's only a derailment if you want it to be.

If you ignore the the GIFs and keep talking about Bee keeping, humane alternatives to insect extermination etc some people possibly will respond, others may respond to the GIFs.

We have this sort of thing happen outside the Off Topic board were you get a few humour based posts and people have a giggle then the pick up the subject again.

It hardly ever becomes a terminal issue unless the subject has truly run it's course or another thread covers the same ground with greater efficiency.

Yup, that's just the nature of the BEEst.  If I'm interested in the thread, I ignore the stinging humor and tune my antennae to the on-topic posts.  I'm sorry if the gifs may give you the hives, but that really isn't any of my beeswax.

Tyrphanax said:

Sluggo said:

Bingowings said:

It's only a derailment if you want it to be.

If you ignore the the GIFs and keep talking about Bee keeping, humane alternatives to insect extermination etc some people possibly will respond, others may respond to the GIFs.

We have this sort of thing happen outside the Off Topic board were you get a few humour based posts and people have a giggle then the pick up the subject again.

It hardly ever becomes a terminal issue unless the subject has truly run it's course or another thread covers the same ground with greater efficiency.

Yup, that's just the nature of the BEEst.  If I'm interested in the thread, I ignore the stinging humor and tune my antennae to the on-topic posts.  I'm sorry if the gifs may give you the hives, but that really isn't any of my beeswax. 

Ouch.

Though I think you missed out on a To Bee or Not Too Bee joke there somewhere.

Sluggo said:

Bingowings said:

It's only a derailment if you want it to be.

If you ignore the the GIFs and keep talking about Bee keeping, humane alternatives to insect extermination etc some people possibly will respond, others may respond to the GIFs.

We have this sort of thing happen outside the Off Topic board were you get a few humour based posts and people have a giggle then the pick up the subject again.

It hardly ever becomes a terminal issue unless the subject has truly run it's course or another thread covers the same ground with greater efficiency.

Yup, that's just the nature of the BEEst.  If I'm interested in the thread, I ignore the stinging humor and tune my antennae to the on-topic posts.  I'm sorry if the gifs may give you the hives, but that really isn't any of my beeswax.

 

I must agree, honey.  Telling folks to buzz off because their humor gives you itches is a bit extreme and could send folks flying.  Sometimes a little intermittent humor breaks up the drone of the conversation.  No one needs to try to be queen bee and tell the swarms what to do.  I just find such behavior a-pollen!

TheBoost said:

 Wasps don't hunt in packs though.

Neither do bees.  They do  defend in packs though.  That thermal thing is weird to see.  They do that to bumble bees, hornets, etc.  The wasp would have to be trying to get into the hive and steal honey though.  They don't go out looking for them.

Oh, and since you guys are posting nightmare scenarios - every winter the colony either forcibly removes or kills all the drones (males).  Once the temperatures get below 50 and stays that way for a while, the colony knows winter is coming.  Since the males do nothing at all within the colony and would just be eating the stored food through the winter, they're asked to leave. 

It's a matter of colony survival.  A strong hive is about 70,000 bees, about 200 of which are males. If it's a long winter, that's 200 fewer mouths to eat up the honey.

The queen lays new drone eggs the following spring.  She decides what to make - male or female - every time she lays an egg.  Males are only kept around in case of an emergency, which would be the queen dying.  If the colony has to make a new queen suddenly, they'll need a few fellas on hand to mate when she takes her first flight. 

Beyond that, the males don't really do anything.  They occasionally gather pollen, nectar, or water, but they don't feed the queen and they don't take care of babies. They can't defend the hive either (no stinger).  They sometimes fan the entrance to reduce the heat, but that's about it.

I've got a bee question.  A friend of mine was driving across the country to buy boxes of bees.  He said they had thousands of bees per box all packed up.  Is that normal?