Sweet Thunder provides the delightful musical background for this video of hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies at work in my garden on the Oregon Coast.
Archive for the ‘Natural Beekeeping’ Category
The Birds and the Bees and the Butterflies
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Videos, tagged bee pollinating poppy, bee-loving flowers, bees on borage, bees on Oregon Coast, bees on parsley, Crocosmia, daisy, Hummingbirds, Kiera O'Hara, Lotus, macro nature video, macro photography, Mary Steele, Mourning Cloak butterfly, organic gardening, Painted Lady butterfly, pollinators, Skipper butterfly on wallflower, Swallowtail butterfly, Sweet Thunder, Wendy McGinnis, Wild pollinators on November 12, 2013| 3 Comments »
Blue Pollen in Early Spring? Plant Now!
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Gardening, Natural Beekeeping, tagged bee-loving flowers, beekeeping, Gardening, natural beekeeping, pollinators, Wild pollinators on November 8, 2013| 2 Comments »
Siberian Squill, that is.
“An excellent source of blue pollen,” says BBHB, who has graciously given me permission to use his photo of Siberian Squill.
Planting instructions according to Wisconsin Master Gardening Program: Plant the small bulbs in the fall, placing them 2 to 3 inches deep and 2 to 4 inches apart. Because of the ephemeral nature of the foliage, this small bulb can easily be grown in sunny lawns. To plant Siberian squill in turf, scatter the bulbs randomly in the area you want them. Then punch or auger a hole in the sod, using a dibble or other implement (some people suggest a cordless drill with a large bit), wherever a bulb has fallen. Place the bulb (pointed side up) at the bottom of the hole and fill in with additional soil. Wait until the bulb’s foliage has started to die down in spring before resuming mowing the lawn.
That sounds easy enough. I’m planting them tomorrow.
One of the first spring-flowering bulbs, easy to grow, cold hardy, blue pollen for the bees..what’s not to like? It’s considered invasive.
Discussion about Siberian Squill on beesource.com Why is it that so many of the plants that bees like are considered invasive??? I’m planting anyway because it’s an early food source, good for the bees, can grow in my lawn, is deer resistant, and will go dormant by mid May.
November 9, 2013…The cordless drill worked well. I planted 50 bulbs of Siberian Squill hoping it would be enough to get videos of bees carrying blue pollen in March. Snowdrops will be going in as soon as I can find a source.
Ivy League Pollinators
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Fly pollination, Log hives, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Videos, tagged bee-loving flowers, bees on Oregon Coast, butterfly on ivy, Flies that look like bees, fly pollinating ivy, fly pollination, Ivy pollinators, Log hive wood carving, macro nature video, wasp on ivy, Wasp pollinator, Wild pollinators on November 1, 2013| 15 Comments »
Mid October…the bees are bringing in baskets loaded with orange pollen.
When I saw how much pollen was coming into Bee Beard log hive, I wanted to find out where it was coming from. I knew it had to be ivy because that’s the only thing in bloom this late. I set out to prove my theory.
I went to my known ivy patches, which just happened to be in the sun…perfect.
Mid October…An American Painted Lady (I think)
I didn’t see any bees at this first place, but this butterfly posed for me long enough to get a short video. She is sipping nectar through her long proboscis which acts like a flexible straw.
This looks like a bee, but the eyes are different. It’s a fly who is grooming herself in the sun. The video shows her rubbing her front legs and using them to scrape the pollen off the top of her body.
I see Barbara out walking her dogs. She knows I’m obsessive about bees and mentions an ivy covered wall that was buzzing with bees. I head over.
This ivy wall was buzzing with bees…I’m going to get lots of opportunities to shoot bee videos.
I knew something was weird with this when her proboscis touched the top anther and rubbed it. It’s another fly that resembles a bee.
This looks like a white-trimmed black wasp, but it’s the wrong habitat for it. Can anyone ID it for sure? It’s another ‘buzzing insect’ working the ivy.
Celeste A. S. Mazzacano, Ph. D.
Staff Scientist / Aquatic Conservation Director, Xerces Society Project Coordinator, Migratory Dragonfly Partnership
Celeste replied to my request to for an identification of this wasp…
Pat, I am pretty sure that what you have are some lovely shots of the White-faced Hornet (Vespula maculata, also known as Dolichovespula maculata, not sure which name is the most current). The markings are quite distinctive, especially around the eyes and thorax, and this is the only West Coast wasp species that is white and black–all the others are yellow and black. These dudes are apparently aggressive little stingers, and the adults are predatory on small invertebrates, so I don’t think they’d be more than incidental pollinators. They make above-ground nests out of chewed wood pulp, but a colony only lasts for one year–they die off over the winter, except for females that mate at the end of summer and start new colonies the following spring. These are nice photos! Thanks, Celeste.
Finally I see an actual honeybee who is sipping nectar, but no pollen is evident.
Another look, but no pollen is visible.
I spot a bee on a dandelion, pollen sprinkled on her abdomen. A close look revealed none in her pollen baskets.
I can see I was mistaken about the pollen going into my hives. It can’t be ivy just yet…not sure what it is, but I’ll keep looking.
Removing English Ivy from trees
Patricia talks about the importance of ivy as a nectar source for insects late in the year.
Grooming, on a Summer Afternoon
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Bumblebees, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Videos, tagged bee-loving flowers, Bees grooming, bees on Oregon Coast, bumblebees, honey bees, macro nature video, natural beekeeping, nature photography, pollinators, Wild pollinators on October 30, 2013| 3 Comments »
I asked Kiera O’hara, the composer and pianist of the background music, “Song for Earth Day.”
“I’ve got the melody replaying itself over and over again in my head. Since you wrote it can you describe the background of it? I’m always curious how a person comes up with music, probably because I’m so NOT musical.
There’s that little voice towards the end (at 3:10) that says to me, “But why can’t I?” or “but what about this?” It’s definitely a question. That’s how it sounds to me. :-)”
Her reply…
You’ve got it, exactly! That ending was meant to sound tentative–the vulnerability of the earth asking for help, and the question lingering for us humans, will we help?
Cemetery Bush
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Uncategorized, Videos, tagged Averill Pioneer Cemetery, Bandon Lighthouse, bee-loving flowers, bees pollinating cotoneaster, Cotoneaster, honey bees, macro nature video, nature photography, Wild pollinators on October 29, 2013| 1 Comment »
Cemetery bush, July 1, 2013
In July I noticed honeybees were pollinating these bushes in the cemetery. I took photos so I could show them to knowledgeable people to ID them. I asked quite a few people who had no idea what those bushes were. Jim, the volunteer at the cemetery, said at first he thought they were planted, but later he realized the birds must have dropped seeds where the mower couldn’t reach and they just grew without being cut.
July 1, 2013 Bees love this bush. Circle shows the color of pollen.
October 26, 2013…we suddenly realize this is a cotoneaster bush. It’s just so obvious with the red berries. Thanks to the bees the birds will benefit.
I shot some video of the blossoms with the bees getting nectar. If I see the birds eating berries, I’ll get a video on them.
Please Don’t Poison my Honeybees…
Posted in Dibrom mosquito spray, Natural Beekeeping, tagged Bandon Marsh Wildlife Refuge, beekeeping, bees on Oregon Coast, Dibrom hazardous to honeybees, honey bees, mosquito problem in Bandon, natural beekeeping, pollinators, Wild pollinators on September 20, 2013| 13 Comments »
…reads the headline of my letter to the editor last week.
Welcome to the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
The Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
has a mosquito problem. During summer high tides, water fills holes that don’t drain back out. Pools provide habitat for the salt marsh mosquito, Aedes dorsalis. People that live near the marsh complain that they can’t go outside without mosquitos biting them. “It’s hard to get to the car from the back door without several mosquito bites.” I can’t mow my yard without several layers of clothing.” “I love to garden, but I feel like I’m under house arrest, because the mosquitos are so vicious.” The motels have had cancellations, the real estate people can’t show houses, and the golfers are getting eaten alive.
Pressure to DO SOMETHING NOW drove the decision to aerial spray not just the 300 acres of the Marsh, but another 10,000 to 12,000 acres of outlying area. That’s when I heard about it. Shigeo Oku, vice-president of Coos County Beekeepers Association called to warn me. “Pat, they are going to spray near your place. You better do something about it.” I’m thinking “Whaaat? The Marsh is a few miles away. They wouldn’t spray all the way down here.” Maybe I better call the newspaper and get a look at that spray map.
The Bandon Marsh is a few miles from me…why do they have to spray so close to me?
I called the county to confirm. Yes, indeed, they are planning to spray, near my house (and hives) probably next week!
“The spraying that will be done outside of the marsh targets grown mosquitos only (not larva). Also it (Dibrom) is in a very small concentration, ¾ ounce per acre, which will ensure that it is not strong enough to effect anything larger than a mosquito, it does not kill larva, and it cannot penetrate water.”
We look up Dibrom and get NoSpray.org Hummm, that sounds pretty bad, let’s look up another one. Uh-oh, it’s definitely BAD! “Very toxic to bees.” I call the county back. “Hey, I’m a beekeeper. That spray can drift over and kill my bees!”
“Just cover your hives for a while. Put your phone number on the hot line and we’ll call you when we are planning to spray.” The county sends me a fact sheet. “Dibrom immediately begins to breakdown upon release of the spray droplets in the open air. Dibrom also breaks down rapidly in water and in sunlight.”
Well, that doesn’t sound too bad, maybe it’ll be okay. Just to make sure I’m calling the Oregon State University Honeybee Department. I’m referred to Ramesh Sagili, (Honeybee Research and Extension Entomologist), who stated that “the residual toxicity for Dibrom is TWO DAYS!” Sagili says if the pesticide lands on a blooming plant (like a dandelion) and if the honeybee forages on that plant, the honeybee will be poisoned, for up to two days after the pesticide has been sprayed. I can’t cover my hives for two days.
That’s what prompted my letter to the editor. When I read the newspaper next day, I see other people have written, most notably the Xerces Society urging the US Fish and Wildlife Service NOT to spray.
Just about that time our friendly librarian, who knows how we feel about our bees, calls us with the name of a person who is actively monitoring the situation by attending all the meetings with the County Commissioners. We call Chris Wiggins. She tells us at a recent meeting, the County Public Health Official has offered to hold a town hall meeting to answer questions from the public. We tell Chris we know of a friendly local printer who would be willing to print posters advertising the meeting. Posters are posted, notices are handed out, radio stations are called. We go to the meeting Monday evening hoping we get enough people to let the county know “WE DON’T WANT THE SPRAY!” I bring copies of Dibrom MSDS sheets. (See environmental Hazards on page 2)
Happily there were too many people for the scheduled room. A bigger room was provided. The meeting can be best described here.
Most of the people were against spraying. A few people said “Please spray…My life has been turned upside down because of those (bleeped) mosquitos.” I had to sympathize with them even though I was against the spraying. I think the single argument that swayed the commissioners most came not from people wanting to save the bees and other wild pollinators and insects, nor from the people worried about a health risk, but from the cranberry farmers.
The cranberries will soon be harvested. If they show any pesticide residue, (they measure in parts per trillion) their entire crop can be rejected. Several growers asked pointed questions…”Does that pesticide specifically state ‘safe for cranberries‘ in the literature?” “We can’t spray anything past July.” “Are you sure there won’t be any residue on my berries?” “What if my crop is rejected?”
Two days later, again at the County Commissioner’s meeting at the Courthouse, it was announced the Dibrom (adulticide mosquito spray) was cancelled. MetaLarv, which is highly toxic to a wide range of aquatic insects and crustaceans would still take place on only 300 acres directly on Bandon Marsh. While we felt bad for the wildlife that would be poisoned by the larvacide, we breathed a huge sigh of relief knowing our bees dodged a bullet. We are hoping the US Fish and Wildlife Service will now adopt an Integrated Pest Management system to prevent this from happening again.
I am not of the opinion of many people that we should replace the flood gates to keep that area for farming. When we first came to the area that was a dairy farm. We hauled truckloads of cow manure to our bountiful garden. The dairy farm has been gone for many years now. If this spot is deemed good for wildlife protection and things like carbon storage then it’s a good thing. but please don’t let the mosquitos get out of control again.
Salt Marsh, a great place to store carbon.
Aerial map of Bandon Marsh showing close proximetry of cranberry bogs, Bullards Beach State Park, and lower Coquille Estuary. Photo courtesy of National Scenic Byways Online (www.byways.org)
Footnote: In a conversation with a cranberry farmer, I learned that at least one of them uses the dreaded neonicotinoids on their crop.
Bee Beard Log Hive, Alive and Well
Posted in Hives, Log hives, Natural Beekeeping, tagged ANAP (as natural as possible, beekeeping, bees on Oregon Coast, Blackberry pollination, California Poppy pollination, dandelion pollination, Deformed Wing virus video, Log hive wood carving, Log hives, macro nature video, natural beekeeping, St. John's Wort pollination, Verticle log hive, wood carving on August 11, 2013| 4 Comments »
Bee Beard…August 1, 2013. The bees always fly around at the entrance between 1:30 and 3:30. I’m not sure why, the outside temperature is only 68 F (15C)
After it threw six swarms, I wondered if Bee Beard had anything left. Yes, there were bees but was there a laying queen? Then in the beginning of April, I started watching in horror as drones were being tossed out of the entrance. Drones with reddish colored eyes and ‘chewed up’ wings. I checked the bee literature and learned that I was looking at a good example of “Deformed Wing Virus,” thought to be caused by the dreaded varroa mite.
April 1, 2013…I was filming the bees at the entrance when I heard a thump on the landscape cloth. Two bees were evicting one with Deformed Wing Virus
It started in the beginning of April and continued through the end of the month. Then came Drone Awareness Month. I thought for sure, this would be the end of the hive because I had a “laying worker.”
April 25, 2013…SIX DRONES visible. I have never seen so many drones at the entrance.
You can notice these bees because of their eyes. The tops of their eyes meet in the middle. Also drones are big. In the video you’ll notice how much bigger they are then the worker bees. I wasn’t worried about their size however, I was worried there was no queen. For this many drones in one place, it meant (to me) only one thing…a laying worker. If there’s no fertilized queen (possibly because of all the swarms) then sometimes a worker bee will start to lay. If you inspect the combs, you’ll see the eggs laid on the side of the cell or multiple eggs in an individual cell…the sign of a laying worker (or more than one) Workers are not fertile and can only lay drones. If they are only laying drones, the colony will die out, because drones don’t work. Since I didn’t want to open the hive and intervene, I was going have to sweat it out.
August 4, 2013…I see lots of bee activity and pollen going in. Is it possible my fears were unfounded?
Bee Beard Log Hive is an experiment in what happens with no intervention. I don’t medicate, miticide, or treat the bees with anything. That includes essential oils and powdered sugar. I don’t take any honey. These bees came from a myrtlewood tree last June. They’ve never even been smoked. We grow many bee-loving flowers, but I know that bees also go elsewhere for foraging. Is it possible the Varroa mite and deformed wing virus are still around? Of course…but as long as the bees can adapt, that’s as much as anyone can want. I guess I’ll know more by next spring, but right now they look good.
Bee Beard looked a little sharper last year when it finally got some bees.
Sex in the Backyard with a Pretty Yellow Blossom
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Birds Foot Trefoil pollination video, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Videos, tagged bee pollinating yellow vetch, bee sipping nectar, bee-loving flowers, beekeeping, honey bees, macro nature video, music video, Wild pollinators, yellow vetch on July 16, 2013| 8 Comments »
Who ever said plant biology was boring? Certainly not me after shooting this video.
When I shot this video I didn’t realize I was witnessing an intimate relationship between flower and bee. The pistil is still showing here, but in the video, the petals clamp shut soon after the bee moves on.
The flower provides the nectar to attract the bee. The bee lands on the flower, pulling the petals apart to reveal the pistil. The flower makes pollen available which the bee carries away.
Since this is my 100th blog, I wanted to do something special. I wanted to have some music in the background. Sweet Thunder, a quartet in Portland, graciously gave me permission to use one of their tunes called, “Blues in the Barn.” Kiera O’Hara, who composed the music, said “she wrote it when she lived on a tree farm in Michigan and her piano room was a refurbished nook in an old barn.” “We are a collaborative bunch, so the sound of my tunes on the disk is very much the result of that collaboration.”
Thank you Sweet Thunder for the sweet music.
The video shows the bee and flower cooperation. I never took biology in school, so I don’t know if they show this racy stuff, but this is an unrated Bee movie in the truest sense.
I was unsure what this blossom was. I thought it might be a yellow vetch, so I asked Morris Ostrofsky. Morris, a forty year beekeeper and scientist affiliated with the Oregon State Master Beekeeping Program positively identified this blossom as a Bird’s Foot Trefoil.
“The plant is indeed Birds Foot Trefoil. This plant ranks high on the bees’ favorite forage list. If you go back in some of the older bee publications, it was actually encouraged as bee forage. However, it’s no longer encouraged because it has been found to be invasive. However, the bees’ still love it.”
Blackberries, Bees, Clover and Thyme
Posted in Bee-loving flowers, Crab spider, Natural Beekeeping, Videos, tagged bee-loving flowers, beekeeping, Blackberries, Clover pollination, common privet, Cosmos, English Thyme, Erysimum, Escalonia, honey bees, macro nature video, macro photography, meadowfoam, natural beekeeping, nature photography, photography, pollinators, wallflower, Wild pollinators on July 8, 2013| 3 Comments »
Blackberries are considered to be Oregon’s largest nectar flow, starting mid to late June.
If you have clover in your yard, you have a ready excuse NOT to mow the lawn…“I’m just helping out the bees!”
We see hedges of Escallonia on our morning walks. If I bring a camera, it’s easy to get pictures.
It looked like this bee was ‘biting’ the pollen grains off the anthers. I slowed down the video to see better, but it’s soft on focus. Then the deer found it, now it’s gone.
Wallflower, (Erysimum) blooms all summer…and the Bumblebee, honeybees, and butterflies can be seen sipping nectar.
It took us a while to identify this moth. It’s a Ctenucha multifaria, appearing on our Echium tree, June 28, 2013. I couldn’t find any videos on this, so mine might have to be the first one.
Hyper-bees on Hypericum
Posted in Bee-loving flowers, Natural Beekeeping, Videos, tagged Bee on bee behaviour, Bee-havior, bee-loving flowers, Creeping St. John's Wort, Hidcote Hypericum, honey bees, Hypericum, Hypericum Calycinum, macro nature video, macro photography, natural beekeeping, pollinators, St. John's Wort on July 5, 2013| 4 Comments »
June 8, 2013 I feel like it ought to be stitched on my belt…”Seven bees on one blossom.”
This Hidcote hypericum, commonly called St. John’s Wort or Aaron’s Beard was given to us by my mother-in-law about 20 years ago. We never knew how much bees like it until recently, when we started keeping bees…but like it they do. I often stop to watch them in a frenzy hurriedly climbing over and through the anthers. Hidcote hypericum grows in a bush unlike the Hypericum Calycinum, Creeping St. John’s Wort, that grows along the ground.
Hypericum Calycinum on left…Hidcote Hypericum on right. I think the one on the left is much prettier, but I’ve never seen any honeybees on it. The Hidcote Hypericum grows in a big bush about 8+ feet wide by 8+ feet tall. (3 m x 3 m)
These two bees got into a disagreement over who gets to work the flower. I didn’t see it until I played the video on the laptop. The bee on the left was working the blossom first. I slowed down the action on the video so you could see it better.
I shot this short video to capture the action…
Another example of Bee-Havior and “Blossom Rights”
Bee sideswipes an innocent insect on side of crocus.
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 