We at Gipson's Golden would not be here today without the honeybee. We care a great deal about their crisis and solutions. We promise you share as much information with you as possible.
Below is the newest problem facing California honeybees.
Not all plants are safe for all pollinators.
There are more than 3500 species of solitary bees in North America, also called native bees. However, several native California plants have pollen or nectar that is poisonous to honeybees, which are nonnative. (The oldest honey bee fossils have been found in Europe. But it's thought that honey bees came from South and Southeast Asia, and the Philippines. There are seven living species of honey bees, and all but one is native to the previously mentioned areas). Some harmful wild land species include; corn lilies, death camas, and the locoweeds. A bigger problem falls on the urban or suburban bees. The California buckeye (aesculus californica) can be fatal to a hive. Fortunately, native bees are immune, as are other major pollinators of the buckeye. The tree’s large shinny seeds are so loaded with toxins that few animals attempt to eat them. It’s said that California Indians would ground the seeds into a powder that they used to stun the fish for easy capture. It’s not clear which chemical is the nasty ingredient in the buckeye, or whether both the pollen and nectar are toxic.
What happens when a colony gets “buckeyed,” as the beekeepers say? The foraging worker bees don’t succumb right away, but with cumulative exposure develop paralysis-like symptoms and fatal constipation. A buckeye-fed queen may stop laying eggs, or produce only male (drone) eggs. The eggs she lays may fail to hatch, or the larvae die in infancy. Those that develop into new queens or workers have malformed wings and bodies, and the workers don’t attempt to forage. Eventually, the queen may be dethroned. Buckeye honey appears not to poison the bees.
The good news is that a buckeyed hive can recover if it’s moved away from the trees early. Research also indicates that some honeybee varieties, including Italian X Carniolan hybrids, are more resistant than others. Information suggests that the effects are worse in dry years, when few other plants are blooming and the bees get a concentrated dose of buckeye. Unfortunately, California is prone to long periods of drought, which has caused problems over the past 30 years. 2009 is the third year of drought in California.
The honeybees are facing a worldwide crisis beyond this single problem of poisonous buckeye. Honeybees are simply the greatest source of pollinators and a means of life for millions. Between poisonous pesticides, mites, different viruses, meager government assistance, Africanized bees, lack of water and floral and human incompetence, the necessary species of the honeybees are in danger. It’s time to educate and save the bees.
Cited from “The Dirt” by Joe Eaton and Ron Sullivan
Thank you for supporting Gipson's Golden.
Below is the newest problem facing California honeybees.
Not all plants are safe for all pollinators.
There are more than 3500 species of solitary bees in North America, also called native bees. However, several native California plants have pollen or nectar that is poisonous to honeybees, which are nonnative. (The oldest honey bee fossils have been found in Europe. But it's thought that honey bees came from South and Southeast Asia, and the Philippines. There are seven living species of honey bees, and all but one is native to the previously mentioned areas). Some harmful wild land species include; corn lilies, death camas, and the locoweeds. A bigger problem falls on the urban or suburban bees. The California buckeye (aesculus californica) can be fatal to a hive. Fortunately, native bees are immune, as are other major pollinators of the buckeye. The tree’s large shinny seeds are so loaded with toxins that few animals attempt to eat them. It’s said that California Indians would ground the seeds into a powder that they used to stun the fish for easy capture. It’s not clear which chemical is the nasty ingredient in the buckeye, or whether both the pollen and nectar are toxic.
What happens when a colony gets “buckeyed,” as the beekeepers say? The foraging worker bees don’t succumb right away, but with cumulative exposure develop paralysis-like symptoms and fatal constipation. A buckeye-fed queen may stop laying eggs, or produce only male (drone) eggs. The eggs she lays may fail to hatch, or the larvae die in infancy. Those that develop into new queens or workers have malformed wings and bodies, and the workers don’t attempt to forage. Eventually, the queen may be dethroned. Buckeye honey appears not to poison the bees.
The good news is that a buckeyed hive can recover if it’s moved away from the trees early. Research also indicates that some honeybee varieties, including Italian X Carniolan hybrids, are more resistant than others. Information suggests that the effects are worse in dry years, when few other plants are blooming and the bees get a concentrated dose of buckeye. Unfortunately, California is prone to long periods of drought, which has caused problems over the past 30 years. 2009 is the third year of drought in California.
The honeybees are facing a worldwide crisis beyond this single problem of poisonous buckeye. Honeybees are simply the greatest source of pollinators and a means of life for millions. Between poisonous pesticides, mites, different viruses, meager government assistance, Africanized bees, lack of water and floral and human incompetence, the necessary species of the honeybees are in danger. It’s time to educate and save the bees.
Cited from “The Dirt” by Joe Eaton and Ron Sullivan
Thank you for supporting Gipson's Golden.
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