Bees Please

**trolleydriver** 7/8/2016, 3:04 pm

I've got a whole bunch of bees on my Acorn Squash plants, especially inside the flowers.

Bees Please IMG_2136_zpsrunah7ru

CLICK the two photos below to see short videos.

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At the front of the house we have this little garden between the driveway and the walkway. It is full sun, hot and dry, location. We have "ground bees" living in the soil in this garden. The cluster of Marigolds came from plants that I started from seed indoors. I think we planted six. They love this sunny spot.
Bees Please IMG_2143_zpsmrtkobzp

yolos 7/8/2016, 4:23 pm

Wow, that is a whole lot of bees in your squash flowers. Hope you have males and female flowers.

**trolleydriver** 7/8/2016, 7:51 pm

yolos wrote:Wow, that is a whole lot of bees in your squash flowers. Hope you have males and female flowers.

Looks like I have a baby squash growing.

Bees Please IMG_2148_zps59sxqd7g

**Scorpio Rising** 7/9/2016, 8:24 pm

Nice, TD! Pollinators lovin the blooms!

Pollinator 7/11/2016, 8:03 pm

Looks like you are furtunate to have squash bees (Peponapis sp.). These solitary bees are squash specialists, who work very few species of blossoms, all in the squash family. They are slightly smaller than honey bees, and live in the ground. If you know where they nest, be sure not to disturb that location by tillage, or covering. They will be with you year after year. Squash bees are highly sensitive to pesticides, so many areas no longer have them.

**trolleydriver** 7/11/2016, 8:10 pm

Thanks Pollinator for that information. Concerning where these bees nest I mentioned the following in a previous post:

"At the front of the house we have this little garden between the driveway and the walkway. It is full sun, hot and dry, location. We have "ground bees" living in the soil in this garden. ... "

Pollinator 7/11/2016, 8:52 pm

Are the "ground bees" the same kind as you see on the squash blossoms? It's good to know where your squash bees come from - but there are many more species of bees that nest in the ground. So take a close look to see if they are the same.

**trolleydriver** 7/11/2016, 9:02 pm

Pollinator wrote:Are the "ground bees" the same kind as you see on the squash blossoms? It's good to know where your squash bees come from - but there are many more species of bees that nest in the ground. So take a close look to see if they are the same.

I'll have to check on that. We had the ground bees last year as well.

**Scorpio Rising** 7/11/2016, 9:45 pm

Yeah, some ground bees are really wasps and very aggressive....those in the squash look nice....fuzzy.

Pollinator 7/12/2016, 12:01 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:Yeah, some ground bees are really wasps and very aggressive....those in the squash look nice....fuzzy.

Yellow jackets and bumble bees often nest in the ground. These are colonial species, and they will defend their nests. (That's not aggression; that's defensiveness.)

But none of the hundreds of solitary wasp and bee species are defensive. Even the huge cicada killer wasps that frighten people a lot, are quite laid back, and will not sting unless captured in hand.

**Scorpio Rising** 7/12/2016, 9:21 pm

Pollinator wrote:
Scorpio Rising wrote:Yeah, some ground bees are really wasps and very aggressive....those in the squash look nice....fuzzy.

Yellow jackets and bumble bees often nest in the ground. These are colonial species, and they will defend their nests. (That's not aggression; that's defensiveness.)

But none of the hundreds of solitary wasp and bee species are defensive. Even the huge cicada killer wasps that frighten people a lot, are quite laid back, and will not sting unless captured in hand.

Interesting distinction! Thanks, pollinator....I am learning every day about these amazing creatures. We

The only bad things I have personally had happen to me with stinging things is being chased into the house by a line of angry yellow jackets when weed wacking. Stung once.

And when I was 9, my friend and I were riding bikes and he hit a hornet's nest up in a tree with a big stick while riding his bike by, I was behind him....and the swarm came out, immediately targeted him, and he got stung 11 or 13 times, had to be taken to the ER, it was super scary! Hornets are ..... Aggressive.

hammock gal 7/13/2016, 6:05 pm

In my experience, yellow jackets, wasps and hornets are almost always aggressive...just miserable. But honey bees and bumblebees will mind their own business, and I've never had a problem with either of them. This year, I've got bumblebees in my flowers, but the perovskia, which is usually covered in honey bees...has none. I keep watching, but I haven't seen any yet. :-(

**Scorpio Rising** 7/13/2016, 10:13 pm

Tons of bumbles, very few honeybees here....

Pollinator 7/15/2016, 7:38 pm

Generally, if you have honey bees, you have a beekeeper nearby. If that beekeeper has moved, retired, or quit keeping bees, you may have to attract a new beekeeper to the neighborhood. - or keep them yourself.

**AtlantaMarie** 7/16/2016, 6:24 am

The closest bee keeper I know of is a good 5 miles away... But I am seeing several honey bees. They really like my white clover.

**trolleydriver** 7/28/2016, 2:21 pm

Beehive jar ... a new form of canning.

http://www.handimania.com/diy/beehive-jar.html

**sanderson** 7/28/2016, 3:15 pm

Clever. It seems that the jars should be covered to keep from solarizing (heating up).

**trolleydriver** 7/28/2016, 3:21 pm

sanderson wrote:Clever. It seems that the jars should be covered to keep from solarizing (heating up).

In the video he puts a cover box over the jars.

**sanderson** 7/28/2016, 3:33 pm

Ah, ha. I didn't watch the video. Embarassed

**AtlantaMarie** 7/28/2016, 4:28 pm

I'm in the wrong business! $35 for a quart of honey??!!

Too bad DH is allergic to bee stings.....

**camprn** 7/29/2016, 4:08 pm

AtlantaMarie wrote:I'm in the wrong business! $35 for a quart of honey??!!

Too bad DH is allergic to bee stings.....

Quart of honey is about 3#. So a little more than $10/lb. That's a good price.

**AtlantaMarie** 7/29/2016, 8:32 pm

I can get it from a guy here for $14.50/qt. And it does help my allergies!

Hey, CampRN - have you guys got any tupelo honey up there? We apparently had a really bad tupelo season and no one has that type of honey...

hammock gal 7/30/2016, 11:34 am

I am finally noticing honeybees on my perovskia! (Russian sage) After worrying that none would show up this year, they're finally here. I'm glad because I bought 6 more of them, because I love their smell...and the bees.
Bees Please 2636062189

**camprn** 7/30/2016, 11:37 am

AtlantaMarie wrote:I can get it from a guy here for $14.50/qt. And it does help my allergies!

Hey, CampRN - have you guys got any tupelo honey up there? We apparently had a really bad tupelo season and no one has that type of honey...

Tupelo trees do not grow this far north.

**AtlantaMarie** 7/30/2016, 4:45 pm

Huh... Okay, file that under "learned something new today." Thanks.

And good luck at the fair!!

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