Finally, a honey bee

We normally have lots of honey bees, but this year had not seen any. We have hornets & bumble bees that are doing a good job of pollinating, but I was really worried about the honey bees & today I finally saw one!

Hi Dixie, Has it been unusually cold or something? or maybe the little guys were just slacking on the job! nice pix !

Weather has been warmer than usual, don't know what happened to them, I just hope they are back to stay.

Dixie, we have a huge old walnut tree near our garden which is a bee tree. Normally we have bees everywhere, but this year they are scarce in my garden, too. I see them buzzing around the entrance to their tree, but I didn't see any in my orchard when it was in bloom, even though the huge redbud tree in my backyard was swarming with them at the time. I saw them in my front yard when the white clover was blooming.

They seem to be very picky this year regarding their diet, and are turning up their little bee noses at my garden and orchard.

Apparently something is pollinating our crops, though. Must be all the squash bugs, striped cucumber beetles, and aphids.

Yes, I was thinking this morning that I usually have lots & lots of flowers in this year's garden spot & maybe they are mad at me about that. You are probably right about the bad bugs doing all the hard work.

I called my county extension agent yesterday about if they offered beekeeping courses & they don't, but the local beekeeper's club meets monthly at their office & I may go to one of those. I had been thinking about setting up a hive just for pollination. I have zilch experience with bees & don't really care about the honey, but don't know if you can set up a hive & just let it do it's thing.

Probably not. There are several diseases and mite infestations hitting the bee populations now, and beekeepers are really having a hard time keeping their hives alive. We used to have hives, and my brother was a beekeeper for a while, but now we just have the bee tree. In summer I can smell the honey when I walk around the base of the tree. The bees usually send a swarm from it each year to start a new home but I haven't found any new locations.

You might check with local beekeepers to see if any want to place a hive at your house. Many of them have trouble finding enough locations. There is a young couple in our area who plan to place several near our pond when they get their hives going. Beekeepers usually share honey with those who allow them to place hives on their property. I'm happy to have them here just for the pollination, but raw, local honey is always welcome. A couple of spoons a day really help with seasonal allergies.

"You might check with local beekeepers to see if any want to place a hive at your house."

Good idea & I just might attend the July beekeeper's meeting.

I'm going to see about this too. I've seen one bee this year and none last year its sad.