[Pollinator] FW: Bee observation

Wed Jun 12 13:01:34 PDT 2019

Greetings!

I will be out of the office from June 13th through June 23rd. I will be checking email but my response time will be a little slower. If you need a quick response, please call or text me at 402-327-1574.

Kind regards,
Louise

On Mar 26, 2019, at 12:29 PM, ahworkerb--- via Pollinator <pollinator at lists.sonic.net> wrote:

> All of the "pollen" stuff -- bird seed, sawdust, grain dust from livestock feed bins and such get carried back to the hive and then tossed out by housekeeping bees. Before screen bottom boards became popular (everything falls through them) I would get phone calls during winter months "Help! There's a bird living in my beehive because I can see the seed at the entrance!" No such hive-dwelling bird, just good bee housecleaners.
> 
> The "propolis" stuff -- partially dried paint, caulking, road tar, chewed chewing gum, and such is carried back to the hive and stuck where the bees need to stick propolis. It's difficult to find in the hive.
> 
> Ann Harman
> 
> Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect,
>  even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law. 
> Douglas Hofstadter, professor of cognitive science
>  
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Davis, Art <art.davis at usask.ca>
> To: kr at pollinator.org <kr at pollinator.org>; pollinator at coevolution.org <pollinator at coevolution.org>; bht1113 at aol.com <bht1113 at aol.com>
> Cc: Dee.Wilson at ul.com <Dee.Wilson at ul.com>
> Sent: Tue, Mar 26, 2019 12:56 pm
> Subject: Re: [Pollinator] FW: Bee observation
> 
> Hi there:
> 
> In case it is of interest, there's a review on this topic dealing with collection of non-pollen items into the pollen baskets of foraging honey bees, provided here:
> 
> D.E. Shaw (1990) The incidental collection of fungal spores by bees and the collection of spores in lieu of pollen.  BEE WORLD 71: 158-176.
> 
> Besides fungal spores, Shaw lists several non-pollen substances that may constitute most of the pollen loads of honey bees, including pollen substitutes, flour, bran, meal, crushed corn, saw dust, fine soil, coal dust, flakes of paint, tar, and tree gums (propolis).
> 
> 
> I agree that we seem to know very little about this foraging behaviour and the fate of most of these types of materials within the hive, for example.
> 
> Art Davis
> Dept of Biology
> Univ of Saskatchewan
> Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
> Canada   S7N 5E2
>  
> From: Pollinator <pollinator-bounces+art.davis=usask.ca at lists.sonic.net> on behalf of bht1113--- via Pollinator <pollinator at lists.sonic.net>
> Sent: March 25, 2019 6:53 PM
> To: kr at pollinator.org; pollinator at coevolution.org
> Cc: Dee.Wilson at ul.com
> Subject: Re: [Pollinator] FW: Bee observation
>  
> Honey bees gathering grain dust and other powdered materials, perhaps mistaken as "pollen", has been reported periodically for quite some time. A further explanation for such behavior and any identification of subsequent "utilization" of gathered materials as foodstuff have been incomplete. 
> Barry Thompson
> North Potomac, MD
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kelly Rourke <kr at pollinator.org>
> To: pollinator <pollinator at coevolution.org>
> Cc: Dee.Wilson <Dee.Wilson at ul.com>
> Sent: Wed, Mar 20, 2019 6:42 pm
> Subject: [Pollinator] FW: Bee observation
> 
> Fowarding for input
> -Kelly
>  
> From: Wilson, Dee [mailto:Dee.Wilson at ul.com] 
> Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2019 2:06 PM
> To: Kelly Rourke <kr at pollinator.org>
> Subject: Bee observation
> Importance: High
>  
> Hello Kelly,
>  
> I have been noticing unusual (at least in my observations) behavior my local honey bees. I reside a little Northwest of Pittsburgh, PA (Beaver county).
>  
> I have lived at the same residence for 16 years and have always had bird feeder in front of the kitchen window. Over the years I have seen many years where we have unseasonably warm weather in Jan and Feb on and off intermixed with snow up until April. I have seen honey bees to be out and about during these weird warm days in the middle of “winter”.
>  
> This is the first year that I have seen Honey Bees actually at my bird feeder. We get typical rain and/or moisture that soaks the mixed bird feed (cracked corn, millet, sunflower seeds, other) that sits in the “tray” portion of the bird feeder located on both sides of the feeder and the seed that is spilled on the ground. The Honey bees are densely congregated (a mass of them tightly packed) on both sides of the bird feeder where they are digging and tunneling under the seed and enter into the feeder itself where they become trapped. I have seen them licking the soggy cracked corn in the feeder trays and licking the “bird seed water” that collects in the feeder trays. I also see, simultaneously 30-40 bees scrounging the ground where all the seed has spilled. I have observed these honey bees rolling the soggy cracked corn as they lick all sides of the corn and then off to the next piece on the ground. I originally watched this behavior in beginning Feb. when it was warm and intermittently ever since on the warmer days in between the cold/snow days. It started out with the soggy bird feed, concentrating on licking the cracked corn only to now they are licking the dry corn. I have seen them fervently lick all of the “dust” (when dry) or the moisture (when wet) from the cracked corn that coats the corn and accumulated in the feeder trays and inside the feeder itself (mind you, they are tunneling under 3-4 inched of bird seed when they get stuck in the feeder, where they get exhauster/overheated and die if I am not home to see and let them out (I work, as most of us do, and am not home to save them all the time). 
>  
>  
> When the honey bees are buzzing and covering the ground licking the corn, others are all over the feeder covering both sides completely covering the lower 6-8 inches of the feeder itself to where you cannot see the feeder past all the bees. I have never seen this behavior ever (and I have kept several hives myself spanning over several years in the past and I have seen hungry bees before).
>  
> The birds do not like the bees and sit in the bushes until they leave and are upset they cannot access the feeder or the seed on the ground. Most times, the birds have to settle in for a several hour wait. The birds just sit there and look dumbfounded. This occurs during the warmest hours of the day when the bees are active. The bees all leave when the sun begins to set. I have observed this behavior more that 15 separate occasions starting in beginning Feb. to just as recent as last week. I do not know where the honey bees hail from, if they are a feral hive that has swarmed/split from a bee enthusiast or if they reside in a backyard hive.  I live very rural, farms/orchards. It is not uncommon for someone to keep a hive or two. If I knew where they came from, if it was a cultivated hive, I would tell him to feed his bees. Honey bees face enough hardships/problems without having to contend with a neglectful owner/”hobbyist”.
>  
>  
> Keep in mind, I am not worried over the birds…they will get over it.
> I tried leaving out a tray of sugar water on the ground below the feeder to help them out, however, they are only interested in licking the corn, soggy or dry and have not bothered with my “offerings”.
>  
>  
>  
> Has anyone else observed this behavior?
>  
> I imagine it has much to do with no blooms available during the winter months and they are desperate for nutrition and water?????
>  
> Can you circulate for additional comments? Answers? Or as a case of record or warning (to not neglect one’s bees)?
>  
>  
>  
> Thank you.
>  
> Dee Wilson
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
> From: Pollinator <pollinator-bounces+dwilson=chemadvisor.com at lists.sonic.net> On Behalf Of Kelly Rourke
> Sent: Monday, February 4, 2019 2:02 PM
> To: pollinator at coevolution.org
> Subject: [Pollinator] FW: announcement for listserv...
>  
> Abstract submission open for the 4th International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy!
>  
> The 4th International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy will be held at the University of California Davis, July 17-20 2019. The last time this was held, over 230 attendees from 14 countries attended this conference. The theme "Multidimensional Solutions to Current and Future Threats to Pollinator Health” will include sessions on host-pathogen interactions, pesticide impacts, climate change responses and resilience, novel quantitative approaches in pollinator ecology, and bee health in managed and urban lands. Keynote talks will be presented by Dr. Christina Grozinger (Penn State University, USA) and by Dr. Lynn Dicks (University of East Anglia, UK), with confirmed session lead speakers including Romina Rader (University of New England, Australia), Robert Paxton (Martin-Luther University, Germany), and Francisco Sánchez-Bayo (University of Sydney, Australia). This conference will include research on wild and managed bees, integrating policy information into multiple sessions of oral and poster presentations. We will actively promote participation by individuals at all career stages and dimensions of diversity.  
>  
> To register for the conference and submit abstracts for talks and posters, please visit our website: 
> https://honey.ucdavis.edu/pollinatorconference2019
> If you have any questions regarding the conference logistics, please contact Elizabeth Luu <Luu at caes.ucdavis.edu>.
>  
> 
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