I just moved out of my apartment into a house, and for the last couple months I've noticed an alarming number of bees laying dead in the grass and all along the sidewalk out to my car. In response to CCD and WNS, I've decided with my new land to start a couple hives and (hopefully) kick-start a bat colony. This bee/bat die-off is a double wammy for agriculture - bees being the chief pollinators and bats beeing the chief pesticide.
I've ordered 6 lbs of bees and two queens and am currently building hives. As for the bat boxes, I have NO idea how to encourage a colony to live in my bat box, and the bat box plans i've seen online seem extrodinarily small and don't seem designed for much thermal insulation. I live about 30 miles West of Houston- does anyone have any recommendation for plans specific to the region/typical regional bat or any tips on how to encourage a sizeable sustainable colony? Unfortunately you can't order 6 lbs of bats that I'm aware of... -B On Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 5:35 PM, Dave H. Crusoe <[email protected]>wrote: > As a beekeeper (in a residential part of CT), I can attest to the > destructive might of pesticides on hives. > > Two points of information - first, I'm not convinced of any link between > WNS and CCD (colony collapse disorder); and second, bee hives are also tough > to overwinter in cold places (we lost 1 of 3 hives). > > With that said, our neighbors routinely spray ethylmethyl-badstuff on their > grass and flower beds (to rid themselves of ticks). While the pesticide > doesn't do much to disappear ticks, we typically notice significant colony > collapse (20-50% or so) after sprayings, unless we cover the hives during > and after (until after the next rain). Our state agricultural agency has > little control over what people do/don't spray, and mentioned this gross > pesticide as a possibility. There's little they can do to help. > > Swinging back to bats, and keeping OT, Thomas Kunz mentioned (2009 > presentation to us @ Boston Grotto) some research indicated a massive > die-off (50% or so) of moths and other insects in NY that might a) be due to > pesticide spraying for west nile and b) result in a huge reduction of bats' > available food supply. > > However, since my memory has been negatively impacted by the > pesticide-laden honey I've been eating, I'll do my best to find & post a > link to the presentation so that it's not heresay. > > ... erm... what was I writing about again? > --Dave > > > > > > > > > > > > On Mar 24, 2010, at 11:32 AM, Mark Minton wrote: > > Forward from another list. Not directly caving related, but >> potentially related to White Nose Syndrome. There are a scary number of >> pesticides out there! >> >> Mark Minton >> >> We all know the bee die offs started about the same time as white nose >>> appeared. Back then Tom Barton became really curious if it was a new >>> pesticide that was contributing to the problem. A new pesticide link has >>> been found with the Bee die offs. Not saying this is a silver bullet in the >>> coffin, but something is making this fungus supper lethal. >>> >>> For the curious, my normal honey supplier lost his hives over the winter >>> along with one of my neighbors who lost all her hives. To quote her, her >>> hives failed to thrive last summer. >>> >>> >>> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100324/ap_on_sc/us_food_and_farm_disappearing_bees >>> >>> Some notable quotes: >>> >>> MERCED, Calif. – The mysterious 4-year-old crisis of disappearing >>> honeybees is deepening. A quick federal survey indicates a heavy bee die-off >>> this winter, while a new study shows honeybees' pollen and hives laden with >>> pesticides. >>> >>> snip... >>> >>> Among all the stresses to bee health, it's the pesticides that are >>> attracting scrutiny now. A study published Friday in the scientific journal >>> PLOS (Public Library of Science) One found about three out of five pollen >>> and wax samples from 23 states had at least one systemic pesticide — a >>> chemical designed to spread throughout all parts of a plant. >>> >>> snip... >>> >>> Bayer Crop Science started petitioning the agency to approve a new >>> pesticide for sale in 2006. After reviewing the company's studies of its >>> effects on bees, the EPA gave Bayer conditional approval to sell the product >>> two years later, but said it had to carry a label warning that it was >>> "potentially toxic to honey bee larvae through residues in pollen and >>> nectar." >>> >>> -Kevin >>> >> >> Please reply to [email protected] >> Permanent email address is [email protected] >> >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com >> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] >> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] >> >> > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit our website: http://texascavers.com > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > > -- Brian Riordan 979-218-8009 (Mobile) [email protected]
