[ExI] Bees again

[BillK]

On Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 8:07 PM, spike wrote:
> OK cool, I found a dead bumblebee, have her remains in a jar to see if A.
> borealis larvae appear in the jar in a few days.
>
> Here's an interesting signal: of the local bees, I would estimate about 5%
> or less of all bees observed are bumblebees, or rather all the non-swarming
> bees combined: bumblebees, carpenter bees, stingless pollinators, all the
> solitaries combined, everything that isn't a honeybee, about 5%.  But now I
> think of all those I have seen dead or in the process of expiring, the
> percentage is way higher than 5%, more like about 20 percent.  But I hadn't
> really noted it until today, so henceforth I shall count how many and try to
> identify the type.
>
>


I don't think you'll have any luck.  The parasites are attacking
honeybees. The die-off in bees seems to be mostly honeybees. I think I
remember reading that other bees are relatively unaffected. But they
are also not as good at making honey as honeybees.


BillK