Bee at home.

[Mr. Whippy]

Don't know about the Chinese,  but the other is something called Colony Collapse Syndrome.

The cause(s) are obscure, but the syndrome happens almost exclusively to commercial apiaries which travel around with hives for pollinating services.  Parasitic load, stress and  disorientation are all thought to play a role.

Our bees will just be homebodies. 

[J-sews]

Ahh, that rings true. This is a major fruit growing area. We've got orchards stretching for 40 miles in every direction.


 




So with (almost) no commercial hives anymore, how are the fruit trees getting pollinated?

[Mr. Whippy]

Wild pollinators. Solitary bees.  "Feral" honeybees.   Some orchardists are keeping hives and solitary bees.

But your point is a good one.  Poor pollination causes decreased crops and malformed fruit.  There's a real concern about this in the agricultural community.

[Grant Lamontagne]

So with (almost) no commercial hives anymore, how are the fruit trees getting pollinated?

This guy is doing most of it....



Def

[Benner]

I'd been told that bee-keepers rarely get stung. I wondered how true it was

I have a somewhat irrational hatred of wasps. I generally am a "live and let live" kind of guy, but wasps must be destroyed. Tennis racquets are good for wasp control.

Nasty, nasty, nasty (the wasps, not me )

LOL same here.    After I got stung last time I vowed to destroy any that entered my house or place of work (or car if I'm unlucky).