Would you live next door to a beehive?

Sniipe

I know someone who is interested in getting a hive. He is thinking of setting up a bee hive of up to 60,000 bees. Would you like to live next door to a hive?

Remember, that bees are endangered and vital to agriculture, crops, pollination etc...

They can also sometimes sting...

Some stats from boyne valley

1. The honey bee has been around for 30 million years.
2. It is the only insect that produces food eaten by man.
3. Honey bees are environmentally friendly and are vital as pollinators.
4. Their latin name is - Apis mellifera.
5. They have 6 legs, 2 eyes, and 2 wings, a nectar pouch, and a stomach.
6. The honeybee's wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz.
7. A honey bee can fly for up to six miles, and as fast as 15 miles per hour, hence it would have to fly around 90,000 miles - three times around the globe - to make one pound of honey.
8. The average honey bee will actually make only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
9. It takes about 556 workers to gather 1 pound of honey from about 2 million flowers.
10. It takes one ounce of honey to fuel a bee's flight around the world.
11. A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip.
12. A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen.
13. Worker honey bees are female, live 6 to 8 weeks and do all the work.
14. The queen bee lives for about 2-3 years and is the only bee that lays eggs. She is the busiest in the summer months, when the hive needs to be at its maximum strength, and lays up to 2500 eggs per day.
15. The male honey bees are called drones, and they do no work at all, have no stinger, all they do is mating.
16. Each honey bee colony has a unique odour for members' identification.
17. Only worker bees sting, and only if they feel threatened and they die once they sting. Queens have a stinger, but don't leave the hive to help defend it.
18. It is estimated that 1100 honey bee stings are required to be fatal.
19. Honey bees communicate with one another by "dancing".
20. During winter, honey bees feed on the honey they collected during the warmer months. They form a tight cluster in their hive to keep the queen and themselves warm.

Fr_Dougal

No. I got stung by a bee once, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. Charged me €20 for a pit of honey.

GLaDOS

No because I don't think they integrate into the local community and have a reputation for anti-social behaviour.

mad turnip

when the hive needs to be at its maximum strength, and lays up to 2500 eggs per day.
The male honey bees are called drones, and they do no work at all, have no stinger, all they do is mating.

If you were this queen would you be happy or upset your the local bike?

Plazaman

Unbeelievable some of them facts. Deadly buzz.

And no, keep your buzzy jive ass stinging machines of death away from my house.

Slicemeister

So long as they were going out the door every morning to work and not bumming off the state, why not?

weisses

I'm fine as long as they don't take "our" jobs

Agent Smith

If I had my way I wouldnt live next door to neighbours!

Mr. Incognito

Without bees, we would die due to non pollination of crops.

I would take a hive over my present neighbours any day

Legs.Eleven

One of my favourite songs as a kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftywp1pJr5g

Sniipe

No (I like the idea, but not near me)

TheZohan wrote: »

Charged me €20 for a pit of honey.

Bargain

Muise...

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Add to your facts that beehives are only dangerous if you stand right in front of the door or open/move the hive aggressively. Otherwise the bees are happy out and the only one to get stung will be the beekeeper. Who won't mind as it doesn't hurt after a while. The orientation of the hive door is what keeps the bees and the people in the houses by the garden out of each others way.

Putting some of your facts together -bees don't hang around the garden/orchard/field where the hive is - as you said the workers travel miles for food, and the drones just hang around waiting to mate the queen, but they don't have a sting so no harm.

You mentioned the bee dance. It is the cleverest dance in the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7ijI-g4jHg

Ficheall

My parents have recently bought a couple of beehives. They're not near any neighbours though. It'll be interesting to see if they manage to get any honey out of them...

Barely There

ScienceNerd wrote: »

No because I don't think they integrate into the local community and have a reputation for anti-social behaviour.

You mean bee-haviour?

Jimoslimos

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Without bees, we would die due to non pollination of crops.

Whilst they are important pollinators this isn't completely true. Other insects can also pollinate (and more efficiently in some cases) but are usually wild and less easily controlled. Also many crops don't require the assistance of animal or insect pollination.

As to the the original question, no I wouldn't want to live next door to a beehive.....I want to have the beehive for myself in my back garden! I love bees, fascinating creatures!

Alf. A. Male

I'm allergic to their stings, so no, I wouldn't live next door to them, I might as well cut my own throat. Shame, 'cos I kinda like them and I would love the sound of the gentle buzzing as I sat in my garden if it wasn't akin to an incoming missile in terms of the damage it could do to me.

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Definitely! Bees are great.

I know it's wasps that are the evil fcukers but I'd still have that "run away screaming" instinct...

diomed

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Great bunch of lads.

Muise...

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Alf. A. Male wrote: »

I'm allergic to their stings, so no, I wouldn't live next door to them, I might as well cut my own throat. Shame, 'cos I kinda like them and I would love the sound of the gentle buzzing as I sat in my garden if it wasn't akin to an incoming missile in terms of the damage it could do to me.

Hope you have some epinephrine. :eek:

Macy0161

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Bees travel several km's to look for pollen, so I wouldn't be worried.

endacl

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Yeah. No bother. Already do.

wp_rathead

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Parents have bees, about 8 hives around the garden- long as u dont go near them they no bother

Alf. A. Male

Muise... wrote: »

Hope you have some epinephrine. :eek:

Nope. I carry nada. I like the thrill of living dangerously. I was gonna say I like the buzz of it, but that seems too obvious.

endacl

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

wprathead wrote: »

Parents have bees, about 8 hives around the garden- long as u dont go near them they no bother

And if you go near the hives...?

Muise...

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Alf. A. Male wrote: »

Nope. I carry nada. I like the thrill of living dangerously. I was gonna say I like the buzz of it, but that seems too obvious.

You like the adrenaline rush of not carrying adrenaline then?

solargain

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

If you go at the hives it ha the same effect as putting your hand in a dogs mouth. They think you are robbing their honey , I am sure if somebody was knocking on your door and annoying you , you would come out kind of annoyed as well. I have 7 hives around the house

Muise...

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

solargain wrote: »

If you go at the hives it ha the same effect as putting your hand in a dogs mouth. They think you are robbing their honey , I am sure if somebody was knocking on your door and annoying you , you would come out kind of annoyed as well. I have 7 hives around the house

Missed a trick there - a false porch and doorbell rigged up to open a hatch and release angry bees on canvassers and sundry cold callers.

Duggy747

Bees would be handy to get rid of people like the license inspector.

Me: "Sure, come inside and I'll show you my TV...........it's right around back.

Inspector: "Um....ok?"

Me: "There, right there."

Inspector: "But........tha......that's a beehive....."

Me: ".........exactly.........."

Inspector "Wait a min......"

Me: "Go........go my pretties, feed on him!!"

*BUZZ*

Inspector: "AAAaaaarrgghh!!......"

Me: "Sorry to be such a............buzz kill........mwa ha ha......."

Grayson

are they romanian bees?

323

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Defiantly. Nice to see them around.

Guessing there must be a wild hive relatively close by as it is as shake any of the Escallonia hedging anywhere round my garden and 10 or more rise out of it.

Don't know of kids or anyone being stung.

Seaneh

There are bee hives on rooftopsbin Dublin city centre with upwards of 70k per hive in some of them. They are being kept by people around the city to produce honey and help pollinate local parks and green areas.

GLaDOS

Barely There wrote: »

You mean bee-haviour?

I meant bee-hive iour

Bio Mech

solargain wrote: »

If you go at the hives it ha the same effect as putting your hand in a dogs mouth. They think you are robbing their honey

Eh? Are you trying to say that if you put your hand in a dogs mouth it thinks you are trying to rob its honey?

Mr. CooL ICE

Seaneh wrote: »

There are bee hives on rooftopsbin Dublin city centre with upwards of 70k per hive in some of them. They are being kept by people around the city to produce honey and help pollinate local parks and green areas.

That's awesome. Any more info about it, such as what buildings?

I watched a documentary about this kinda thing, but in London. It was highlighting how important and how harmless they are. Loads in the wild have died out and while they weren't 100% sure, they put it down to a lack of forests and abundance of agriculture.

jebuz

I really enjoyed the bee facts. What was the question again?

Jonny Blaze

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

As long as I can get some honey for my pic-a-nic baskets I wouldn't mind booboo.

lucylu

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

no problem with them at all as I have 2 beehives in the back garden.
There is alot more work to them than people think and this is swarming season

Seaneh

LordChessington wrote: »

That's awesome. Any more info about it, such as what buildings?

I watched a documentary about this kinda thing, but in London. It was highlighting how important and how harmless they are. Loads in the wild have died out and while they weren't 100% sure, they put it down to a lack of forests and abundance of agriculture.

Someone pointed one out to me near Stephens green, Kevin's street area, but no idea what the building is, just looked like offices and stuff. Told me the story. Kinda took it ar face value.

bpmurray

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Bes & wasps are very different: wasps are evil bastards while bees are way more interested in where the next drop of nectar is coming from to give a rats arse about you. A hive in the height of summer has upwards of 50000 busy little guys and, if they think they're about to run out of room, they'll create a new queen. The original queen heads off with half the hive and that's something to behold - a swarm looks really impressive, but you might not be happy if it's outside your door. Never fear, your neighbour will be only too delighted to take them back. Oh, and they don't usually sting while they're swarming (nothing to defend). In fact as someone pointed out above, they really only sting if you go out of your way to piss them off, usually by blocking their front door.

2 stroke

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

I grew up with 4 hives beside the house, was stung twice, both times within 24 hours of harvesting honey. I'd love to keep some hives myself but I don't think the neighbours would understand.

Pwindedd

Yes (But I'm still a bit worried)

I have been stung 11 times. I can recall every incident since my first stinging as a child. Bee or wasp - irrelevant - it hurts, I don't give a flying fcuk how important they are to our ecoshystem. I have made it a vocation in life to avoid anything of a black and yellow persuasion. Die you evil pollen ingesting mofo's.

cerastes

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

LordChessington wrote: »

That's awesome. Any more info about it, such as what buildings?

I watched a documentary about this kinda thing, but in London. It was highlighting how important and how harmless they are. Loads in the wild have died out and while they weren't 100% sure, they put it down to a lack of forests and abundance of agriculture.

I saw a documentary and it showed that a certain chemical in pesticides commonly used was the factor, but due to the importance of agriculture it wouldn't/couldn't be banned, although there are alternatives to bees pollinating (other insects), not sure if they are as effective.
I dont have a link for the programme, think it was on BBC, they showed how bees in cities (London I believe) were thriving, but those in the countryside were dying out or disappearing.

I believe they originally thought it was something infectious, fungal or infection due to chemicals limiting their ability to respond to infection as once an affected bee was introduced to a hive, the rest started dying off, Im sure it showed it affected their ability to navigate and return to the hive so they just died trying to find their way back, they had some radar (Lidar maybe?) thing looking at them and they were going all over the place erratically.

as for wasps, was doing some work near where loads of wasps were eating other insects, wasps never bothered me and they were all around. Wasps are as essential as bees, they have a place too,

so yes, I would live bee side a beehive (and rob their honey when they are out )

Skeleton XIII

Yes (But I'm still a bit worried)

Would you live next door to a beehive?

**** absolutely all of that sentence.

dark crystal

Yes (But I'm still a bit worried)

No effin' way. I'm terrified of them.

Muise...

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

shhh

Listen to the girl
As she takes on half the world
Moving up and so alive
In her honey dripping
beehive.

--LOS--

Sniipe wrote: »

Remember, that bees are endangered and vital to agriculture, crops, pollination etc...

They can also sometimes sting...

Some stats from boyne valley

1. The honey bee has been around for 30 million years.
2. It is the only insect that produces food eaten by man.

Not really true, if you see cochineal, carmine or shellac on food labels, that is crushed up insects, those are common food ingredients.


Why bees need to keep their honey......

Plants produce nectar to attract pollinators (bees, butterflies, bats, and other mammals), who are necessary for successful plant reproduction. Bees collect and use nectar to make honey, which provides vital nourishment for them, especially during the winter. Since nectar contains a lot of water, bees have to work to dry it out, and they add enzymes from their own bodies to convert it into food and prevent it from going bad.(12) A single worker bee may visit up to 10,000 flowers in one day and, in her lifetime, produce only one a teaspoonful of honey.

What's wrong with bee-keeping/honey.......

Without exception, all apiaries ORDER queen bees from an insect breeder as worker bees will not vomit (produce honey) if a queen isn't living in their community. When the queen arrives in the mail in a ventilated box, beekeepers rip off her wings to prevent her from flying away. Apiaries are not enclosed facilities

If given a chance, bees will use THEIR vomit as hive insulation, and food for themselves and for their babies! When bee communities no longer produce huge amounts of quality honey, they're killed off, new communities are created by the beekeepers, and the process starts all over again.

So you are worried about bees being endangered then don't buy products that contain honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly, propolis. Probably not much you can do about your neighbour owning a beehive. If you really are against it then don't buy the products.

_Redzer_

No (I am totally against living next to a hive)

Pwindedd wrote: »

I have been stung 11 times. I can recall every incident since my first stinging as a child. Bee or wasp - irrelevant - it hurts, I don't give a flying fcuk how important they are to our ecoshystem. I have made it a vocation in life to avoid anything of a black and yellow persuasion. Die you evil pollen ingesting mofo's.

How did you get stung 11 times?

I've been stung twice. Both times were my own fault, the latter was trying to trap a wasp with my hand on a window sill.

Wasn't the smartest of kids tbh.

Never been stung since. They only become agitated if you flail around the place, swatting at them. Let them by and you'll be grand.

Unless you're some sort of wasp aphrodisiac that explains why they're mad after you

--LOS--

I've never in my life been stung, I reckon most people get stung by their own fault

WilyCoyote

Only if it was on top of Dusty Springfield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCcYTv6Evoc

Pwindedd

Yes (But I'm still a bit worried)

_Redzer_ wrote: »

How did you get stung 11 times?

I've been stung twice. Both times were my own fault, the latter was trying to trap a wasp with my hand on a window sill.

Wasn't the smartest of kids tbh.

Never been stung since. They only become agitated if you flail around the place, swatting at them. Let them by and you'll be grand.

Unless you're some sort of wasp aphrodisiac that explains why they're mad after you

I don't rightly know the answer. The first time I was eating an ice cream on a beach. Wearing a flowery swimsuit. I was about 5 or 6 and it stung me under my arm. Screamed the place down. One got trapped in my car once and I was trying to shu it out the window, stung me. I've woken up to them on my pillow -horrifying. The last one I didn't even know it was there on my arm until it stung me. I must have some weird pheromone thing going on. Or they can sense my fear.