Thursday, July 7, 2011

No Bees

I haven't seen a honey bee once since winter. Usually they are thick on the Ligustrum shrubs out front when they bloom. Usually I'm bobbing and weaving as I pass the shrubs with the mower, dodging pissed off bees.
Even the red wasp population seems to be down (although a decline in the population of those aggressive effers does not bother me much). I was out back looking at the tomato plants noting many blooms and no fruit yet. Belle commented that we had no bees. Not good. A google search indicates the bee population is declining in a seriously bad way in the U.S. When I started this post, I was going to make a joke about having to get a Q-tip and fondling the blooms myself, but now that I think about it, that's not so funny. I think I am going to actually have to do that.

2 comments:

  1. Bees have been going down for a couple of years now. Its a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder - which is a fancy name for "we don't really know why the bees are struggling". I used to keep bees as a hobby. I've noticed more swarming in our area (north Texas) this year - so hopefully that's a good sign of a come back.

    As for the tomatoes, try thumping the blooms a couple of times a day with your finger. Do this lightly, 'cuz you don't want to knock the flowers off. Many Tomatoes are self polinated and if its too still near the plants the flowers won't wiggle around and take care of business themselves.

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  2. "won't wiggle around and take care of business themselves."

    *cough* I'll refrain from comment.

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