Apiculture...

Damocles

Damocles

Accedo!
Staff member
While I am going about and working on getting funding, etc for a Pizzeria, my wife is getting interested in beekeeping.

She thinks that we should enter into this rewarding and sometimes painful endeavor.

Does anybody know if I can get my kids tested for allergies to bee stings beforehand so I can be reasonably assured that if they get stung it will only cause the usual discomfort?
 
Beekeeping is cool, I was talking to my uncle about getting into it a few weeks ago.
He was into it for years.
 
study up on it, it is not a simple thing if you are successful at it.

Lots of bee pests and some diseases and such. Bees even get hives!
 
uscitizen said:
study up on it, it is not a simple thing if you are successful at it.

Lots of bee pests and some diseases and such. Bees even get hives!
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We'd mostly be doing it for the hobby and to learn.

Basically we are currently aiming at learning skills that can keep us totally self-reliant if the stuff hit the fan.

I've been working on growing stuff. My newest attempt is popcorn...

We have the goats, we'll probably get some chickens soon, as well as the bees...
 
Bees are quite smart in their own way.
My uncle and I put some alc in a jar and put a drone in there and got him drunk. the hive would not let him in until he had sobered up.
 
Do you milk the goats ?

goats were really big here until the goat subsidy money ran out :) not nearly as many now.
Maybe just make cheese and peperoni for you pizzas ?
 
I was going around and explaining what it was about to my neighbors so they may watch for certain things (like swarms that I didn't catch beforehand) and I found that many people are afraid of bees. To the point of ridiculosity...

I may be unable to set up my mini-apiary at this time because the neighbors might kill all my bees...
 
uscitizen said:
Do you milk the goats ?

goats were really big here until the goat subsidy money ran out :) not nearly as many now.
Maybe just make cheese and peperoni for you pizzas ?
Click to expand...
Of course. That will be another step, seeing how to make cheese.

I sell the milk to weird people who prefer it to cow milk.
 
Damo, you can have the kids tested by the doctor for allergies to bee venom.

The problem with reactions to bee stings, however, is that the sensitivity that produces an anaphylactic response (hives, swelling, breathing difficulties) is cumulative, and its onset is difficult if not impossible to predict. In other words a vulnerable person might show a typical swelling today and next week might have a fullblown asthma-like reaction. This usually happens, though, only if the person suffers several stings at the same time. If they're adequately protected when around the bees and aren't vulnerable to the venom the kids should be fine. Oh, yeah, you too. :p I'd be sure, though, to keep a supply of epinephrine on hand and get your doctor to instruct you and your family on how to use it in an emergency.

Hope this helps.
 
Thorn said:
Damo, you can have the kids tested by the doctor for allergies to bee venom.

The problem with reactions to bee stings, however, is that the sensitivity that produces an anaphylactic response (hives, swelling, breathing difficulties) is cumulative, and its onset is difficult if not impossible to predict. In other words a vulnerable person might show a typical swelling today and next week might have a fullblown asthma-like reaction. This usually happens, though, only if the person suffers several stings at the same time. If they're adequately protected when around the bees and aren't vulnerable to the venom the kids should be fine. Oh, yeah, you too. :p I'd be sure, though, to keep a supply of epinephrine on hand and get your doctor to instruct you and your family on how to use it in an emergency.

Hope this helps.
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One of the neighbors is highly allergic. The problem with having the apiary is that, even if it isn't one of my bees they'll blame them anyway.

Just like if I catch all my swarms before they move and set them up in a home, if there is a natural swarm they'll blame me again.

I wouldn't mind that, but the highly allergic neighbor blaming me for stings would be annoying.
 
Damocles said:
One of the neighbors is highly allergic. The problem with having the apiary is that, even if it isn't one of my bees they'll blame them anyway.

Just like if I catch all my swarms before they move and set them up in a home, if there is a natural swarm they'll blame me again.

I wouldn't mind that, but the highly allergic neighbor blaming me for stings would be annoying.
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Well, he shouldn't really be at risk. Honeybees aren't aggressive by nature, I understand. It would be a bad idea to swat at one, but they're not likely to go anywhere near the neighbor, are they? Then again, if he's that type ... I can see your point in being concerned.
 
Thorn said:
Well, he shouldn't really be at risk. Honeybees aren't aggressive by nature, I understand. It would be a bad idea to swat at one, but they're not likely to go anywhere near the neighbor, are they? Then again, if he's that type ... I can see your point in being concerned.
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Well, they range about 4 miles or so, so yeah. It is likely my bees would cross his property on occasion. It is unlikely that they would be any more dangerous to him than "wild" bees.
 
May 7, 3:22 PM EDT

Survey shows US honey bee deaths increased over last year

By JULIANA BARBASSA
Associated Press Writer


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A survey of bee health released Tuesday revealed a grim picture, with 36.1 percent of the nation's commercially managed hives lost since last year.

Last year's survey commissioned by the Apiary Inspectors of America found losses of about 32 percent.

As beekeepers travel with their hives this spring to pollinate crops around the country, it's clear the insects are buckling under the weight of new diseases, pesticide drift and old enemies like the parasitic varroa mite, said Dennis vanEngelsdorp, president of the group.

This is the second year the association has measured colony deaths across the country. This means there aren't enough numbers to show a trend, but clearly bees are dying at unsustainable levels and the situation is not improving, said vanEngelsdorp, also a bee expert with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

"For two years in a row, we've sustained a substantial loss," he said. "That's an astonishing number. Imagine if one out of every three cows, or one out of every three chickens, were dying. That would raise a lot of alarm."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DISAPPEARING_BEES?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
 
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