New Bumble Bee Rearing Book published

[George Fergusson]

For those of you interested in rearing bumble bees, or just wanting to broaden your opportunities to get stung by something besides honey bees, there's a new book on the market, put out by the University of Minnesota Extension Service:

http://shop.extension.umn.edu/PublicationDetail.aspx?ID=1902

Befriending BumbleBees: A practical guide to raising local bumble bees

Producer/Author: Evans, E.; Burns, I.; Spivak, M.

Description: In "Befriending BumbleBees", you will learn how to raise your own colonies of bumble bees. This step by step guide provides you with all the information you will need to find, capture, house, and feed the next generation of bumble bees. Bumble bees are formidable pollinators, pollinating crops such as tomatoes, cranberries, blueberries, and squash, in addition to native wildflowers. Enjoy the benefits these bees can provide to your gardens and crops while helping to support native ecosystems by encouraging populations of these amazing bees. 76 pp. Full color. For beekeepers, gardeners, nature lovers, and anyone interested in pollinators.

It costs $19.99 I'm going to get me a copy.

[Chef Isaac]

getting stung by something different.... mmmmm. I LIKE IT :)

[Oldbee]

Thanks for the notice about that book G.F. I have been thinking about this because I see bumble bees inspecting some gopher holes and other inviting places near my patio while putting woodenware together.

[George Fergusson]

I've got a nest of bumbles in my attic, they found a way in through the attic vent which wasn't too hard since it fell off some years ago and there's just a gaping triangular hole up there at the peak :)

[MichaelW]

Thanks for the heads up, I'll check it out. I just read,

Title: HOW TO MANAGE THE BLUE ORCHARD BEE

avaliable free online here http://www.sare.org/publications/bob.htm
But suggest the paperback version for the excellent photos. I found it at our library. Here's the writeup,


Authors
item Bosch, Jordi - UTAH STATE UNIV.
item Kemp, William

Submitted to: Sustainable Agriculture
Publication Type: Book/Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: May 1, 2001
Publication Date: March 1, 2002
Citation: Bosch, J., Kemp, W.P. 2002. How to manage the blue orchard bee. Beltsville: Sustainable Agriculture. 88 p.

Interpretive Summary: This book explains how to raise blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria) populations for orchard pollination. The book starts with an overview of orchard pollination requirements, followed by a detailed account on the natural history of the blue orchard bee. The following chapters describe how to build nesting materials, and how to rear blue orchard bee populations, with emphasis on adequate temperature regimes for development, wintering and incubation. Field management is also covered, including distribution of nesting sites, release methods, timing of bee emergence with bloom, and bee densities needed for optimal pollination. The last chapters explain how to quantify blue orchard bee populations, and how to identify parasites, predators and other mortality factors. Information is provided on parasite control methods and how to enhance population increases in general.

[Parke County Queen]

I really like bumble bees and find them interesting. I had a nest in one of my flower beds last year and saw them all over the yard. I've seen them this year going into holes in our retaining wall. Thanks for the info. I plan on getting this book.

[xC0000005]

We had a bumble bee researcher speak at our last bee meeting and his take on "Rearing" bumble bees was fairly simple - you either get a queen in the spring during the first week when they emerge, or you put on a full bee suit and carefully dig up a nest. Fascinating creatures though, far better suited for cold weather than warm and living on thin margins throughout the life of a colony. A much more hectic society than that of the honeybee.

[Troy]

Has anyone found another source for the book? I too would like to buy it, but the source given shows it is not in stock.

Does anyone know of another source to get this book?

[BeeAware]

I have a couple of bumble bee houses that have a clear sub-lid so that you can watch the bees without fear of getting stung. The queen bumble bee moved into the homes in spring and set up housekeeping. The queen is the only bee to survive the winter, starting over in spring. They are very interesting to study and they are good greenhouse pollinators. I notice that the queen locates the brood nest in the rear and her honey house is near the front. The shelters I have are partitioned to accommodate this. I have sold a lot of these shelters to interested persons all over the US along with Mason Bee supplies. It is good that many are taking an interest in native pollinators as well as honeybees.

[MichaelW]

thanks for the tip George. I just read my copy. It looks like a lot of fun. I'm going to give it a go in the spring.

[Ben Brewcat]

Anyone know how I can get this book somewhere else? I can't get the website to sell me one even with cookies set :mad:.

[Aspera]

I bought mine from the U. of Minn. I read it and liked it but do not know if capturing queens is such a practical/ good idea in my area.

[Ben Brewcat]

Hey the website is working for me now, woohoo! Where does one get a queen, or do you have to dig them up locally?

[dcross]

Ever watch Spongebob? Think jellyfishing!

[Ben Brewcat]

No TV watching for this cat, though I considered seeing the movie with niece/nephews.

[dcross]

You catch'em with a butterfly net:)

[Troy]

I caught a rather large Bumble bee the day before yesterday. She is significantly larger than others that I have seen, and lucky me she did not have any pollen on her legs (which according to the book means she does not already have a nest)

I caught her outside about midnight on a piece of wax I had laying about. I guess it was sticky and smelled good, and she stopped to sniff about and the sun set and she got too cold to fly off. I scooped her up and put her in a screened enclosure. I have not made a pollen ball for her yet, but I'll try to do it tonight.

The flowers are starting to bloom, the days are getting longer now....... Looks like it is spring in FL. Get ready everyone, it will slowly make the crawl northward now. Today we had record high temps 85 and muggy. Great spring weather huh?

[aidah]

Thanks to Troy,I have purchased the book and am spending my afternoons hunting bumble Bees in the yard. If someone would have said that I would be doing this at this age, I would have said they were crazy. Thanks Troy for sharing this wonderful thing.

[dcross]

Normal is just a setting on the dryer!

[berkshire bee]

Just got my copy last week. Even if you don't plan on trying it, it's a very good iinformative book to read.

[Troy]

I caught a Queen A week ago and thanks to Aidah's hints on the pollen ball, I think she is laying eggs.

Does anyone one know the timeline of a Bumble Bee? How many days as an egg, and days as a larva, and days as a pupae till hatching.

Is there anything I can do to help this process along. Temperature, humidity, what do I do?

I bought and read Spivak's book, but it is lacking so many details. It amazes me that we know so much about honey bees and we know so little about our native bees.

[Keith Benson]

I caught a Queen A week ago and thanks to Aidah's hints on the pollen ball, I think she is laying eggs.


So, how is she doing?

Keith