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To those of you that are concerned about the status of bees and their supposed disappearance -- would you please get the memo to the bee hive that just moved into a wall of my Nanawale house's master bedroom?
We had them removed today (without killing them) and got pounds of honey from it. Unfortunately, we had to make some major holes in the walls to get the hive out. We had a queen so somewhere in Puna there's a very happy beekeeper.
John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Island Trust Properties, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com
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John, if they were in the wall, how'd ya know it?
Oh yeah and...yummmm.
I saw a bee in my car the other day (wasn't driving...just got home) and thought it was a good thing.
Carrie
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Oh, man , John... you know I am a scrounger for EVERYTHING... coulda used bees for my ochard... hehehehehe.
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Are there orchard mason bees in Hawaii?
Brian
Aloha pumehana,
Brian and Mary
Lynnwood, WA\Discovery Harbour
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When you walked into the master bedroom, you could hear the wall buzzing (and could see them going to-and-fro from a tiny spot near the roof). There were THOUSANDS of them.
John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Island Trust Properties, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com
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quote:
Are there orchard mason bees in Hawaii?
Brian, I checked the HEAR site (Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk Project) and Orchard Mason Bees Osmia lignaria don't show up in the search. There are many subspecies of honey bees Apis mellifera that have been introduced to the Islands starting in 1857: German dark, Italian, Carnolians, Caucasians, etc. It's likely that orchard mason bees were not introduced because there has been a ban on bee imports since around 1908. The ban was to protect the blossoming bee industry in Hawai'i.
Interestingly, honey bees were first brought to the Big Island by the Kona Coffee farmers in the 1890's, but that effort was abandoned. Soon afterward the cattle industry picked up on the use of Italian honey bees to pollinate Kiawe (aka Mesquite, Algaroba) which produced beans that were nutritious cattle feed. Probably not by coincidence, algaroba is native to Italy.
You can read more in an interesting account of the honey bee industry in Hawaii at the URL below. There's a lot about the recent industry development in the Puna district! It even mentions people by name who started with bee removal businesses and moved on to just maintaining hives. Pollination is of high value to many crops like Macadamia nuts.
http://www.hawaiibeekeepers.org/history.php
The HEAR site notes a cuckoo bee, of which family the Sonoran Carpenter Bee is shown. I don't know if this is a significant pollinator. If this is like the big black carpenter bee, they're solitary and don't form hives.
And there are native bees, too. These are probably not considered "valuable" to the bee industry, but are important components of the native forests. These are referred to as yellow-faced bees & plasterer bees (Colletidae family) and there are about 63 endemic species. These are also solitary.
Edited by - Les C on 06/06/2007 12:12:08
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John, thought of you, reading the Sat June 9 "Close to Home" cartoon this morning:
http://www.gocomics.com/closetohome/
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Not too bad a song. I've never even heard of them before.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
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John!! Who did you use to get rid of bees! We have a huge nest in our carport above our washer/dryer. It was not there till May timeframe. Timing is everything, my renters are coming in next week! We are located in Nanawele Estates. Any suggestions? Terminix? Local bee catcher? Need contact info please? Mahalo! Lika
Lika
Lika
"To err is human, to forgive divine"
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