View source for Bee

[[File:Bee collecting pollen from elder flowers.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Bee collecting pollen from elder flowers]]

== Help honey bees survive the winter ==
Honeybees are far and away the most important pollinator in today's agricultural landscape.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-rodale/help-honey-bees-survive-t_b_1835883.html Help honey bees survive this winter] Huffington Post - by Heather Mattila, assistant professor of natural sciences at Wellesley College</ref>

How can we help bees to survive the winter:
# Plant late bloomers - The article mentions [[aster]]s and [[goldenrod]]. In my garden i also sow [[phacelia]] and [[borage]] in late summer. They can blossom until late September. I also sow [[rapeseed]] and [[mustard]], which can blossom still much later.
# Avoid systemic pesticides.
# Encourage early spring blooms - For example flowering trees like [[maple]]s and [[willow]]s. I let my [[Brussels sprouts]] and [[kale]] stand until they blossom and these plants produce many flowers early in spring.

== Starting with a new model beehive ==
<gallery caption="" widths="170px" heights="120px" perrow="4">
File:Swarm of our bees 120602.JPG|A swarm with bees
File:Our new beehive 120616 (4).JPG|A new hive for a swarm of bees. The bees are fed through a jar with honey. For three days the swarm had to get used to their new home. Then they began flying out again and in one day they built two of these beautiful new combs, fixed to two of the laths. On the photo you see one of the combs. 
File:Our new beehive 120616 (1).JPG|This type of bee hive is simply a box with laths of 5 cm as cover. The bees build their honeycombs hanging to the laths.
File:Our new beehive 120616 (2).JPG|On top a bottle with honey to feed the bees during a few days after they got their new home.
File:Our new beehive 120616 (3).JPG|Bees making a new honeycomb. The wax is still colored white. Later the bees will bring pollen with in it carotene and this will give the wax its yellow color.
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Gardening courses]]
* [[Knowledge base:Gardening]]
* [[Pollination]]

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee Bee] Wikipedia
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive Beehive] Wikipedia
* [http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2012/07/bees-solve-complex-problems-faster-than-supercomputers-weekend-feature.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond+%28The+Daily+Galaxy+--Great+Discoveries+Channel%3A+Sci%2C+Space%2C+Tech.%29&utm_content=Google+Reader Bees Solve Complex Problems Faster Than Supercomputers] The Daily Galaxy
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollination Pollination] "Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction." - Wikipedia
* [http://jeresearchtopics.blogspot.com/2011/06/problem-of-pollination-decline.html The problem of pollination decline] Research Topics

=== Videos ===
<div style="float: right; padding:30px">{{#widget:youtube|id=H6jE3BEKJqs}}</div>


* [http://ecoversity.org/tv/tv-beekeeping.html Ecoversity TV - Beekeeping] In case you want to start keeping bees, this is a helpful series of videos. Practical and also with information that may be new to the experienced beekeeper. Shown is also a type of very simple box, top-bars hive, that you can easily make yourself and can be used as a beehive. Each video can be seen full screen by clicking on the link at the bottom of the video. That leads you to the video on YouTube. One of the videos in this series:





<br clear="all" />

=== Books ===
* [http://www.archive.org/details/acompleteguidet01whitgoog A complete guide to the mystery and management of bees (1852)] 81 pages, Internet Archive

==Comments==

{{#widget:Improved Facebook Comments

|appID={322309441168104}

|url={{fullurl:{{PAGENAME}}}}

|num=5

|width=650

}}

[[Category:Gardening]]
[[Category:Animals]]