I don't know what the situation has been in southern Ohio, but here in
NE Ohio we have not had ANY wild honeybees for about 5 to 7 years now.
I mean zero. They were all killed off by the varroa mite. In June the
white
clover flowers come out in my yard and they are IGNORED. (In olden times
there would be dozens of honeybees on them at all times; kids went
barefoot at their peril.) Nowadays if you see a honeybee in your yard it's
because there's a beekeeper nearby.

- Alex


On Tue, 29 Apr 2003 19:15:12 -0400, "JNJ" wrote:

Ok, I give -- where are all the bees?

I live in SW Ohio, Zone 6. EVERY year, without fail we have bees
galore --
honey bees mostly, but a fair smattering of bumbles as well. This year,
all
of my trees and plants bloomed beautifully. I let the grass and weeds
grow
in -- they all bloomed (the wild violets nearly covered my front yard --
it
was amazing). The Crab Apple had a HUGE display. In any other spring
season, these trees and plants are just COVERED with bees -- when we
walk
down the sidewalk to the cars, we have to dodge the bees they're so
plentiful.

This year, I have seen TWO bumble bees -- both of them inside my
parents'
house. That's it -- I have seen a few wasps, a few hornet/yellow jacket
types, and that's it. I've seen no pollinators at all. The trees have
lost
their blooms and are leafing out (if not already fully leafed out), the
weeds have lost their blooms, and the early blooming flowers are gone.

What one earth happened to the bees?