Competition starts: 9 July 2007
Closing date: 9 August 2007

Sugar Puffs are giving away a young gardener start up kit to raise
awareness of the fact that the bee population has fallen by 80%.

Prize: Garden starter kit, including tools for the young gardener, an
outdoor beanbag so you can watch your garden grow, vouchers for seeds
and plants plus a honey hamper, full of honey-sweet goodies.

link: http://www.raisingkids.co.uk/comp/honey.asp

wrote in message
ups.com...
Competition starts: 9 July 2007
Closing date: 9 August 2007

Sugar Puffs are giving away a young gardener start up kit to raise
awareness of the fact that the bee population has fallen by 80%.

It hasn't.

Mary

In reply to Mary Fisher ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

wrote in message
ups.com...
Competition starts: 9 July 2007
Closing date: 9 August 2007

Sugar Puffs are giving away a young gardener start up kit to raise
awareness of the fact that the bee population has fallen by 80%.

It hasn't.

:-)

There was a decent article on the "problem" on R4 yesterday afternoon, from
the State. They reckon because of their dwindling population of indigenous
bees there are a great many crops that they can no longer sustain.

And the killer bees are back, apparently. But not like in the film of that
name.

In reply to Uncle Marvo ) who wrote
this in , I, Marvo, say :

In reply to Mary Fisher ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

wrote in message
ups.com...
Competition starts: 9 July 2007
Closing date: 9 August 2007

Sugar Puffs are giving away a young gardener start up kit to raise
awareness of the fact that the bee population has fallen by 80%.

It hasn't.

:-)

There was a decent article on the "problem" on R4 yesterday
afternoon, from the State. They reckon because of their dwindling
population of indigenous bees there are a great many crops that they
can no longer sustain.
And the killer bees are back, apparently. But not like in the film of
that name.

For the State, read The States!

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
...
In reply to Mary Fisher ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

wrote in message
ups.com...
Competition starts: 9 July 2007
Closing date: 9 August 2007

Sugar Puffs are giving away a young gardener start up kit to raise
awareness of the fact that the bee population has fallen by 80%.

It hasn't.

:-)

There was a decent article on the "problem" on R4 yesterday afternoon,
from the State. They reckon because of their dwindling population of
indigenous bees there are a great many crops that they can no longer
sustain.

It was the Food Programme and what you say was said from the American
viewpoint by a commercial beekeeper. Then Richard Jones of IBRA and Norman
Carreck of Rothamsted research station, both of whom I know and respect,
gave the British point of view. American and British beekeeping practices
are very different - as are the incidents of several diseases. It was
nothing to do with 'indigenous' bees, except that if populations of the
honey bee, apis melifera, do fall there will have to be more use made of
indigenous bees, which already happens in Canada (that wasn't said and it's
nothing to do with colony collapse).

If the current 'colony collapse disorder' continues in USA it could have a
large impact on food supplies - but not all.

And the killer bees are back, apparently. But not like in the film of that
name.

The only thing which was said about 'killer bees' was to compare the
situation back in the 50s when the phenomenon first became apparent with the
present one of ccd. That is that when such things are reported and people
start looking for them they find them. There was a lot of journalistic
hyperbole in the following decades but we don't hear about them now that we
have other problems.

'Killer bees' are not 'back', nothing has changed, it's just that they're
not a problem any more because beekeeping has changed to manage such
colonies.

I listened to the programme intently and it confirmed my own opinions about
ccd. Richard and Norman were very level headed and gave the moderate line -
that we don't know what's causing the phenomenon in USA and that it isn't
happening here. There are various theories which they outlined and there is
ongoing research but it's a difficult one to solve.

I could go on, but I shan't. I just want to put the record straight.

Mary

In reply to Mary Fisher ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

I could go on, but I shan't. I just want to put the record straight.

Good one. I missed the beginning and the end, but it was quite interesting.
If one doesn't know very much about the subject, which includes me, it is
difficult to take it in all at once, whilst trying to negotiate the traffic
parked outside the Co-op :-)

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
...
In reply to Mary Fisher ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

I could go on, but I shan't. I just want to put the record straight.

Good one. I missed the beginning and the end, but it was quite
interesting. If one doesn't know very much about the subject, which
includes me, it is difficult to take it in all at once, whilst trying to
negotiate the traffic parked outside the Co-op :-)

Thanks for that, I appreciate it. I didn't want to criticise you! It was one
of the best and most sensible programmes about bees I've heard for a long
time, usually they're geared to the sensational.

Mary

In reply to Mary Fisher ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
...
In reply to Mary Fisher ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

I could go on, but I shan't. I just want to put the record straight.

Good one. I missed the beginning and the end, but it was quite
interesting. If one doesn't know very much about the subject, which
includes me, it is difficult to take it in all at once, whilst
trying to negotiate the traffic parked outside the Co-op :-)

Thanks for that, I appreciate it. I didn't want to criticise you! It
was one of the best and most sensible programmes about bees I've
heard for a long time, usually they're geared to the sensational.

It is always a pleasure to listen to someone, on whatever subject, who
really knows his, or indeed her, stuff.

The only thing I really know a lot about is so crashingly, mind-numbingly
dull (to most people) that we talk in little huddles, between ourselves, and
very occasionally :-)

On 9 Jul, 19:50, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
wrote in message
Sugar Puffs are giving away a young gardener start up kit to raise
awareness of the fact that the bee population has fallen by 80%.

It hasn't.

This is so weird really. At an event recently I bumped into a friend
ecologist and we ended up talking about bees. I had recently heard the
incredible fact about how many years we would be able to have food
crop if the bees disappeared. The answer is 6 years ... Frightening
stuff.

Anyhow, I've just now received this link from him by an amazing
coincidence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodprogramme.shtml

On 10 Jul, 12:16, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
'Killer bees' are not 'back', nothing has changed, it's just that they're
not a problem any more because beekeeping has changed to manage such
colonies.

Oh Mary, did you see a programme a couple of weeks ago about a monk
keeping bees. It was totally amazing and so so beautiful (soul and
spirit cleansing stuff). The monk accepted any creetures around him,
naturally being a buddhist, and he let those 'killer bees' set up
their hives underground, in rocks etc. close to his own bee hives. To
attract his bees to new hives he used an orchid, which the bees
attacked and then took premises in the new beehive. Whole hives could
get wiped out by killer bees, but these only send one killer bee to
see into the bee hives. The bees kept quiet and still until the killer
bee got in fully, and then suddenly all the bees jumped onto the
killer bee and suffocated her.

Amazing stuff. Err.... have you seen this?! And did you know about the
attraction of the orchid?

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
...


It is always a pleasure to listen to someone, on whatever subject, who
really knows his, or indeed her, stuff.

The only thing I really know a lot about is so crashingly, mind-numbingly
dull (to most people) that we talk in little huddles, between ourselves,
and very occasionally :-)

Oh no! You're an aeromodeller ...

Mary

"La Puce" wrote in message
ups.com...
On 10 Jul, 12:16, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
'Killer bees' are not 'back', nothing has changed, it's just that they're
not a problem any more because beekeeping has changed to manage such
colonies.

Oh Mary, did you see a programme a couple of weeks ago about a monk
keeping bees. It was totally amazing and so so beautiful (soul and
spirit cleansing stuff). The monk accepted any creetures around him,
naturally being a buddhist, and he let those 'killer bees' set up
their hives underground, in rocks etc. close to his own bee hives. To
attract his bees to new hives he used an orchid, which the bees
attacked and then took premises in the new beehive. Whole hives could
get wiped out by killer bees, but these only send one killer bee to
see into the bee hives. The bees kept quiet and still until the killer
bee got in fully, and then suddenly all the bees jumped onto the
killer bee and suffocated her.

Amazing stuff. Err.... have you seen this?! And did you know about the
attraction of the orchid?

I didn't know about the orchid, I suspect it has more to do with faith than
fact ... and we haven't a television :-)

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
...


It is always a pleasure to listen to someone, on whatever subject, who
really knows his, or indeed her, stuff.

The only thing I really know a lot about is so crashingly, mind-numbingly
dull (to most people) that we talk in little huddles, between ourselves,
and very occasionally :-)

Oh no! You're an aeromodeller ...

I'm, (well used to be) one of those!

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
...


It is always a pleasure to listen to someone, on whatever subject, who
really knows his, or indeed her, stuff.

The only thing I really know a lot about is so crashingly,
mind-numbingly dull (to most people) that we talk in little huddles,
between ourselves, and very occasionally :-)

Oh no! You're an aeromodeller ...

I'm, (well used to be) one of those!

You:

a) grew up

or

b) are the exception which proves the rule :-)

Mary

On Mon, 9 Jul 2007 19:50:49 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


wrote in message
oups.com...
Competition starts: 9 July 2007
Closing date: 9 August 2007

Sugar Puffs are giving away a young gardener start up kit to raise
awareness of the fact that the bee population has fallen by 80%.

It hasn't.

Mary


The original statement was ******** and so was your answer.
Would you like to quantify the loss of bees per year over say the last
ten years?