Area Health.

[Dishmop]

Is there any recorded difference between the health of city bees and rural bees?

 

[tonybloke]

Is there any recorded difference between the health of city bees and rural bees?

what do you mean by 'health' ?

do you mean incidences of notifiable disease?
or varroa loadings?
or nosema?
etc etc

 

[Heather]

less pesticides in the cities! - But we are slowly learning....I do think Joe Public is becoming more discriminatory about abuse of products

 

[Dishmop]

do you mean incidences of notifiable disease?
or varroa loadings?
or nosema?

All those.

 

[madasafish]

Less pesticides?

How about much poorer air quailty?

 

[tonybloke]

there are more pesticides used by mr and mrs Joe Public in their own gardens than are used in a lot of agriculture!! just have a look at the arsenal available at you local garden centre.

 

[Heather]

Yes, I agree- but on speaking to gardening clubs- they are getting more discriminatory about the misuse.
Air quality.. not bad these days, IMO - definitely improving from 40 years ago.

 

[CB008]

Is there any recorded difference between the health of city bees and rural bees?

I live next to a farm in a nice rural setting and you would not believe how many chemicals are sprayed around a farm these days - farming may have only a few workers but it is nothing if not industrial. They even work through teh night with headlights these days.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I live next to a farm in a nice rural setting and you would not believe how many chemicals are sprayed around a farm these days - farming may have only a few workers but it is nothing if not industrial. They even work through teh night with headlights these days.

Where you live sounds like hell,pleased i don't live in a place like that,or my bee's.

 

[Russel]

Less pesticides?

How about much poorer air quailty?

Hugh Fearnley wazisface put his rurally produced honey up against some urban(London) honey and the punters preferred the urban honey taste. Of coarse that doesn't mean a lot but does make you think.

 

[tonybloke]

I live next to a farm in a nice rural setting and you would not believe how many chemicals are sprayed around a farm these days - farming may have only a few workers but it is nothing if not industrial. They even work through teh night with headlights these days.

probably harvesting spuds or sugar beet, or possibly ploughing / cultivating. Nothing new about this, they've been doing this since the advent of decent lighting on farm machinery / tractors.

 

[oliver90owner]

Spraying crops

In addition, Farmers can only spray certain pesticides late in the evening - 'cos of the bees amongst other insect risks. Also wind speed has to be lower than a certain limit while spraying is taking place. As the wind speed/direction often slows/changes in the evening. Little wonder a lot takes place late in the evening and at night.

Even in the 1970s we were utilising a tractor 20 hours a day, or more, ploughing or cultivating all day and then through the night until low on fuel. I did quite a bit, when the extra money was needed.

I would think the old saying 'make hay while the sun shines' is still true in agriculture, even it is extended to the hours of darkness.

Regards, RAB