bees and motorways

[peteinwilts]

Hi Guys

I was driving along the M? today and saw a fair number of bee hives next to the motorway (not giving any more details!)

Last year I was looking at a potential site on a wild area next to a motorway in my area. The site is above a cut with the motorway down below in the cut.

Although the area would have a large amount of good wild foraging fodder, I have always discounted it because of the motorway.
I have always been unsure due to the noise\vibration, grime and nastys from the exhausts.

Does anyone have experience and thoughts regarding bees near motorways or very main roads, or tested honey for particulates in relation to the traffic?

Cheers
Pete

 

[ROACHMAN]

Ive got 5 hives about 50 yards from the (dual carriageway) and never had any problems.
I also lost a swarm last summer which decided to take up residence in an old willow tree that is about 10 yards from the a419 so they must have ignored the road noise and vibration when deciding upon a suitable site.

 

[dpearce4]

there was a news story on south today in the autumn about southampton uni being given £100k to do a study of diesel particals on bee colony colapse. to do this they were going to site hives right on the edge of the?

Maybe those hives u saw were part of that study?

 

[MuswellMetro]

Ive got 5 hives about 50 yards from the a419(dual carriageway) and never had any problems.
I also lost a swarm last summer which decided to take up residence in an old willow tree that is about 10 yards from the a419 so they must have ignored the road noise and vibration when deciding upon a suitable site.

similar, hives within 100yds of Motorway embankment, only problem has been a nearbye straw bale fire, closed the motorway and killed half the bees, possible discarded cigarette or arson .however theft is also a problem

 

[peteinwilts]

must be different.... much further north than the M?...

 

[dpearce4]

if anyone wants to read about the study there is a press release here:-

http://www.soton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2011/oct/11_97.shtml

 

[thurrock bees]

i keep bees (6 hives) within a few yards of the m?, however my main and only concern was losing them to the car windscreens :

 

[Woeski]

Don't worry. The cars are not travelling fast enough....

 

[clarealdus]

My bees are situated right next to the Norwich London railway line (bottom of embankment) and seem completely unperturbed by trains rushing by (four per hour).

 

[Dishmop]

My bees are situated right next to the Norwich London railway line (bottom of embankment) and seem completely unperturbed by trains rushing by (four per hour).

Ah! prime suspects for the overhead power cable thefts.

 

[tonybloke]

Ah! prime suspects for the overhead power cable thefts.

wasn't aware there had been any cable thefts on that stretch of line?

 

[RoofTops]

My bees are situated right next to the Norwich London railway line (bottom of embankment) and seem completely unperturbed by trains rushing by (four per hour).

Is the railway now called the Bee Line?

 

[bee ginnner]

i keep bees (6 hives) within a few yards of the m25, however my main and only concern was losing them to the car windscreens :

more likely to be the bumpers unless you use very high stands. anyway why not move the hives further away if your worried they will be knocked over?

 

[Gardenbees]

Mine are next to a railway line, although not a particularly busy one. It's actually ideal, as Network Rail maintain a tall metal fence alongside the line, and the likelihood of anyone being able to nick and/or disturb the bees - or walk past them - is very slim.

I don't think the bees themselves would suffer from being next to a motorway either, but I would be very careful about putting hives where lots of people can see them and perhaps work out how to get to them and nick them. Theft would be more of a worry than road casualties, I would think.

 

[Dishmop]

Is the railway now called the Bee Line?

Used to be B. R.

 

[Hombre]

I think that the metal fence is possibly more at risk from theft just at the moment.

 

[region2]

Hitchhiking back in the 80s I was in a car that hit a swarm on the motorway - windscreen went opaque, luckily driver was calm and just put on the wipers - told me he was ex SAS (so probably wasn't)...

R2

 

[countryman]

i know the hives you are on about they have been there some time but with all these hive stealing please dont give the road names or No as with that rd not very long and could easily find, so another distraught beekeeper mourning the lose of all his hard work

 

[peteinwilts]

i know the hives you are on about they have been there some time but with all these hive stealing please dont give the road names or No as with that rd not very long and could easily find, so another distraught beekeeper mourning the lose of all his hard work

certainly would not. M? is the closest detail I would give!!

 

[countryman]

thats what i mean just say moterway not the No that road is only 70-80 miles long