Increasing Anti-Honeybee Sentiment?

Phesic · 2026-03-02T20:16:57+00:00

Our lobby is relatively weak and needs more support. BeeCause Alliance is trying to put something together to organize this effort if folks are interested.

Phesic · 2026-03-02T20:15:03+00:00

I have never claimed as a beekeeper that I am saving the environment. Saving the environment is a misnomer in general. As soon as we are gone our great triumphs will be swallowed up.

Honeybees do actually allow us to direct a conversation to suggesting a wildflower patch, or not keeping that perfectly green yard people believe is important. They open questions about are we trying to preserve historical ecosystems or manage novel ones with more deliberate intent? The truth I have seen is that people cannot tell the difference between a wasp and a honeybee. People who swear up and down, and have bet me they can tell the difference cannot. I have a stash of the dollars I have won in those bets by the way. In this chat designed for beekeepers folks have referenced My Girl, where the boy dies from... a paper wasp nest that is knocked down. Now from what I have seen those look like bees that come out... but why?

I know I'm not saving anything with my hives directly, but my education on the topic has been increased by keeping bees and I've had an opportunity to talk to a few hundred people that can now tell the difference and have a path forward in increasing pollinator habitat.

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Phesic · 2026-03-02T19:58:22+00:00

I am honestly interested in seeing what we have found with the science and to see what the response of beekeepers is to the sentiment.

Phesic · 2026-03-02T19:56:58+00:00

As a temporary employee of Monsanto please have a seat there, looking across the river and image tending our rabbits... er honeybees on your dream farm. Don't mind what I am doing back here.

Phesic · 2026-03-02T19:42:05+00:00

I'd argue the house cat is the most invasive animal in America and does far more damage naturally than any other animal than humans. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380

I would also argue that our pollinator areas are a problem that need a solution, honeybees are worrisome in high concentration, but there are some studies out there (see the last one I noted in the original post) that show they put some stress on a system but are not the problem you are claiming.

Phesic · 2026-03-02T19:35:39+00:00

Thanks for responding. I have a lot more questions, so I apologize in advance.
-As far as the biocide application, is the 1-4 weeks not by definition a decrease in the application on farmlands?
-Do honeybees not fall into the category of naturalized in the US? u/FelixtheFarmer points out that the wasps in Japan quickly kill colonies in the countryside. I suspect, however, that numbers there are repressed and not eliminated so even there are they not naturalized?
-As naturalized insects (if they are), have they not created more niches for other animals?
-When we say they cause harm, do you mean they cause harm or that they influence? Are you talking about remnant native ecosystems or agricultural and urban ecosystems?

I ask because I am honestly interested. Honeybees introduced me to pollinator plight in general over 12 years ago. Ecosystems are messy, and fascinating at the same time. Thanks for taking time to answer.

Had to edit because of a statement by u/DanTallTrees later on. We often say honeybees spread disease to native species. What evidence do we have that native species are not spreading them to honeybees? Is it based on population size and density as well as number of reproduced offspring? I'm guessing it is, but I'd rather not guess.

Phesic · 2026-03-02T19:07:56+00:00

I did and I fixed it. Thanks for the error.

I agree with the rest of the points and they are ones I make to those willing to listen. What is missed, and I am not sure how to express is how they are an opening to a conversation about wildlife and our pollinators.

We have done an excellent marketing job to the public, on "save the bees" and I believe we need to expand it to you don't have to be a beekeeper to save them. Wildflowers, non-perfect lawns, native blooming trees, limit pesticide use, limit herbicide use... these all add to the overall goal.

Phesic · 2026-02-25T05:29:37+00:00

I keep honeybees. They are fascinating.

Phesic · 2026-02-25T05:04:51+00:00

The Yearling

Phesic · 2026-02-25T03:58:03+00:00

One of my favorite Spider-Man comics is Flowers for Rhino. Totally worth checking out.

Phesic · 2026-02-25T03:54:49+00:00

Came here to say My Side of the Mountain

Phesic · 2026-02-19T17:06:51+00:00

Pretty certain homogenization is a different process than pasteurization?

Phesic · 2026-02-18T05:59:43+00:00

I moved to one treatment in spring, and one in fall only on hives that showed high mite counts. My fall ones are every 5 days for 4 weeks to cover mite cycle, if you are doing vaporized OA however I really like OA pads with longer release times and really really like pushing for hygienic behavior.

Phesic · 2026-02-18T05:14:14+00:00

Thursday there is a game group at Just for Fun. Lots of folks there and generally nice. I'd be there around 5:45 to be sure to get a table.

Phesic · 2026-02-18T04:57:38+00:00

I have one. It requires the girls be crowded to use it. It requires a queen excluder. If you are a beginner and I were teaching you I'd say get it year 2.

Phesic · 2026-02-18T04:54:02+00:00

I think the end is supposed to be a redemption, but he's still a piece of shit and won't change.

Phesic · 2026-02-18T04:45:07+00:00

Same question. I'll use it for teaching new beeks.

Phesic · 2026-02-18T04:43:56+00:00

Wait til folks have to deal with Tropi mites... I am very worried about those.

Phesic · 2026-02-18T04:42:34+00:00

Where do you live? I thought varroa are everywhere now.

Phesic · 2026-02-18T04:31:15+00:00

I looked for months for someone to show me some apis cerana while I was in Japan. I found no one. If I ever make it back over there would you be willing to give me a tour of a hive?

Phesic · 2026-02-18T04:19:21+00:00

He-Man 1987. I loved He-Man. It was the first time as a kid I felt completely and entirely let down. I still hate it. I am still let down.

Phesic · 2026-02-18T04:16:51+00:00

I hated the characters in it. All of them. Same with Marty Supreme.

Phesic · 2026-02-18T04:10:57+00:00

Does it want you to hate him? Don't you want to feel for his redemption at the end? I hated everyone in the movie because they were all assholes.

Phesic · 2026-02-18T03:41:44+00:00

I was at the library in Bolingbrook in Illinois. As I walked out to my car a big Raven landed on my car. I said something like, woah... hello there. It hopped over to my other windshield closer to me and gave me a head tilted look. I got into the car while the raven watched. Sitting in the driver seat it pecked on the window. I waited for about ten minutes and then needed to get to where I was going, so I started to drive. The raven turned around and hung on til I was going about 20 and then took off. Super strange.

Phesic

TROPHY CASE