Don't Worry BEE Happy! R. Joe Simmons, Director Chesapeake Mosquito Control Commission

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2 Don't Worry BEE Happy! R. Joe Simmons, Director Chesapeake Mosquito Control Commission

3 If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live! Albert Einstein

4 Did You Know? Honeybees are not native to North America but were brought from Europe by early settlers. Honeybees have 170 odor receptors-mosquitoes have 79. The life span of a typical worker bee is about six weeks while a queen can live up to five years. A queen bee can lay up to 2000 eggs in a day. The average worker bee produces about 1/12th teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.

5 Did You Know? Honey bees contribute over $16 billion to the value of U.S. crop productions each year. Many of the country s crops would not exist without the honey bee at bloom time. Almonds, apples, blueberries and peaches are almost completely dependent on honey bees for pollination and fruit formation. Honey bees pollinate crops such as clover and alfalfa that serve as food for cattle making bees important to the meat and dairy industries.

6 Honey production from over 135,000 American beekeepers exceeds $150 million each year. Beeswax, Bee Pollen, Royal Jelly and dozens of other products are derived from bees adding to the commercial value. Honey is said to be antibiotic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, expectorant, anti-allergic, laxative, and anti-anemic. Glycogen in honey can pass into the bloodstream and provide quick energy in less than 10 minutes.

7 Honey is claimed to stop bedwetting, help in weight loss when taken 30 minutes before bed-time and helps promote sound sleep. Honey has been used in medicines for over 5000 years and because of its antibacterial properties can be used on wounds, burns and abrasions. Knights of the Crusades used honey to treat war wounds effectively. Honey has been described as the perfect food containing: vitamins including all the B complex, high levels of A,C, D, K and beta-carotene and minerals calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron and manganese.

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9 Bee pollen! Bees stuff pollen into baskets on their legs and can carry almost half their weight in pollen. Honeybees will only select pollens which are rich in amino acids and leave poor quality behind. Bee pollen, like honey is rich in almost all vitamins and minerals and especially benefits the reproductive, immune and nervous systems. Roman legionaries carried pollen cakes with them on long marches as their only source of food.

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12 Beekeepers! There are tens of thousands of beekeepers in the United States today. Some are commercial producers with thousands of hives while many are hobby growers with only a few hives. There are over 40 Beekeeper guilds and organizations in Virginia. Beekeepers are environmentally conscious and Politically Active!!!!!!!!

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17 Mosquito Control and Bees What can we do? Make contact! Do not wait for a conflict to occur! Go online and find local beekeeper guilds-many have websites with a list of contacts. Ask for time to speak at one of the local meetings. Be prepared! Beekeepers tend to be VERY knowledgeable about what they do and what we do! Be knowledgeable! Expect tough questions about your chemicals and operations. Most important is to LISTEN to what they have to say!!!

18 Be understanding! Beekeepers are very protective or their hives. For many it is a source of income and for others it is an important hobby. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is a major concern of many beekeepers and while there is no one confirmed cause, mosquito control spraying is the most visible agent to blame! Some consider their bees much like we might consider our pet dog or cat.

19 Be honest! Don t try to evade questions or give vague answers. Be firm in your convictions and position. Remind them that our function is to protect our citizen s health and safety (including theirs) and this must remain our primary concern! Stress a willingness to work with them in ways that are beneficial to all concerned.

20 What we have done! After meeting with three different Guilds, we adjusted our fogging schedules to begin no earlier than 7:00 pm. We changed our fogging routes to spray known hive sites after dark. We maintain a list of hive sites and we shut down spraying as we approach those sites and since many beekeepers are very secretive about these locations, we do not share this information with any other agency! We respond immediately to any complaint from beekeepers.

21 In the case of aerial spraying after Hurricane Irene, we did the following: Contacted all three Guilds in our City prior to spraying so that they could notify their members. Called, ed or left letters on the door of every beekeeper prior to spraying so that they could cover their hives. Used TV, radio, internet and newspapers to notify citizens of spraying. Planes did not fly until after 8:00 pm. Worked with Dynamic Aviation to cover our entire City in a single night (162,000 acres).

22 Beekeepers were able to cover hives and loss was minimal. Only one complaint and this came from a novice beekeeper who DID NOT take any precautions to protect her bees and this loss was minor. We reduced mosquito numbers by over 90%, protected the bees, and maintained good relations with the beekeepers.

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24 Moral! Before you put your hands on something new----- Be sure to ask the right questions! Then make sure you get the right answers.

25 Famous Last Words of a Redneck Comedian Patrick Henry Hey Ya ll hold my beer and watch this! Let s shoot the propane tank and see if it will explode! Just grab it by the tail Let s see if it will burn, pour some gas on it! Who needs a building permit! Bet you money I can jump it! Let s build a ramp! What does this button do? Look in the barrel and tell me if it s loaded!

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