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redcoat777 t1_iwbmp47 wrote

Reply to comment by Alphadice in The lifespans of honey bees living in laboratory environments has dropped about 50% over the last 50 years, hinting at possible causes for the worrisome trends across the beekeeping industry, according to new research by University of Maryland entomologists. by Wagamaga

Bees can not fully be raised in lab conditions. pollen sub is not a full replacement for natural pollen, and with the 3-5 mile forage range it is not practical to say we can control their wild food sources.

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GrayMatters50 t1_iwcsg7f wrote

I know a lady florist that built huge attached greenhouses with bee hive access .. her bees fly in & collect pollen from acanthus to zucchini. That seemed to be successful. The plants & honey sold was used to set up more hives & greenhouses. Delicious honey.

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redcoat777 t1_iwdd1sh wrote

That works to an extent, any time i have seen it attempted seriously ended up with a lot of bees “stuck” inside the top corner of the greenhouse

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GrayMatters50 t1_iwe0vqp wrote

Of course I didnt go inside so I dont know. But the plants , flowers were magnificent & the Honey tasted great. She took videos of the hives & they were active.

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ayleidanthropologist t1_iwcf77d wrote

You can raise them on sugar water though right?

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redcoat777 t1_iwck2ig wrote

Once they are adult they can survive off pure sugar water, but they need high quality protein when they are larvea. Their carbs come from nectar (honey), and their fats and proteins come from pollen. We have artificial pollen substitutes, but it isnt as good as the real stuff.

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GrayMatters50 t1_iwcstqw wrote

Then combining hives & greenhouses could be a good thing. It would certainly protect hives from attacks.

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redcoat777 t1_iwddaj0 wrote

Yes, though it would be very hard to have enough consistent food supplies for a single hive within one greenhouse, and greenhouses seem to mess up their intenal navigation

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GrayMatters50 t1_iwe1h13 wrote

I know she was working with NY Botanical Garden & a couple of top notch Universities. There's birds living in a conservatory.

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redcoat777 t1_iwe9je9 wrote

Then i dare say they have reduced the losses to an acceptable level. it generally surprises people how many bees die every day in a healthy colony.

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Tuts36 t1_iwcjuis wrote

Yes, and it's probably as good for bees nutritionally as a lifetime of fast food would be for us.

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kevshea t1_iwcj666 wrote

And our water sources are increasingly polluted as well.

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