We’ve been keeping bees for a little over seven years. Over that time, we’ve made an observation that may be purely coincidental, but it’s worth noting. And I’d love to hear what you all think in the comment section.
We live in a residential farming community and our property is surrounded by thousands of acres of farm fields. We have a local feed store that rents much of the farmland around us to grow its crops. Each fall we see their trucks harvesting the crops and it’s an amazing site as giant dinosaur-like farm equipment makes its way down our narrow road.
Each year the fields rotate in thirds. One year its soybeans, then wheat and straw, then corn. Occasionally a field will be seeded for hay, but for the most part, it’s those three crops in rotation.
A few years after we moved in, the feed company approached us and asked if we’d be interested in renting out our side-section of property for their crop use. We declined as we learned that they don’t use organic farming practices and grow GMO crops. We want to keep our land as organic as possible in case we ever want to get certified.
Our first corn year
Our second year beekeeping was a corn year. One afternoon after a warm summer rain shower, my husband and I went for a bike ride. Along the way we passed one of the corn fields. With corn on both sides of the road, we were surrounded by a sweet floral scent intensified by the damp, steamy, freshly rained-on air.
Zach and I both marveled that the corn must be in bloom and that we never realized corn had a ‘scent.’
Later in the summer, we harvested our first batch of honey. We couldn’t wait to bring it inside, so out in the field we each took a finger and dipped it into the delicious golden nectar.
“What do you think?” I asked Zach.
“It’s good…it’s definitely honey, but there’s something else. It tastes like something familiar.”
“I know…” I agreed. “I’ve tasted this before, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
Sometime later we went out for a drive and passed the cornfields.
“Corn!” Zach suddenly exclaimed.
“The honey tastes like the corn smelled that day we went for a bike ride.”
“Oh my gosh, yes! That’s the flavor!” And it was. Our honey smelled and tasted like the scent we smelled when the corn was in bloom.
This revelation made us aware that our bees were visiting the feed store corn.
We didn’t do another hive inspection that year. After our harvest, we let the bees be. When the weather got cold, we tucked in the bees for the winter, wished them well and hoped for the best.
In the spring, we opened the hive and found piles of dead bees.
Do we know what happened? Nope. Maybe they froze, maybe they had a virus. Maybe it was a combination of things we did wrong, or nature or both.
It was still early enough that we were able to locate another bee package and start over.
The bees did great their first year. The second year, they were doing so well that we were able to split the colony and start another hive. We didn’t take a harvest that year, but instead gave the new colony plenty of honey to keep them fed.
More corn and death of the bees
The following year was a corn year. The bees did well enough through the season. Both hives were producing well, though the new hive was doing better than the old.
The following spring we found two boxes of dead bees. Again.
To be clear, I’m not blaming our bee deaths on the corn. To be fair, I don’t think we’ve been doing this long enough to really make a positive correlation between the two. But it’s something we’re noting. There has been enough of a correlation to where we’re wondering if we should bother to spend the money on another colony if they’re just going to die every third year.
We are starting a U-Pick Lavender farm and it’s my hope that our bees will visit the lavender fields and give us delicious lavender-infused honey. I’m hoping that this might act as a deterrent to keep them away from the surrounding cornfields, but I have my doubts.
What about you?
I’d love to open this subject up for discussion to you the community. Have you experienced something similar? Do you think it was something we did as beekeepers and this is merely a coincidence?
Chime in below with your thoughts. I’d love to hear what you have to say before we invest in bees again.
63 Comments
Hello Jennifer. I am currently reading a book called, “Natural Beekeeping, Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture” by Ross Conrad. On page 57 he says, “….. most of the corn grown in the U.S. today is genetically modified to produce a Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) toxin to protect the corn from corn borers and other insects. This pesticide is produced in every cell in every part of the corn plants.” This page: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2169303/ says that the Bt does not harm honey bees but I’m not sure I would trust that statement as 2 of the authors work for Monsanto, which produces and markets Bt products.
This is a fantastic observation. Thank you for sharing it. Do you think it may be a nutritional issue or lack of in the case of corn?
Monsanto has genetically modified corn with a built in insecticide for corn worms. It is what was killing all the Monarch butterflies.Wonder what it does to bees??
I live in Tillamook Oregon. Many of the dairy farmers here are now growing corn for silage and beekeepers here are noticing some hive die-offs. The local bee keeping group had a talk from a biologist from OSU. The corn grown here is “round-up ready” and the seed is treated with neonicotinoids. The neonicotinoids will kill bees if they contact the spray but if a plant or seed is treated it has been shown to be present in the pollen too. Some people are thinking the affected pollen may not kill the bees directly but may affect the overall health of the hive.
Hi Jennifer.
I’m in agreement with Sue and Judith. What I’ve read and heard points to the pollen of GMO corn and it’s neurotoxic effects on honey bees as the likely culprit in your colony’s deaths.
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for the article. I lease my land out to a local farmer, who flip flops corn and soybeans. I’m not crazy about the spraying and chemical usage. I try to send him articles on neonicotinoids, Round-Up, and other bee unfriendlies. Last year, the IDIOT, that was spraying in a 20 mph breeze, and coated my wife and me in pre-emergent weed killer, was threatened with bodily harm. I called the farmer, and told him he was wasting his money, paying these morons.
I lost all my bees this spring. So, I’m rebuilding. I don’t buy bees, I catch or remove them. This year, I am too busy to do cutouts, so only have 2 hives. But, from now on, I’ll try to keep track of dieoff. In my circumstance, it may be harder to pinpoint, because he sometimes plants one thing on my land, and something else across the road. Thanks.
Roundup kills all
Jennifer,
Thank you for this article. I have been beekeeping for 5 – 7 years. I am surrounded by corn or bean fields, and have lost hives more often than not.
Scott Fluegel
We are surrounded by farm fields too. Last year it was soybeans and we had lots of bees, our borage was buzzing all summer. This year it’s wheat, and we have 0 bees. There were bees in the early spring on the snowdrops and crocus so they were here. But since they sprayed the wheat fields it’s been a bee dead zone. Our garden is next to the wheat field and our plants have damage from the spray too. Modern agriculture really needs a revamp.
I’ve wondered for a long time if colony collapse disease is due to the Bt gene in crops as described in the comment below. it kills most types of worms that are good and bad. once the pollen is in the hive it makes sense to me that the bee larva would be susceptible to its effects.
Exactly what happens with my bees. I’ve been saying the same thing for about the same time frame too, 7 years. The fields down the road rotates corn, pickles and wheat or clover. I mentioned this phenomenon at a local beekeeping meeting 4 or 5 years ago and was pretty much dismissed.
I have been “a hobbist” with bees for 5 years now. I set up one hive so our garden and fruit trees would have pollinators. Every early spring, the same. Dead bees. Lots of honey but that is not why I raise bees. In early Feb. they are alive and well, but by late march….all dead. This year I bought another hive and two 3# boxes. I heard that if you have two hives, at least one should survive.
Hi Jennifer,
A couple other observations for you. First, in most studies the pesticides residue in pollen has not been shown to kill off hives. I would be surprised in the die-off is solely due to round-up ready corn or other pesticides. However, corn is a poor nutrition source for bees (workers know this and will avoid it when they can). Corn does not really generate nectar and the pollen is deficient in a number of nutrients. So if bees only have access to corn and do not have supplemental pollen or other plants available in the fall, they might not be able to raise brood over the winter with the deficient corn pollen. Giving your bees access to more nutritious plants such as lavender would definitely help with this.
Second, it is possible your corn cycle has some impact or correlation with varroa mites. Whether you treat or manipulate the hives to account for the pest is a separate issue from knowing whether there is an impact. You might consider counting your mites with a sugar shake or other recommended method, especially in corn years, to know whether higher mites loads could also be impacting your hives. Mites are big vectors for diseases, and poor nutrition coupled with DMV or other viruses would likely have a big impact on the bees ability to survive the winter.
Sounds like the possibility of a pesticide
The same happened to me with the corn. My friend read the seed packet it said the seeds were tested and not friendly to pollinators. Lost my hives too.
Erik from Virginia makes a good point, though I am highly suspicious of anything Monsanto, GMO, etc….
Search Randy Oliver of Scientific Bee Keeping. He is working with the EPA to find organic, non toxic ways to overcome varroa mites.g
I too lost my bees this spring to some unknown factor. During last summer corn was growing everywhere on the farms. This year I see more soybeans. I was wondering if there was a correlation myself.
Pesticides are likely culprit.
Monsanto ruins everything they touch. Erik From Virginia is trying to point out something but I question his actual knowledge as anyone who has raised bees knows bees don’t produce brood in the winter with the exception of Florida as areas of Florida have really mild winters so bees run year round. Your problem most likely has to do with pesticides and toxins and every ignorant person’s favorite “friend” Monsanto which has now been bought out by Bayer.
Corn and wheat are in the Poaceae (Grass family), which is wind pollinated, not insect or animal pollinated. As such, their flowers do not produce nectar and their pollen is tiny and light, so it can be carried by the wind. These plants offer nothing for the insects, because they are not needed to spread pollen. Cause is probably secondary (like the mites or a bacteria). It makes me curious how the corn flavor got into the honey.
Don’t forget bees need a water source that’s not contaminated w/chemicals.
Bee bread for brood rearing or winter storage, made from farm field mud puddle water, would not be good.
not a bee person although I do grow plants with bees in mind.I would send the bees to an entomologist and they should be able to tell you
Sadly you are not alone! A little investigating will reveal to you how deadly GMO’s truly are to all life.
1. Europe has banned neonics
2. I rcvd this link today: http://dailynativenews.site/2018/03/37-million-bees-found-dead-after-planting-large-gmo-corn-field
The saddest thing I learned in bee school a few years back was that the deadliest place for the honeybee is a commercial (non-organic) farm.
Every time someone tries to stop Monsanto from spreading their culture-of-death chemicals, they simply come up with a new one (more deadly than the last). The State of Utah attempted to stop Monsanto from poisoning their farmlands by passing a law that restricted farming to people. They appealed to the Supreme Court, who ruled that “corporations are people”. Interestingly enough, Judge Clarence Thomas used to be on the Board of Directors at Monsanto. It’s a David-and-Goliath situation.
My answer to the problem, make Monsanto and companies like them – OBSOLETE.
I would suspect that the colonies died because of Varroa and starvation. You don’t mention what IPM you practice. In late summer and early fall the colonies need to be helped to develop winter bees. Read Randy Oliver’s articles on Fat Bees – Parts 1 – 4. Corn pollen is not very nutritious, and I have read that colonies will not collect very much of it. They will fly far to collect pollen from other sources.
Hi regarding corn and dying bees. It may be that the corn was sprayed with an insecticide and perhaps the only way to tell is to have your honey analyzed for this or other issues which could affect the bees. What ever I doubt very much if the corn itself is the source of the bees dying but you never know….There are a lot of false rumors about and you do not want to spread misinformation about GMO products and while I would be concerned about GMO corn, we must not forget its because we have this many more people are able to be fed….but I am also aware of some of the fears about this. Maybe founded on reality maybe just misinformation. Facts are facts. I hope you can find them and perhaps talk to the people who developed this corn…
corn smut
there is a fungus of corn….
Crow made a statement that bees don’t rear brood in the winter, true for bumble bees, FALSE for honey bees. Here in central Indiana, my queens start brood rearing in February, using pollen gathered the previous year, SO…. farm chemicals can and will kill in the winter, but so will heavy mite infestations, poor ventilation, too large of a colony, too small of a colony, insufficient honey stores, brief warm up followed by an artic blast, no wind break, so on and so on. You just have to keep trying. GO TO The Practical Beekeeper, Michael Bush, read it over and over.
On the subject of the possibility of corn pollen in honey. Honey bees develop a static electrical charge, which causes pollen to stick to their bodies. I suppose they could become covered with pollen by just flying down wind ,or through of a field of corn while foraging .
Hi Jennifer.
I came across the following article at honeybeesuite.com and it coincides with the feedback from Sue Knotts regarding insecticide contaminated corn pollen.
Pollen collection by honey bees
While we normally think of honey bees collecting nectar, an average-size colony may bring in 100 pounds of pollen in a season. Pollen is an essential part of the honey bee diet, providing a wide range of nutrients including protein, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, and minerals.
Although a tough outer coating protects the pollen from environmental stressors, honey bees have enzymes in their digestive tract that split the grains apart at a weak point. The interior is then digested and the empty husks are excreted. Most of the pollen is eaten by nurse bees. They use the nutrition absorbed from it to secrete royal jelly from their hypopharyngeal glands. The jelly is fed to young larvae, including workers, drones and queens. After about three days the jelly is mixed with bee bread—a mixture of whole pollen, honey, and enzymes—and fed to the workers and drones until they spin their cocoons. The queens receive a steady diet of royal jelly throughout their development.
Most bees collect just pollen or just nectar on any trip, but a few carry both at the same time. The pollen is stuffed into hairy receptacles on their hind legs called corbiculae. A single bee can carry about half her own body weight in pollen.
Once back at the hive, the workers stuff the pollen into an awaiting cell. Unlike nectar-carrying bees, pollen-carrying bees have to off-load it themselves. In addition to depositing the pellets from their sacks, they may also groom away any pollen that is stuck to their bodies. The pollen is stored in cells at the perimeter of the brood nest, forming a ring around it. During the brood rearing season, the pollen is stored for only a few days. During the winter it is stored for much longer.
Honey bees usually forage on only one kind of flower on any single trip. This is nature’s way of assuring that plants are cross-pollinated. So a bee going to blackberries, keeps going to blackberries until there are no more blackberry flowers, then she will switch to something else. Honey bees collect pollen even from plants that don’t provide nectar, such as corn. In corn-growing regions, pesticide-contaminated corn pollen is suspected of causing severe health problems within the hive.
Was this GE corn?
Bees and other pollinators are affected by Glyphosate, used in the GMO process to make crops more resistant to pests and “killer” weeds and also allowing greater application of herbicides and pesticides.
I would look into what herbicides and pesticides are applied to the corn that are NOT applied to the wheat and soybeans.
Glyphosate “round-up'” is used on the corn crop more than any other crop. I have the round-up report. Del
Don’t get me wrong….I’m not a Monsanto fan at all, but I see lots of posts here about “oh, it must be pesticides” and I’m wondering if they are “armchair quarterbacks” or what? I’ve lived in the country where there is no Monsanto, and what I hear from this article is quite similar to what I experienced in my early beekeeping days, and that was mites. Now, don’t get me wrong (again)….with all the crops that are Monsanto in this article, I’d be certain that it is part of the problem. At no time in the article did the writer say they fumigated or tried to rule out mites before being able to rule out mites. You have to narrow down the possibilities before you can go on and look for something else, otherwise you’re chasing your tail. The comment too what that they were going to go U Pick Lavendar farm, right next to the Monsanto crops? The bees aren’t going to know to stay away from the Monsanto crops. They’re going to see whatever is growing, and hightail it for some pollen, wherever it is. For the writer, I would suggest digging into the mite idea and fumigate the colonies prior to winter so most of the mites are not sucking blood all winter long, creating a weaker colony in the spring. Just an idea, but one that needs to be stated. Good luck!
GMO and pesticide on corn since it only happens after a crop year. It’s a good way to prove GMO modified can kill through the chain,not just bees……with no bees will be no food.. I’d contact corn people and put in a complaint with other agencies as well. It may not help as you’re little but it could raise awareness. After reading some of the comments,we agree. Now,since Monsato is so in trouble and hated for Roundup effects,they are going to change it;s name but not do anything else…..But,Bayer just purchased monsato and will probably just repackage and possible name change…afterall,it’s sad that the 2 biggest,worse inventers and manufacturers of poison feed us(monsato did agent orange and Bayer the gas that Hitler used to kill)…
Dear Ms. Sartell;
Thank you for the very informative article. You are very circumspect in your conclusion, properly so. I will point out, if an abnormal event occurs once, that could be coincidence. If it happens twice under the same operant factors, coincidence is highly unlikely.
Regarding the smell of the cornfield and the resulting taste of the honey, I would would be suspicious, because some of the virulent pesticides and herbicides used on GMO crops also have a sweetish smell. I’d have the honey tested.
I’m only a third year beekeeper in Idaho, but my thought is that you need to find out if the corn is either treated with neonics or if they spray pesticides of some kind on it. Is there somewhere else you could take your bees in corn years where they couldn’t get to it?
I had a similar observation but mine targeted a 15 acre field with soybeans (Roundup beans). First year, the hives were nearly empty within 2 months. Second year, 3 hives were empty of bees within 2 weeks of harvest!. Sent samples for analysis and no disease found. I gave up trying to enjoy my hobby. Too expensive to maintain.
That was an interesting article concerning colony death in the years following corn production. Corn production is associated with the use of neonicitonides ( in particular one called Clothianidin. This pesticide has been associated with bee colony death in European studies. Could this have been a factor?
European studies have linked pesticides common in corn farming ( neonicotinides, in particular Clothianidin) to death of bee colonies.
https://bit.ly/2L7yIYM you tell me that crop duster is not trailing Bee death in its wake — long or slow, it is hurting all pollinators and ME – my eyes were a mess for a week after he sprayed crops on 3 sides of my house – turning his deathmobile over my pond, orchard, house…. when he’s not dusting he sprays, i’ve been drenched in ammonia most every year now — i’m gonna die screaming right beside my GrrLzzzz
Pesticides kill bees as well as other bugs/insects/critters, etc. I notice many bees in my area do not go to plants that were “purchased” from a nursery. I am in a tropical climate and spring/summer brings tropical fruits that are native to this area so the bees tend to go to those, thank goodness. Seems it takes years before I see any bees butterflies or dragon flies go to “store bought” plants even if the plants are labeled bee friendly. We laid sod in our backyard and a few bees died in the grass. Another interesting topic.
I told by an old beekeeper that when the corn goes to tassel you need to put out pollen substitute to keep the bees off the corn. Good luck.
Honey bees don’t normally visit corn. So I’ve heard. Corn is wind pollinated and the protein level is very low in the corn pollen. I’d be interested to hear about future years on the corn. Possibly it is from something else That is planted that year.
need to check what the corn seed is being treated with. If it’s a neionitice (Not spelled right) that could be your problem.
I have heard corn pollen does not have the amount of nutrition the bees need to survive the winter— I have a garden and the bees love the tassels—I even see a smaller black bee when it tassels. That’s all I know about that topic.
The other major problem is the mites—–they can carry at least 20 different viruses that kill the bees in the winter cluster. try battling them at least by August . Too much later —the bees have already been infected. Good luck !!!
My first question would be what was your mite load going into winter? How do you manage your mite load? This kind of winter death is classic for a mite issue. In answer to the Bt comment, Bt is sometimes used in the hives during winter storage to prevent wax moth damage, so no, it is not harmful to bees.
My first question would be what was your mite load going into winter? How do you manage your mite load? This kind of winter death is classic for a mite issue. In answer to the Bt comment, Bt is sometimes used in the hives during winter storage to prevent wax moth damage, so no, it is not harmful to bees. And Julia, that massive die off you reference happened years ago. It was due to the neonic dust during planting. They have since changed the equipment used for planting neonic treated seeds, and no other mass die offs of this kind have happened.
Just a guess, but if the corn is GM and is the type that contains Bt as part of its genetic makeup, your bees may be ingesting it when they gather pollen from the corn. See if this site explains your problem or at least shed some light on the possible cause: https://fas.org/biosecurity/education/dualuse-agriculture/2.-agricultural-biotechnology/bt-corn.html
I believe the reason the bees died out is because of the buildup of pesticides in the hives from the gmo crops. Even though the crops were rotated the bees will travel 3-4 miles for nectar and pollen. If the crops were gmo soybeans the bees will collect pollen and nectar from them too. They could have had a big build up of mites. The article did not state if the hives were ever treated.
Some folks around here say if you’re near a corn or dairy operation, don’t bother keeping bees.
Several have in this thread have hinted at your problem, and it is what you suspect, it’s the pesticides in the non-organic corn growing operation.
Most likely they are using neonic treated seed. Which results in systemic uptake within the plant, which gets into the pollen, so over the winter when the bees start to consume the stored pollen from the fall, you guessed it, a time bomb waiting to kill your bees.
This is not rocket science, when you put poison on your food to kill insects, guess what, it works.
Just like the tobacco and oil industries, agricultural chemical companies have spent billions creating doubt claiming their products are ‘safe for bees’. There are no broad spectrum insecticides safe for bees, and we’re seeing a devastating global impact as a result of Monsanto/Bayer crop science profits:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/magazine/insect-apocalypse.html
I’ve even heard educated beekeepers say it doesn’t matter what we spray on corn because it’s ‘wind pollinated’. I guess they’ve never looked in a field of corn when the tassels were dropping pollen. Bees love it.
As for cows, how can they hurt bees? Most dairy farms control intestinal parasites with larval stage insecticide ‘de-wormers’. Turns out, bees like to land on cow pies for moisture/minerals/nutrients, and those insecticides make it back to the hive where the developing bee larva get zapped.
What about herbicides, those won’t hurt bees right they just kill plants?
Well, aside from the obvious habitat and food resource destruction they cause, many herbicides are also anti fungal/bacterial. When bees bring those toxins into the hive, they kill the complex microbial biology in the hive that’s necessary for the pre-digestion/fermentation of pollen, sometimes referred to as ‘bee bread’ which is needed to help break down the pollen proteins before ingestion by nurse bees to produce royal jelly.
Reductionist science, though important, has not helped us humans keep an eye on the big picture. Biological interactions are complex, we can’t kill one thing in a complex ecosystem without impacting other parts of that system.
We are part of that system, and we are actively poisoning our well with the use of ‘conventional’ farming techniques that heavily rely on poison applications on the food we then eat.
Good luck convincing your neighbors to switch to organic practices.
When you found the dead bees was the food honey still in the comb? Do bees eat corn infusesd honey?
Here’s an answer to your questions from our bee expert Becky Tipton:
It is not uncommon to find food remaining in the hive after the bees have died. This can happen for a variety of reasons but the most common is that the cluster was too small to maintain contact with the food source and they were unable to move to the food source bc of cold and died (but that’s all related to cluster size).
Im not sure what you mean by “corn infused honey”? Honey bees will work corn pollen (big yellow flakes of pollen on the corn tassels) but it is poor quality (low protein) and is not a preferred source. Unfortunately, corn is abundant and if a better source is not available, they will gather it. There is no nectar associated with corn, only pollen. To make honey, bees use the nectar of plants. The pollen is a protein source for the bees. The bees eat the pollen but it only gets into the honey incidentally (tiny amounts of pollen are present in raw honey).
In the honey industry, “infused honey” is a specific term used to describe honey that has had flavors, herbs, or spices added to the honey to add a new flavor blend. Vanilla infused honey is made with vanilla beans in honey. Common flavors include: coffee, peppers, garlic, cinnamon. So, corn infused honey would be from a beekeeper adding corn to a jar of honey and letting the corn flavor steep into the honey. And, although if that was fed back to the bees, they would probably eat it (they will often eat any high sugar substance) I cannot think that would be a healthy choice for them.
As we begin a new hobby, learning the vocabulary is always challenging and in beekeeping there are a LOT of new terms. It may not seem like an important part of beekeeping but if we don’t all use the same words for the same things, the conversations get very confusing! I hope I’ve answered your questions.
For the Bees, Becky
We got bees for the 1st time last yr.
I live in Turkey in an agricultural village . One of the farmer’s has a field next to us and one near by that he grows corn for his cows winter feed.
We also grew corn for our chickens to eat. We have not lost any bees but it is something I will watch out for.
I’m no expert, I have only had bees for 4 years, but I do have a farm background. I’m wondering if the bees are picking up pesticides from the corn that are not enough to kill them right away, but weaken the colony so they don’t make it through the winter.
A question that I would ask. Are you treating for mites? If your bees are carrying to high a mite load they can go into winter looking great, and the first cold spell hits, and they all die.
I don’t think It is the corn itself, but could be something related.
I think your comment about being coincidental was right on the money! Bees generally do not forage in corn unless there is absolutely nothing else around, and if that is the case you should consider moving your hives. Even if the bees were foraging in the corn, the corn produces zero nectar, so there is no reason for the honey to smell or taste like corn. What you described as bees dying the second or third year after introduction is classical mite symptoms.
I’m in NE Indiana and by far my best hives are ones located adjacent to commercial corn fields. Since farmers started planting GMO corn there are virtually NO pesticide deaths since they really don’t need to use them because the plant makes it’s own (BT). Now if it was a farmer not using GMO corn or an organic farm I wouldn’t put my hive within 5 miles of the farm (pesticides used by organic farmers are as bad and often worse on bees than conventional ones).
Insecticides and Pesticides used in farming corn?
To say that corn has no pollen is not enough. I have an open sack of corn chops on my porch and have been finding many bees mobbing it on warm days this month.
When bees go to bird seed feeders, it is not for pollen. Possibly protein, they will roll in the corn picking up dust. They also frequent corn silage in open piles. I certainly think everything related to insecticides or growth regulators is is even worse than we suspect, I don’t think it rules out a nutritional imbalance.
GMO corn has a virus implant to control corn borer. The pollen your bees brought back to the hive would be used for brood rearing and as such allow the virus to attack your developing larvae which results in the demise of your colony.
hey, i’ve noted the honey bees dissappearing in central north carolina for 10 or more yrs now. its been concerning to me. I have an orchard and wanted to catch a wild swarm to put in the orchard, didnt know when i would find one for they are rare now. guess what my sister found a wild hive in a hollow tree in the woods in front of her house. i was going to attempt to catch the swarm this coming spring. So about june i’m goin to her house and notice the appx 50 acre field across the road planted in corn ( thats a big corn field for person co ) i told her document the bees were active healthy, they were. this past week i asked her about them she said they were gone. I think they died because of the corn. i suspected thats what would happen. They were wild you would think they could make it. the wild bee population has crashed here since i was in college say 1980. I dont know the corn killed em, but it smells. back in the day i knew of numerous wild hives that thrived in the same home for many years tks rick
Hi,
I stumbled upon this post while reading articles in an attempt to figure out why we lost 2/3 of our hives this year. For the first time ever we planted a 15 x 15 plot of sweet corn about 20 yards from our bee hives. Our bees spent about 4 week pulling pollen out of the corn plants. We could taste the same “buttery” flavor, that you described, in our honey. And coincidentally we lost 2/3 of our hives. It is important to note that over that past five years we, and our bees, have been extremely blessed to have not lost a single hive until now. The only difference in the care and environment we have provided to bees has been this 15 x 15 plot of corn. We are small time backyard bee keepers and maintain 5 hives. I’m a little bit sick thinking that the corn I planted may have contributed to the demise of our bees.
That makes sense. The pesticides make us sick, so I’m sure it affects the bees. Our bees died last year, we live in farm country and it was a corn year! We ordered Italian bees from GA this year. So far they seem very healthy. I plant wildflowers and poppies every year, and we have 2 acres of clover. However, the GA bees are NOT on the clover or poppies. They are bringing pollen in, we just don’t know from where. I hope it’s not full of pesticides!
Are you checking for mites on your hives. The corn harvest sort of lines up with the mite population boom in my area.