Honey Bee Working a Dandelion A Very Short Film By Blueblood Productions

[blueblood]

Drove back to the yard to check on things before rain moves in.  Thought you would enjoy this.

[tbonekel]

Man, I wish I had that many dandylions!

[Perry]

"Blueblood Productions" 
It's amazing up here what people pay and do to try and get rid of them. I'm looking forward to their arrival. 

[LazyBkpr]

My wife laughs because I like the dandelions..   wait for them to go to puff before mowing in hopes of creating more.  I like thistle too, which everyone goes out of their way to get rid of..    Our neighbors probably get agrivated when they drive past.

[Jen]

For the last two years we haven't watered or gotten rid of the dandy's in the summer. The lawn is on clay anyway so it's not much to look at during the summer. And last fall we spread clover as well 

[riverbee]

wow blue, enjoyed! awesome pix and awesome video, thank you!  no dandelions here, and not for at least 3 weeks or more......like perry, looking forward to their arrival!  love the blueblood productions!

[CpnObvious]

Blue, it's funny you post dandelions... I just saw the first one up here on Friday!

TBone, I've always liked them as well.  It rare to see/hear someone say they wish they had a field of them.  My "remote" hive will love where they're going... There'll be about 3 1/2 acres of them soon-enough!

[tbonekel]

Well, there was a time that those weeds would really bother me. Not any more. Come the end of May, they will be gone anyway and the yard will look fine. My father in law really frets over the weeds in his yard. He tries to kill each and every one of them. It's a good thing he doesn't live next to me.

[Bakersdozen]

I like thistle too, which everyone goes out of their way to get rid of..   

Thistle is classed as a noxious weed here.  Farmers, etc. are supposed to eradicate them.  They will take over.

[blueblood]

It's a good thing he doesn't live next to me.

Speaking of in-laws.     Little bit of a back story, my wife and I converted a 1960's era Nazarene church into our home.  Her Parents live in the parsonage behind us.  I subdivided the property with 4 acres being in my name.  He is not a bad guy but has his moments.  He doesn't spray his dandelions.  But, he has tried on more than one occasion to dictate how many hives I can have on my own dang property.  I used to smile and forget about it.  The other day he mentioned it.  I gave him the same response I gave my wife when she denied my request to have a few chickens.  "Okay, Mr. (my nice old neighbor that shares my fervor for nature and doing for yourself) said I could put as many hives/chickens on his property as I wanted."     The properties are adjacent and seemingly very much the same anyway.  He just smiled at me as if he knew I had him.  Now, as for the wifey pooh, I'm not sure I am going to test the loop holes with her...

[blueblood]

I like thistle too, which everyone goes out of their way to get rid of..   

Thistle is classed as a noxious weed here.  Farmers, etc. are supposed to eradicate them.  They will take over.

Ditto, "weed board" comes by once in a while and checks for "Perry's Weed (Canadian Thistle)  and give you a notice if they find it.

[Slowmodem]

Little bit of a back story, my wife and I converted a 1960's era Nazarene church into our home.

Have you ever heard of a lady named Alice?  She and her husband converted a church into their home.  Since they lived in the steeple, they had a lot of room and didn't have to take out their garbage for a long time.

You can get any thing you want
at Alices restraunt.......la la la

 

[apisbees]

Yes once you start keeping bees, ones opinion on dandelions and noxious weed seems to change.
Who decides which plants are noxious weeds anyway. Most times also deferred to invasive species. The definition of invasive species which are noxious weed, are plants that are not native but are introduced to an area and compete and choke out the native plants. Again who decides which plants go on the invasive species list? The worst a fending plants to native plants are introduced agricultural crops, Alfalfa, grains, orchards, most garden plants, and lets not stop there we can include animals like cows horses even our beloved honey bee is an Invasive species. Just because some farmer has managed to talk some government representative that a plant (the invasive Canadian Thistle) is a noxious weed, it gets it's self a spot on the list. All because this invasive plant (that is a good producer of honey) grows in a farmers crop, that is an invasive species that he uses to feed his animals, that are invasive species.
Our invasive species the honey bee, thrives on the invasive thistle. WHAT IS AN INVASIVE SPECIES, and WHO DECIDES WHICH ARE THE INVASIVE SPECIES?

[crazy8days]

My bees are on 2 1/2 acres that I get paid to mow as well.  I mow around the house but have left the rest.  I should have taken a pic last week.  There was more yellow and blue flowers than grass!  It was beautiful!

[LazyBkpr]

  You get a notice if weeds are groing on your property??  heheh.. that wouldn't fly at all around here.. most fencelines and draws are all whatever weed grows there.

  Vetch..  yall talk about vetch.. whatg is it?   We have crown vetch.. which the highway department used to grow in ditches when they cleaned them etc... now it grows EVERYWHERE... but I didn't think the bees liked it?

[Slowmodem]

  Vetch..  yall talk about vetch.. whatg is it?   We have crown vetch.. which the highway department used to grow in ditches when they cleaned them etc... now it grows EVERYWHERE... but I didn't think the bees liked it?

I wish I could remember better, but a master gardener lectured at our bee meeting a few months ago and was talking like hundred or more pounds per acre of vetch.  But I can't document that.

[LazyBkpr]

I stand corrected.

   Crown vetch is a non-native legume that is used extensively in North America. It is ideal for erosion control and land rehabilitation, with its mat-forming growth habit and ability to grow well in very poor soil, It is also produces high quality pollen and nectar for foraging pollinators. Crown vetch is self-incompatible, and depends on insect pollinator to produce seed. Many bees (including honey bees, bumble bees, and solitary bees) are common visitors, although getting adequate pollination at a commercial scale is difficult.

   I guess I need to stop trying to get rid of it..  Grows like mad all along the pond dam and ditches.

[riverbee]

we get a pretty good crown vetch bloom here in a field of ours that once was a gravel pit, and is in the flood plain......the bees get all over it, and makes a good honey crop in part with other non-native species.

i'm with apis.....
"WHAT IS AN INVASIVE SPECIES, and WHO DECIDES WHICH ARE THE INVASIVE SPECIES?"

around here apis it's the county agent if your property is in the forest management program......and they get after you and keep on you if you don't remove what they tell you to amongst thousands of acres of corn.....
well guess what, i did it once on some non-native species, won't do it again. we go around from time to time but the non native species stays that benefit my bees where nothing else grows.