Bee hives? Not in your backyard

[jpak]

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=188039&ac=PHnws

George Muller couldn't wait for the 3,000-plus honeybees he ordered to start multiplying and pollinating the plum and apple trees at his South Berwick home. More bees, more fruit, he thought.

His neighbor, David Flores, couldn't be more horrified. The honeybee is not known for being aggressive toward people, but he still worries that children swimming in the family pool could get stung and develop allergic reactions.

Flores dropped leaflets throughout the neighborhood, and this week went before town councilors to ask for beekeeping regulations.

The issue has yet to go on a Town Council agenda, but beekeepers fear that South Berwick could become the latest in a string of communities in Maine and around the country to impose regulations on raising bees because of neighborhood complaints.

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[tekisui]

1. Ignorance abounds.

Honeybees are responsible for a vast majority of our food supply. We need them to pollinate nearly all the fruit we eat, and the food that is fed to the animals we eat.

[AlecBGreen]

2. what a goon

i have two dozen beehives on my property and i can walk right up to any of them with no fear of being stung. THEY DO NOT STING if they're not provoked and (they're not stepped on!). These arent yellow-jackets or africanized bees, they're lil' ol' honeybees buzzing around picking up nectar & pollen.

I guess I shouldnt call this fella a goon, its just hard for me to realize how ignorant of nature some people have become.

[ovidsen]

3. Really a shame!

Honeybees, even the Africanized ones, are basically docile unless you really work to agitate and annoy them. I. e. stick a rake in their nest and stand back and watch. On the obvious plus side, they fertilize fruits, vegetables and flowers.

On the other hand, yellowjackets, and their cousin, the white faced hornet, will attack if you give them a bad look. They're carnivores and scavengers, and are often found feasting on road kill, where (trust me) they do NOT want to be bothered by so much as your presence 6 feet away. Plus, unlike honeybees, who die after they sting just once, wasps and hornets can go on stinging forever, and their venom is much more powerful (it's used not only for protection, but to kill prey, such as caterpillars), and therefore, much more of a threat.

If my neighbor wanted to set up a honeybee nest, he or she would have my blessing. On the other hand, if this same neighbor tried to set of a nest of yellow jackets, or white faced hornets, I'd raise holy hell.

They may bear a superficial resemblance, but boy, are their personalities different!