Bees

[Oxmix]

It just dawned on me that I don't remember ever seeing any Bee's on Okinawa. They must be there. I did an internet search and couldn't find anything. So, what type of bee's are on Okinawa?

Regards

Ox

[Asshat]

It just dawned on me that I don't remember ever seeing any Bee's on Okinawa. They must be there. I did an internet search and couldn't find anything. So, what type of bee's are on Okinawa?

Regards

Ox

There are bees here Ox. I see them all the time gathering the clover buds. Look to my untrained eye like regular ol honey bees.

[Dark_Ronin]

that's right i have seen bees in naha city inside the market by kokusay street

[wenjam]

plenty of bees here....I take my dog outside, and they just hover over the clover flowers.....they are honey/worker bees...have them in FL too. Lived there most of my life...for the most part, harmless, just don't go barefoot in the clover flower patches. OUCH!!!

[DocTurtle]

I almost stepped on one today as a matter of fact. I was taking a little stroll with the wifey and there the little guy was. They are here. :thumbup:

[P_chan]

As everyone else said, ther are bees here. There was even a guy living on Mt. Yonaha who was raising bees.

Isn't there a honey shop or two on island too?

[TheNoNamedOne]

I've seen lots of bees in the yard. Most seem like regular honeybees, and I think I have seen a few yellow jacket types as well. But, both kinds do not seem to be around as abundantly as they are in my hometown.

[DocTurtle]

Never seen a honey shop...well...maybe I have and I just can't read the sign...but yea..there could be?

Actually, what about that one shop just to the south of Foster on 58? I think it's right after or right before the "Y" intersection that leads towards Tropical Beach? I think it's on the opposite end of the strip mall where "No Life No Hobbie" is. It has a picture of a bee and a spoon with something white in it...cream or something? Hmm....

[TheNoNamedOne]

There is honey production here. There used to be a company dealing in honey with their office near the old Kering Kennels.

[Sex Wax]

As everyone else said, ther are bees here. There was even a guy living on Mt. Yonaha who was raising bees.

Isn't there a honey shop or two on island too?

Some of the Kutsuri stores sell that medicinal honey. And there is regular honey also. There are even a few Bee Hive places on OKinawa. Here is a link to a Japanese Honey Company: http://www.3838.co.jp/english/index.html

[TheNoNamedOne]

I purposely have no flowers in my yard to discourage bees from coming. My dogs like to bite them, and have occassionaly been stung by them.

[okisteve]

As everyone else said, ther are bees here. There was even a guy living on Mt. Yonaha who was raising bees.

Isn't there a honey shop or two on island too?

I noticed a few in Maehara and Tsujimachi.:first:

[Trail]

The bees you are seeing are the Asiatic Honey bees (smaller bees) and the standard European Honey bees. I know mainland certain prefectures, have a difficult time raising bee hives due to the Asian Giant Hornet.

Asian Giant Hornet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_giant_hornet)
European Honey Bee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apis_mellifera)
Asiatic Honey Bee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apis_cerana)

Oh, and there are a few honey shops around. There was one in Stars and Stripes not too long ago.

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

The Giant Japanese Wasp - I have seen them on the mainland, but I wonder if they can be found here as well...seems they are found in Taiwan, so likely here too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespa_mandarinia_japonica

edit: Ah, bit late. OK, check out the vid.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060720-hornets-video.html

[Trail]

The Giant Japanese Wasp - I have seen them on the mainland, but I wonder if they can be found here as well...seems they are found in Taiwan, so likely here too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespa_mandarinia_japonica

Have you watched the Net. Geo. special they did on those bad boys? the European honey bees had no chance against them but the Asiatic honey bees would swarm and literally cook the wasp with the swarms body heat.

[Trail]

I would be sacred stiff if I had a wasp.hornet this large any where near me.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Picture_Vespa.jpg

You'd need a baseball bat to kill it!

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

Yup, saw it. If I'm caught watching TV, it tends to be National Geographic, Discovery, History Channel, Animal Planet, A&E, and occasionally ESPN. :cool:

[Trail]

Yup, saw it. If I'm caught watching TV, it tends to be National Geographic, Discovery, History Channel, Animal Planet, A&E, and occasionally ESPN. :cool:

All of those for me minus ESPN. I miss Nova on PBS stations though.

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

Yeah, good show with an interesting host.

[Courtney]

my son just came home from school w/ his 3rd bee sting while being here a whole 6 months!!!
I have seen many vendor selling honey w/ honeycomb and all, all over the place!

[Isaak Brodsky]

It just dawned on me that I don't remember ever seeing any Bee's on Okinawa. They must be there. I did an internet search and couldn't find anything. So, what type of bee's are on Okinawa?

Almost stepped on one yesterday. What's really disappeared are lightning bugs (fire flies) since the '70s. So says my local friend. She's right. I have never seen any. Another friend said that they've just about disappeared across PA, OH, KY, and IN. We used to catch 'em during the summer months when I was growing up.

[okisteve]

I saw one or two lightning bugs in my garden the other warm night. It was the first time I've seen any here in Oki. Maybe when it warms up a bit more you'll see some.

And speaking of cool insects, I haven't seen any hummingbird moths this year.

[TheNoNamedOne]

Almost stepped on one yesterday. What's really disappeared are lightning bugs (fire flies) since the '70s. So says my local friend. She's right. I have never seen any. Another friend said that they've just about disappeared across PA, OH, KY, and IN. We used to catch 'em during the summer months when I was growing up.

We have some lightning bugs in our yard. However, since we turn the patio and front door outside lights on to keep the snakes out of the yard, it cuts down on their visits. If we forget to turn the lights on for a few hours we will spot them.

Since lightning bugs find one another by their flashing butts, light pollution at night is really hurting their ability to reproduce. With that in mind, I do try to turn our lights off as much as possible but still on enough to keep the snakes out.

Strange how just one added variable by man really impacts on things in a rather large way.

As much as possible, try to cut down on light pollution (http://www.japanupdate.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3230&highlight=pollution) for the lightning bugs. You'll see the stars more easily, too.

Sorry... back to bee talk.

[okisteve]

Stars, in Okinawa??? It's usually too hazy. Maybe two nights a good year! It's one of the few things I really miss about Oregon.

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

Fireflys need extremely clean water to complete their life cycle. Along with light pollution, even slight water pollution greatly diminishes their numbers.

[Trail]

Uhhh... you are also forgetting that the spray they use to kill mosquitoes also kills fire flies. Hence why we are seeing a random few now. No spraying yet.

[Alana]

yep plain old honey bees like everyone said, i did though find a dead bumble bee on my patio today though

[Alana]

I would be sacred stiff if I had a wasp.hornet this large any where near me.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Picture_Vespa.jpg

You'd need a baseball bat to kill it!

holy hell, that is the single most terrifying flying creature i've ever seen. i'm not leaving the house without my baseball bat ever again.

[OCanadaOurHomeAndNativeLand]

There was a hive-cam on linkfilter today...

http://www.hivecam.com/

[Trail]

Article about the US bee population:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080507/ap_on_re_us/disappearing_bees;_ylt=AufkOyfiZO3PSsNcqgEqwoPQOrg F