I was in a car with a friend when a bee (or wasp, I never actually saw it) flew in the window, up the leg of his (baggy) shorts and stung him in those tender man-parts....but guess who was shrieking and hyperventilating by the side of the road? And even when his knackers swelled to grapefruit size, I was still making far more fuss. Still, it is quite true - help is possible (although I tell ya, the therapy lark was a dismal fail for me)......gardening though...... Out of the blue, my daughter (the same bee-stung one - she still loves me) cleared up our naked, muddy puppy ridden yard one day (we had many lurchers) and, in celebration we planted a lavatera. Obviously, as all gardeners know and I had yet to find out, lavatera grows like the clappers....but still, I thought I was a tremendous success (although was, at that point, less amused with the delighted bees)....and obviously had green fingers. Next plant - a japanese anemone - again, by sheer luck (I liked the name) I picked another winner....and an obsession was born. A totally overwhelming desitre to get to know plants (I enrolled for horticulture college quicksmart - 4 years!). Now seeing bees going about their business, on our plants (where they vastly prefer to hang out rather than on our arms and legs), over the last decade, has undeniably got a whole lot easier (although I am, of course, watching at a respectable distance and making sure I have a clear exit).........and as an avid fruit grower, I certainly have a vested interest in their continued health and survival - see what I mean about cancelling each other out....because whilst I fear these creatures, I also admire and depend on them so could not countenance spraying (although I have not the slightest compunction about spraying nettles out of all existence with some lethal broadleaf killer agent orange napalm death........) So while I never expect to get up close and personal to a bee, the sheer number of times I encounter them really does diminish that visceral anxiety because a lot of the time, I am tortured by anticipation and imagination.....actually being near but feeling safe has been the best therapy I have ever done.....so first of all, get involved in the garden.....might be what you need to break the cycle (yeah, I know all that facing one's fear blah blah......but it works if the rewards (a really great hobby and being able to be outside in the garden) are enough to make the effort.

It just depends on if your pollinating a couple trees or a orchard though usually they will go to "wild" plants. Also if your talking about honey you mostly want get any honey because it takes so much energy to get the honey. Also almond honey is bitter. Happy Beekeeping! -Alex

Could it be genetically engineered crops that are killing honey bees? Let's think about what's happening to them logically. I don't claim to be an expert, just a lay man, but I read the news and here's what I think. It's my understanding that the die off really started about 6 to 8 years ago, maybe a bit longer, and has increased exponentially in the last few years. Apparently honey bees are falling victim to natural predators and are severely weakened overall. Pesticides and other environmental toxins could be to blame but there have been pesticides around for some time. We must ask then, what is new to the equation? We should also ask, if bees are being imported from Austriala to take the place of native bees, why hasn't Austraila and other countries been effected? This would suggest that as opposed to something global, the problem must lie in something local, something uniquely north american. Now, I dont know for a fact, but judging from the response in Europe to genetically modified crops, I'd bet that Austriala probably doesn't widely use genetically modified crops either. Now, it's also my understanding that these genetically modified crops can include pesticides right in the genetic material, to naturally ward off predators. I also understand that it's possible for genetically modified crops to spread their dna into other plant life and other non modified crops via pollen and other ways beyond my limited understanding. Isn't it possible that the low levels of pesticide in genetically modified crops could be weakening the bees immune systems somehow, in ways that scientists behind these gene modifications couldn't have predicted? I'd be willing to bet that if you looked at a chart, you'd see that genetically modified crops have grown in scope about at the same exponential rate that the bee deaths have been occuring. The levels of whatever is harmful in these genetically modified crops may not be enough to outright kill bees, thus scientists wouldn't have picked up on the problem, but it would be enough to weaken an individual bees immune system over time so that eventually the bee cannot cope with natural predators. The bee would basically constantly have a cold because it can't deal with whatever new genetic material exists in the pollen it's harvesting from the crops. Therefore, healthy bees brought from Austrialia will eventually get sick and die too, and if genetically modified crops spread to other areas of the world in the same broad scope we have embraced them here in the States, then you'll see a dying out of bees there too. Now, another interesting question to ask is, what's happening to other pollenators like butterflies? Are they dying out too? Is it more gradual becuase maybe butterflies have tougher immune systems or has nobody even bothered to pay enough attention to tell? Just by watching discovery channel I've figured out that genetically changed material can spread beyond the original target crops. Is it possible that it's spread to what farmers and scientists thought were "organic" crops and nobody has even noticed, except of course the bees getting sick and dying? It would be interesting to learn if bees were getting sicker or dying out more in areas that contain genetically modified crops. Frankly, I'm surprised nobody on the net really seems to have picked up on this connection yet. It would be ironic if that in our efforts to improve crop yield by using genetically modified plant dna, we sealed our fate by getting rid of the pollenators we need to have those crops survive. It would be especially ironic if the genetic material potentially killing these bees has spread beyond control and has now severly contaminated the environment in ways that cannot be contained. What that would mean very shortly s a very different way of life without many of the things that make life so beautiful, like busy little bees. I really know very little on this subject, I'm just bringing it up for discussion. I hope people a lot smarter than I am pick the subject up and investigate further. L

Beesource is a good start. If you want more direct information, you'll have to mention which state, or even what city you live in. Your page just mentions somewhere in the Northwest. You are hardpressed to find anyone with a package of bees available at this point, but you can still find queens and you can also get lucky and find someone willing to sell you a few frames of bees and brood (called a nuc). As johnyoga2 mentioned, you want to start with your local bee clubs. If you are in Washington, there are several and a few more I'm aware of up in Oregon too. Each state has several organizations as well as the state organization that meets at least once a year. Local organizations usually meet once a month and support the education and assistance needed by new beekeepers like yourself. Let me know more about where you are located, so I can point you in the right direction. Shoot me an email at info@allenbeecompany.com