I think someone else has already pointed out that the author is writing from a non US perspective.
replyBut at the risk of being patronising, I wanted to say that we should all try to resist the "the author lost me when" reaction. I catch myself doing this too, but I don't think it's useful.
Reading an article isn't a competition where you win if you don't get your mind changed. Someone might have valid thoughts and opinions even if there are details of the article you disagree with.
Especially in the current climate, I feel like we could benefit from being a little more charitable.
Thank you for saying this. It’s hard, but I’ve learned it’s a lot better to approach new information (and thus, articles) with curiosity, rather than skepticism.
replyHey, I'm the author. I'm indeed writing from Hungary, Europe, and here dandelions are native, and they are one of the main sources of early food, especially for the bumblebee queens and the mining bees. My lawn is littered with dandelions and there is so much activity on them. The other main food source at this moment is plum blossoms, but those are a favorite of the honey bees and they often aggressively chase away the native bees. So most of the native bees are therefore forced to keep lower to the ground and make use of the dandelions, daisies and violets. I see all my neighbors pulling out the dandelions, and thereby removing the only really abundant food source the native bees have left. That's why I said to stop pulling up dandelions.
replydoes this apply in the UK as well? I'm a fan of dandelions but everyone is determined to pull them out of our lawn but me!
replybut then I've also been told by a local bee keeper that the whole plant flowers for the bees policy isn't a good idea since that's how mites and other nasties can be transferred between hives?
Yes, there are about 250 native species of dandelions in the UK.
That is how the mites are transferred. They hitch a ride when a bee leaves the hive, drop off at a flower and wait for another bee to be taken to that hive. But the thing is, there are about a 1000 different kinds of mites (that we know off) and most of them are beneficial to the bees, not harmful. There are 3 big groups. The ones like the Varroa who will feed on the bees, there is a group that will neither harm nor help the bees, and is only after stealing the food the bees bring in, and there is a group who will clean the hives, eating the waste and harmful organisms. A healthy nest of bees isn't really at risk of the harmful mites. It's only when they get stressed or sick that there is the risk of the Varroa mites to wipe out the colony.
So it comes down to human intervention for the most part. When a bee-keeper sees a Varroa mite, he will treat the hive, and by doing so, also kills off the mites that keep the hive healthy and disturbing the balance. As a result, the bees, who are already living in an unnatural population density, get even more weak, since there is nothing left to keep the nest clean. The Varroa mites, if they find their way into the hive again, have now an easy prey and can easily wipe out an entire hive.
replyDandelions are a native species in Europe, the author is blogging from the southwest of Hungary.
replyHopefully you are now less lost.