Jude Calhoun

thanks Judith Browning! umm i'm quite new to Permies and forums and all that, so i'm not certain where we should post it to spread the word. i found the "regional resources" part and posted in Southern US and Appalachia, but maybe there are other places you could repost it that would get more foot traffic? I really appreciate it, this is an awful disaster (that's happening with more frequency), and people need to know about it to protect themselves. Also, we need to wake the heck up and hold CSX//oil companies//local government accountable, because it's just going to get worse from here, i think.

it stinks, Richmond prides itself on having one of the only "safe enough to swim//drink from still" rivers on the East coast, but this kind of crap is ruining it.

and the news stations aren't covering it as much as they should, of course. to keep the panic at bay.

thanks for spreading the word.

-jude

richmond, va, is needing a good laugh about now- last night we found out some CSX trains in Lynchberg derailed and dumped 50,000+ gallons of crude oil down the James River, which is a huge water supply for cities all downstream. (not to forget all the wildlife on the river who are being poisoned or were burned to death when the river caught fire)

If you live around the James River, please be careful drinking any water. Well water should be okay, but anything from the tap has oil residue in it, so just drink bottled water or well-filtered rain water. here's an article to share:

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/04/30/3432820/train-derailment-lynchburg/

http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/train-carrying-crude-oil-derails-in-downtown-lynchburg/article_ca91041c-d096-11e3-ae9b-0017a43b2370.html

please let your friends in VA//Appalachian//Piedmont region know about this if they haven't already heard. thanks-

-jude

http://theboldcorsicanflame.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/beekeeper-josh-kennett-trained-his-dog-to-sniff-out-killer-disease-that-wipes-out-hives/

(the link above is about the labrador retriever who has been trained to sniff out AFB! ..another good reason to adopt a pet dog.


just thought it would be good to share, maybe give someone else a laugh, too.


richmond, va, is needing a good laugh about now- last night we found out some CSX trains in Lynchberg derailed and dumped 50,000+ gallons of crude oil down the James River, which is a huge water supply for cities all downstream. (not to forget all the wildlife on the river who are being poisoned or burned)
If you live around the James River, please be careful drinking any water. Well water should be okay, but anything from the tap has oil residue in it, so just drink bottled water or well-filtered rain water. here's an article to share:

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/04/30/3432820/train-derailment-lynchburg/

i know this forum is about beekeeping, but i'm trying to get the word out so people can protect themselves from being poisoned. please let your friends in VA know about this if they haven't already heard. thanks-


-jude

oh, it's supposed to smell awful? okay, he didn't mention that on the phone. i'll ask him about the other things you mentioned, too, tel jetson. yeah, AFB does seem to be the worst of the worst diseases out there right now, i think that's why this dewd is so worried. he wanted to burn all his equipment, but i thought a bit more research was in order before he put himself at such a great disadvantage. i don't think it sounds like AFB either, from what I've heard at local groups, but i needed to check with more folx.

so, in your opinion, it's okay to let the wax moths have two frames of comb? i didn't know that was a good swarm lure! should it be left somewhere dark and damp that's away from the remaining live hives? (cuz i've heard that putting equipment in the sun//air circulation keeps the wax moths at bay)

thanks so much for your input!

another photo of the comb that darkened once the bees left it

here's a photo of the very dark comb

the mud dobber thought is where i'm leaning for the first issue. i think that was built after the bees vacated the hive. so i'm not too worried about that one.

in the initial post about this, i didn't upload all the photos i meant to (i'm not talented with computer technology and buttons and junk), so here's an image of the darkened comb from a second hive that died out. the beekeeper who tends these noted that the cells were not gooey, but is still nervous it might be Foulbrood.. do you know of other tests to use that could help determine if it's Foulbrood or not? if so, how do you do those tests?

p.s. i can see in these photos some evidence of wax moth larvae eating their way through the comb (trails of webbing, etc), but that's not what's in question.

thanxx,

-jude

hay,

another beekeeper i know is having issues with his Langstroth hives, and i need to help him if i can. he sent me some photographs of the abandoned comb, which i've attatched below. i've got more photos if you'd like to look at them for more evidence of the issue.

in one hive, there seems to be a papery nest of some sort in the lower middle part of three frames. he hasn't seen any non-honeybee critters emerging from it. doesn't look like a wasp's nest, but maybze it's another bug? or some kind of mould??? we don't know when the bees ghosted, or when this nest thing appeared (so it could have been after they left or something)

the second hive, and this one I'm real nervous about, could be a virus of some kind that i haven't had personal experience identifying. when he opened the hive to check 'em, the bees were gone. even though they were a relatively new colony (about a year old), their comb was very dark. he is afraid it's American Foulbrood, and did the 'toothpick test' in some cells, but when he pulled the toothpick out of the cells, the tip wasn't brown or nasty or gooey. WHEW. So. what could it be?

He's located in Scranton, near Florence, South Carolina, and doesn't have much free time to be part of beekeeping groups down there, or be a mentee to any more experienced keepers.

ya'll were the first forum to come to mind when i thought about posing this question, and i felt it was high time i became part of the forums. also, it'd be real cool if i got a chance to receive a free copy of Christy Hemenway's book, The Thinking Beekeeper. cuz' i'm definitely thinking, and sharing those thoughts with novice bee enthusiasts (who are in turn sharing their strange thoughts with me) around richmond. there's a real movement buzzing here!

i'd appreciate any help with this, the dewd is becoming discouraged, and i don't want him to lose hope or give it up, cuz it's very very important to his mental/spiritual/everything wellbeing, and he's been having a tough go at it the last couple of years.

thanxx!

hi-5s & honey,
-jude