Monthly Archives: July 2010

Unique Bee Adventure Casual Game – Bee Oh Bee

Bee Oh bee is a unique adventure casual game. The adventure starts when two big crisis strike the bee colonies. First the monetary crisis that strikes God-bee colony, a bee colony that lives up above in the sky. This happens because they are lacking of honey to export. The second crisis is the strange disease that strikes the Earth-bee colony, a bee colony that live in the surface of the earth. The disease forces them to leave their original homeland, rendering them homeless, desperate for finding a new home. To solve the crisis, both bee colonies have met to made an agreement which the God-bee Colony will help the Earth-bee colony to find a new hive as their new home, and the Earth-bee colony will give some of their honey for the God-bees to export.

Now your journey will begin as a God-bee trying to help the homeless honey bee. Flap your wings over 5 different places starting from home yard, autumn garden, freezing snowy field, sakura garden, to a steamy hot desert to help 13 various cute honey bee tribes from little Indian bees, little rich bees, some nasty killer bees, and many more cute bees. To save the bees from extinction, you must fly around to find the homeless honey bees, form a bee group to join you, and guide them to their suitable beehive, then they will give you some help in a form of money or a bottle of sweet and delicious honey. The tricky part is you must do it quickly or they became impatient and leave your pitiful group.

Adding to that, occasionally you will be asked to act as a honey-bee cupid, helping poor single lonely honey-bees to find their soulmate. And it doesn’t stop there, the mission is getting tough when you have to face up to 16 enemy bugs that want to turn you and your honey bees into flat pancake. These enemy bugs is very various starting from hammered naughty punk grasshopper kid, spike-clubbed Eskimo grasshopper, C4-bombed crazy grasshopper, super-boxer giant grasshopper, and much more.

On later missions you will meet four God-bees that can be chosen before the mission starts. They are Syd, Cylia , Lucia, and Samuro. Each of them has different abilities and weapons. Cylia, for example can sing to entertain the your group of honey-bees, Lucia can shoot fireball to burn enemy into crisp, and much more.

There are more than 50 levels that can be played on this game. This game has been developed by LunaKite, and is available on the market at April 2008. For more information you can visit www.lunakite.com.

Michael Sugiarto is a game developer of LunaKite.
This company is established at April 1 2008.
You can visit, play and download the game by visiting
www.lunakite.com
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Another Year of Disappearing Honey Bees

The 2008 calendar indicates that another spring has arrived in North America and the signs of the new season are everywhere. Buds have appeared on trees, heralding the arrival of new leaves. The increased daylight and the warming sun act as harbingers for the appearance of flowering plants that will soon begin their summer cycle of growth. Nurseries and home improvement stores; such as, Home Depot and Loews, are selling plants, rakes, shovels, mulch, and fertilizer.

Indeed, the familiar signs of spring are everywhere. However, once again this year, there is a real problem in nature which is tempering agricultural enthusiasm for the upcoming growing season. It is a problem that was first identified in 2006. The problem continues to be the disappearance of the honey bee. Once again there is little progress to report from research into this mystery surrounding the honey bee called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

CCD occurs when all adult bees disappear from the hive, leaving the honey and pollen behind. Few, if any, dead bees are found around the hive. Between 50 and 90% of the commercial honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the United States have been afflicted with CCD and the problem is making it difficult for U.S. commercial beekeepers to pollinate crops. About a quarter of beekeeping operations were affected by CCD during the 2006-2007 winter alone. It is estimated that up to 70% of honey bees in the United States have just disappeared due to Colony Collapse Disorder. The problem has continued during the winter of 2007-2008.

In addition to the ongoing problem of CCD, consider that news reports indicate significant regional problems with dying honey bees this spring in the United States. In Hawaii, a microscopic mite is devastating Oahu’s honey bee population and the long term affects could wipe out much of the island’s agriculture. Western Washington State has a developing agricultural crisis as bees are dying from a new pathogen called Nosema Ceranae. This fungus attacks the bee’s gut, making it impossible to process food and the bee eventually starves to death.

In general, the various problems with disappearing and dying honey bees are rapidly taking a toll on the entire United States beekeeping industry. It has been reported that the number of keepers who produce more than 6,000 pounds of honey annually has declined from 2,054 in 2005, (the year before keepers started experiencing colony collapse) to about 1,100 this year.

Internationally, a lack of a sufficient number of honey bees is responsible this spring for problems in blueberry pollination in Canada. The Fraser Valley produces about one-fifth of the world’s blueberries, but no longer has a sufficient number of honey bees to support its blueberry pollination, and honey bees are now being imported for pollination.

In England and Wales, proposals to protect honey bees have recently been announced by the government. However, bee keepers complain about a lack of research funding and the slow pace of governmental response since the number of honey bees continues in decline.

It is now estimated that nearly half of Italy’s 50 billion bee population died last year. That bee mortality rate will have a drastic effect on the country’s 25-million-euro honey industry (which could plummet by at least 50% in 2008) and wreak havoc on fruit crops. The worldwide bee epidemic has also hit France, Germany, Britain, Brazil, and Australia.

The increased cost of energy in food production and transportation has already led to a world food price inflation of 45 percent in the last nine months alone. There are serious worldwide shortages of rice, wheat, and corn. The rising cost of food has recently been responsible for deadly clashes in Egypt, Haiti, and several African states.

However, if the population of the honey bee continues to decline, worldwide events from higher prices and shortages of food will have only just begun. The pollination of the honey bee is crucial to agriculture and the world’s food supply. Without the honey bee, prices of vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, and dairy prices will all spiral much higher.

The disappearance of the honey bee poses a threat to eating premium ice cream as well. Haagen-Dazs, (owned by General Mills) said bees are responsible for 40% of its 60 flavors, such as strawberry, toasted pecan, and banana split. The company is launching a new flavor this spring called Vanilla Honey Bee to raise consumer awareness about the problem. Proceeds from the sale of the ice cream will be used to fund CCD research.

The ramifications to our diet and lifestyle are enormous, but government’s response to the developing food crisis has been limited and slow. The disappearing honey bee issue has not been discussed in any Presidential debate or in any campaign forum. In fact, both of our major political parties have been silent on the problem.

Hopefully, American politicians on the campaign trail in the 2008 United States presidential election like Haagen- Daz products. The truth is that Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream may be the only way to bring the candidates attention to a serious, developing, agricultural crisis. A world without sufficient honey bee pollination will create a food crisis of economic, national, and international ramifications. Indeed, it is another year without a solution to the problem of disappearing honey bees.

James William Smith has worked in Senior management positions for some of the largest Financial Services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Visit his website at http://www.eWorldvu.com
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How Does the Bees Use Pollens as a Substitute

Pollen is a source of protein, vitamins, mineral and some carbohydrates for honeybees. One pollen alone does not provide a bee with all the nutrients they need to stay healthy, so a variety of pollens are needed to provide them will all the nutrients they need. Without these nutrients, bees would not be able to produce the royal jelly required to feed the queen and rear brood. If the weather will not allow the bees to leave the hive for several days to collect pollen, and there is very little stored in the combs, it will be necessary the beekeeper to feed the bees a pollen substitute. At the same time the beekeeper will feed them sugar syrup. 

The main ingredient used in making a pollen substitute is brewer’s yeast. The yeast can be fed to the bees dry, but the bees can better utilize the yeast when it is made into patties with the consistency of peanut butter. The yeast is often mixed with 50% sucrose syrup to moisten the patties. The patties are wrapped in wax paper or placed inside plastic bags to keep them moist. The beekeepers that use the high fructose corn syrup will mix the patties using that syrup. Other ingredients can be added to the patties that offer more nutrients than the yeast and syrup mixture alone. Beekeepers will add casein, lactalbumin or soy flour to their mixtures. If the beekeeper use the casein and lacatalbumin it is necessary for them to watch out for lactose and over two- percent sodium. When the beekeepers use soy flour, they try to get the “debittered” soy flour that has been processed and retains some lipids, and toasted to knock out enzymes that interfere with the bees’ digestion. Always make sure to check the data on the soy flour. The beekeeper will want to determine if the soy is a “high sucrose” variety or contains mostly stachyose. Stachyose is toxic to bees. Beekeepers will sometimes add a “feed yeast” like Torula to the pollen mixture to enhance the nutrients in the substitute. Most of them don’t use it because of the high cost.

Pollen substitutes do not increase brood production as well as pollen sources brought in by the bees themselves. Because of the pollen substitute brood rearing will not stop all together should the weather stay bad for a while. A beekeeper will have a fatter bee when using a pollen substitute. There are some areas where pollen is scarce in the late summer and fall. If the beekeeper feeds the bees pollen substitute for a fatter bee, a fatter bee will winter better and rear more brood the next spring than their non-fed counterparts.

Bees are not fond of pollen substitutes. It must be place directly in contact with the bees and as close to the brood as possible. As long as the bees are bringing in a trickle of pollen the substitute will be eaten. If there is no pollen being brought in, the substitute will be ignored and will spoil over time. There are some commercially formulated pollen substitutes on the market that claim the pollen substitute is so attractive to the bees that they will eat it anytime the substitute is offered. No one has investigated those claims.

For tips on african bees and bee types, visit the Bee Facts website.
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Pest Control: What It Is and When To Use It

Pests are a big problem in both rural and urban areas. Pests can have businesses closed down for health and safety reasons, and they can drastically decrease peoples quality of life for those unlucky enough to live in residential areas with recurring pest problems.

There are many different kinds of pest, some which are harmful to humans and may spread disease, and some which are simply irritating or may cause damage to the food in your cupboards, to the very structure of your house. To list the reasons why each of the pests may appear in the first place would take quite some time, so for now we’ll focus on the types of pests which are likely to appear and how to get rid of them:

Ants: Ants form huge colonies indoors, outdoors and all over the place. Ants can be extremely difficult to get rid of once they take hold. Many poisons are available on the market to deal with ants and you do not need to call a pest control expert.
Cockroaches: Cockroaches are a major disease carrier. They tend to indulge themselves on anything from human food to biological waste. It is advised to call a pest control to deal with cockroaches.
Bed Bugs: Bed Bugs are a nasty little nocturnal creature which feed on the blood of people unlucky enough to be close enough to where they are hiding. Bed bugs need a pest control specialist to eradicate them.
Wasps: Wasps are not often thought of as pests, but people who have been unfortunate enough to have to spend long periods of time next to a fully operational wasps nest will tell you different. Wasps are unpredictable insects which can sting without provocation, and a nest housing hundreds or thousands of these insects is best gotten rid of rather than put up with. Wasps are easy to get rid of by using off the shelf poisons which is usually applied around the nest.
Mice / Rats: Vermin are disease carriers which feed on human food and may take residence within the home or outside of the home, particularly near dustbins or compost heaps and places which tend to have a ready supply of waste food bits lying around. It is therefore best to try and make sure dustbin bags aren’t left strewn around on the floor as vermin will have no problem in gnawing their way through the bag and returning regularly to eat. Various poisons are available to kill vermin infestations, or you can call an exterminator.

It is important that if you have a pet such as a cat or dog, to read the label of the various poisons/chemicals properly. Also be sure to inform the pest control people you have a pet and they can treat your infestations with a poison/chemical which will not harm your pets.

You are welcome to visit our website for more information on Pest Control.
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How to Raise a Queen Bee

The success of the colony depends largely on the quality of the queen. As a beekeeper you may notice a difference in the production of honey from one colony to the next. The difference in production can depend on several factors, one of which is the queen. Beekeepers call this trait as “queenlessness”. When the queen is in the state does less brood rearing, drone layers and shows queenlessness, must be replaced. When beekeepers spot this condition going on in one of his colonies he will, what is known as “requeen ” the colony.  Requeening is basically introducing a new queen into the colony. Although queen bees can be purchased from commercial beekeepers, but prefer to raise the queen themselves in order to continue with a queen of the strain or stock of previous queens that has produced so much success in his colonies. Purchasing queen bees from a commercial beekeeper does not guarantee a queen of from a good strain.

When rearing queens it is best to use larvae that are under 24 hours old. Larvae of this age have not been exposed to the worker’s diet. It is important that the future queen larvae be fed queen jelly. Queens are raised from the same fertilized eggs as the worker bees. When the eggs are newly hatched, they are neither a queen nor a worker bee. Once the hatched larvae is 3 days old pollen is introduced into the diet of the larvae destined to become worker bees. On the other hand the hatched larvae destined to become queen bees are raised in what is known as the queen cell which has been specially built.

There are requirements to raising a good queen.  The needs to be an ample supply of nectar and good quality pollen, as well as an abundance of sexually mature, high-quality drones for mating with the newly emerge virgin queens. There must be suitable weather for mating of the drones and the queens. There needs to be a good queen mother to breed from, whose offspring worker bees (and colonies) seem to have the qualities desired, such as gentle temperament, disease resistance, low swarming tendency and excellent honey production.

This is a summary of the steps to be taken for queen raising.  A starter colony must be established for the beginning of raising queen cells. A cell building colony must be established. Then there is the grafting of the honey bee larvae. Last but not lest the transferring the mature queen cells to honey bee nucleus colonies for the mating stage.

As a starter colony, choose a strong two-story colony that is headed by a two-year old queen. It will be necessary to locate and temporarily remove the queen along with the comb she is sitting on with bees, to a spare empty 8-frame box or nucleus hive. Then the 2-story hive needs to move about 2 meters to the rear of its original site.

Now you can prepare the starter colony by placing an empty box with a bottom board and the lid on the bottom of the hive. Four combs of unsealed brood with the adult bees from the two-story hive must be moved to the empty hive. Also place a comb of unsealed honey and pollen with bees on each side of the brood. Fill in the rest of the empty box with empty combs.

Take another 2 or 3 other brood combs with extra young bees and shake them into the 2-story hive. Add a feeder of sugar syrup to the starter colony. Since the bees will be what is known as “queenless”, the nurse bees in the starter colony will be stimulated to feed and produce more brood food. Return the 2-year old queen and her comb to the bottom box of the 2-story hive.

Want to find out about bee supplies and ground bees? Get tips from the Bee Facts website.
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