First multi-year study of honey bee parasites and disease reveals troubling trends

Honey bee colonies in the United States are in decline, due in part to the ill effects of voracious mites, fungal gut parasites and a wide variety of debilitating viruses. Researchers from the University of Maryland and the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently completed the first comprehensive, multi-year study of honey bee parasites and disease as part of the National Honey Bee Disease Survey. The findings reveal some alarming patterns, but provide at least a few pieces of good news as well.

The results, published online in the journal Apidologie on April 20, 2016, provide an important five-year baseline against which to track future trends. Key findings show that the varroa mite, a major honey bee pest, is far more abundant than previous estimates indicated and is closely linked to several damaging viruses. Also, the results show that the previously rare Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus has skyrocketed in prevalence since it was first detected by the survey in 2010.

The good news, however, is that three potentially damaging exotic species have not yet been introduced into the United States: the parasitic tropilaelaps mite, the Asian honey bee Apis cerana and slow bee paralysis virus.

"Poor honey bee health has gained a lot of attention from scientists and the media alike in recent years. However, our study is the first systematic survey to establish disease baselines, so that we can track changes in disease prevalence over time," said Kirsten Traynor, a postdoctoral researcher in entomology at UMD and lead author on the study. "It highlights some troubling trends and indicates that parasites strongly influence viral prevalence."...


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-multi-year-honey-bee-parasites-disease.html#jCp

Someone somewhere once told me that they believed leaving out a local honey with coconut oil, can help bees with most kinds of parasites.

This isn't good news at all.
You hear more and more worrying stories about the bee population....

eddie wrote:This isn't good news at all.
You hear more and more worrying stories about the bee population....

It's heart breaking the amount of creatures that are being killed off.

Some where around here, I posted an exciting article/video and link for how the African's nations are utilizing honey bee colony systems to keep marauding wild elephants from foraging into the farmers crops at night and the success that this 'Honey Bee Fence Line' is having in Africa regions. 
Very exciting and serves a triple purpose: protects the crops/pollenates the crops/provides the by product of honey for sale or use for the farmer.

But I thought I'd read somewhere {albeit several years ago} where they were doing a study of mixing the 'killer bees' with the domestic bee hives to see if this would be possible since the 'killer bees' didn't seem to be suffering from the pollutants/viruses/mites that are decimating so many of our domestic bee hives now. 

Do you know Jane, if there's any updates on that breeding program '???'; or perhaps WYWolfie would know?

Wolfie will probably know

What with that and the fertilizers and pesticides that are killing bees, we are going waaaaay down the road of finding outselves with a big problem.   No bees, no pollination, no pollination, no germination of crops.

sassy wrote:What with that and the fertilizers and pesticides that are killing bees, we are going waaaaay down the road of finding outselves with a big problem.   No bees, no pollination, no pollination, no germination of crops.

Yipper, killing off the 'good insects' > pollinators; while the parasitical types > fleas/ticks/mosquito's become more virulent and will be our death.

captainJane wrote:
Someone somewhere once told me that they believed leaving out a local honey with coconut oil, can help bees with most kinds of parasites.

AFRAID NOT...

First off, it's illegal to expose honey in many western countries -- as that honey can carry spores and eggs for several bee diseases and pests;

Secondly, the amount of coconut oil that could be mixed into a little honey would have zero effect on the local bee population;

Finally, there is no evidence that coconut oil has any advantageous effects in regards to honeybee parasites -- just because it may make some people feel better, and may even look good in laboratory mice and rats (nutrition wise - I wonder if anyone has studief 'the effect of coconut oil on mouse parasites', yet ?), doesn't necessarily carry across to using it on honeybees..

sassy wrote:

What with that and the fertilizers and pesticides that are killing bees, we are going waaaaay down the road of finding outselves with a big problem.   No bees, no pollination, no pollination, no germination of crops.

YEP !

Honeybees are responsible for pollinating over 40% of the world's agricultural crops -- most fruit and vegetables, legumes (beans, peas, peanuts), nut trees, lucerne and clovers, oilseeds (Canola/rapeseed, sunflowers, safflower, linseed, jojoba..), most herbs, cotton plants (for seed production..).
Honeybees don't pollinate grain crops, and are incidental pollinators of corn crops..
WHILE butterflies, moths, wasps, native bees and bumble bees, birds and bats can help in pollinating a lot of plants as well, managed European honeybees (Apis mellifera) remains far and away the dominant pollinator species for many food crops.

THE MAIN threats against honebees these days includes :
*  Pesticides;
*  Pests and diseases;
*Loss of habitat - mainly food plants (bees can't feed on grain crops or grass pasture, while corn and many legume crops have relatively poor quality pollen (incomplete amino acids means protein deficiency over extended periods..), for example), but also fewer tree hollows for feral colonies, and the "suburban sprawl" constantly encroaching on fringe and farm areas where bees were being kept previously..
*  Industrial pollution;
*  And 'Climate Change' will have inevitable effects as well - changes in agricultural crops, and local plant species mix, will have effects on the bees food regime, while other effects could include changing seasons, water supply, temperature..  

HONEYBEES, FROGS AND BUTTERFLIES  are all considered as indicator organisms for the health of the environment -- the proverbial "canaries in the coalmine".
As go the bees, frogs and butterflies, so goes mankind !            

I know a lot of my friends are planting 'bee friendly' shrubs and trying to do their best about this.   But a few gardeners trying to help won't go anyway towards this world problem and it seems to me that the governments of the world are practically ignoring it.   They do so at their peril and unfortunately, at our peril as well.

4EVER2 wrote:
Some where around here, I posted an exciting article/video and link for how the African's nations are utilizing honey bee colony systems to keep marauding wild elephants from foraging into the farmers crops at night and the success that this 'Honey Bee Fence Line' is having in Africa regions. 
Very exciting and serves a triple purpose: protects the crops/pollenates the crops/provides the by product of honey for sale or use for the farmer.  

A local TV station reported on that a few days ago, and a local newspaper had a story about it as well -- the local interest coming from the fact that one of the researchers/academics working on that project is a PhD student at the local university here..        

But I thought I'd read somewhere {albeit several years ago} where they were doing a study of mixing the 'killer bees' with the domestic bee hives to see if this would be possible since the 'killer bees' didn't seem to be suffering from the pollutants/viruses/mites that are decimating so many of our domestic bee hives now.   

Do you know Jane, if there's any updates on that breeding program '???'; or perhaps WYWolfie would know?

I DON'T know about that study (though the African "killer" bee easily crosses naturally with the European honeybee, as it is actually a sub-species (A. mellifera africanus) and not a different bee, with the resultant hybrid referred to as 'Africanised' bees..), per se.

THERE ARE, though, a couple of relevant traits that Queen breeders can look for when selecting potential breeding material for colony improvements ==

*   Disease 'Resistance' :  this is an obvious one -- as most animal and plant breeders will be looking for high productioj, good health and fecundity -- and disease resistance, or even apparent immunities, contribute to healthier and stronger organisms.

WHEN there have been disease outbreaks, or when certain pests and dieeases are endemic to an area, then it would seem obvious to choose those hives that aren't getting the disease as a first step when selecting breeding stock..

*   'Housecleaning' ability :  this is one factor that honeybee breeders and researchers have been looking at increasingly since the 1980s.
The cleaner that the workers keep the hive, the less parasites and disease spores that are left behind to re-infect the bees and spread infectione; and the quicker that workers remove dead bees and sick larvae, the cleaner they're keeping their hive...

This 'housekeeping ability' of a colony can actually be measured by cutting a small section of comb containing eggs and grubs, and seeing how long it takes the house cleaning workers to remove it from the hive -- some colonies will remove unwanted materials in a relative short time, while some others may take days to remove unhealthy objects..

AS 'housekeeping ability' is an inherited trait, it is a favourable characteristic to include in breeding programmes.  

Well one way or another, we have to make sure the bee's survive, or we are extinct as well.

So little, so important in nature's cycle.

I sure wish they'd do more 'Bee Hive' training at the school level; they've started changing over the play ground to garden habitats and live stock areas out here in rural America --- why not teach bee keeping/honey harvesting?

Honey is the only food that never goes off...not a lot of people know that.

Very true Syl.  It might crystalise, but all you have to do is warm it slightly.

Syl wrote:Honey is the only food that never goes off...not a lot of people know that.

True from what I've read about the longevity of it >

You see, honey naturally produces hydrogen peroxide which makes it an antibacterial product and it acts like a preservative for meats and fruits. Antioxidants, amino acids and vitamins help to reduce inflammation and the regeneration of the skin.

The oldest medicine book in the world is the Egyptian Papyrus Ebers found in 1873. It contains a collection of 800 medical problems, diagnoses and recipes, half of which call for the use of honey.

(We weren't allowed to take photos so these are some taken from the tour book I purchased in the gift shop).

The Egyptian Pharaohs put all that they valued into their tombs and they valued honey. Honey combs were found thousands of years later inside these Egyptian tombs.

These sealed honeycombs were found to have still edible honey inside them. The honey had not gone bad. Because honey doesn't go bad.
http://thebeejournal.blogspot.com/2010/02/ancient-egypt-and-honey-bees.html 

I only found that out recently.
So...if you are ever stranded on a desert island but have the choice to take one kind of food....take honey.

Syl wrote:
Honey is the only food that never goes off...not a lot of people know that.

AS LONG AS the moisture content stays below 12% or so...

HONEY is a "natural microbial" substance, with a hydrogen peroxide action in contact with blood and body fluids (note the use ot 'MediHoney' from certain native NZ and Aussie 'Tea tree' (certain Melaleuca sp. and Leptospermum sp.) shrubs being sold in pharmacies and used in hospitals as mild wound dressing..), that acts as a bacteriocidal agent against certain classes of bacteria..

THE SUGAR concentrations in honies (mainly levulose and dextrose isomers) also act to prevent the growth and development of fungal and bacterial spores and viruses within that honey.
As long as that moisture content stays below 12%..

IF THE moisture content of a honey gets up around 15->20% or more, then technically the honey is reverting to more of a "nectar like" consistency, and some yeasts and other fungal spores can then start to grow (fed by sugars in the honey, and any proteins via pollens suspended in that honey..).

GROWING YEASTS means fermenting honey/nectar, which turns into rough mead, and then eventually a vinegary mess, only suitable for composting or pouring down the drain..
BEES, wasps, ants, butterflies and birds, and even honeybears and honeybadgers, can all get rolling and crawling drunk on fermented nectars and honies. Even developing alcohol poisoning if they get enough of it !
NECTAR even ferments in flowers, when light rain has been constant over a few days - when you might witness birds flying crazy, screeching their heads off, staggering around in circles, even possums have been known to share in the wild partying..

EVER WONDERED where the term "pissed as a parrot !" originated ???        

AND THAT'S why containers of ripened honey should have their lids kept on -- especially in humid weather..    (Honey is also 'hyroscopic (a water absorbing/loving substance)' -  another of its characteristics that can make it an effective bacteriocide..).

sassy wrote:
I know a lot of my friends are planting 'bee friendly' shrubs and trying to do their best about this.   But a few gardeners trying to help won't go anyway towards this world problem and it seems to me that the governments of the world are practically ignoring it.   They do so at their peril and unfortunately, at our peril as well.

GOVERNMENTS in certain countries (like the US, Canada, Australia, NZ, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, France, Poland - and probably Britain..) do have some bee and honey research being carried out through universities and Departments/Ministeries of Agriculture...
BUT -- AS WITH all agricultural sectors and environmental studies, it's nowhere near enough..

AND WITH so many governments these days obviously beholden to the 'Big End' of town -- especially the financiers and the mining and energy moguls --  they are often misspending public monies to such a degree that it regularly amounts to criminal misappropriation.


THOSE CORPORATIONS that actually cause a lot of the worlds problems -- mining, oil, gas and ethanol   producers, agribusiness, big pharma' and plastics companies, bankers and insurance --  should also be doing their part..
BUT THEY DON'T --  Instead of contributing to research, what they do ???     Only spend all that money on advertising propaganda, and lobbying and bribing politicians == just some examples :

*  Mining and energy companies running anti-climate change propaganda;
*  Pesticide companies suing the EU for having nicotinoid insecticides banned for the next two years, while at the same time financing a couple of fake "bee research" companies to help peddle false information (shades of the tobacco industrys' "Tobacco Institute" advertising schemes of the 1970s->1990s..);
*  Monsanto constantly lobbying gov'ts to allow more GMO crops;
*  Corporations setting up "Green Wash" programmes and schemes to look like they're being environmentally "responsible" when the actual truth is the very opposite;
*  The Murdoch Press and Fox network regularly championing these devious schemes;  
*  Japanese Whalers claiming "scientific research" --  but have to yet produce their first report, after more than TWO decades !


AND SOME TIMES, many many times, some farmers and small businesses -- including a few beekeepers -- are often their own worst enemies, and not doing themselves any favours..
To wit:

* Oftentimes, a significant minority of producers don't join associations, don't attend field days, don't listen to ag' field officers, don't register with State Dept's of Agriculture -- in short, some love to carry the image of the "rugged individualist, standing apart and doing their own thing.." to ridiculous extremes, adding to various problems -- rather than help contribute to fixing them;
* Many primary producers distrust anyone associated with governments, industry bodies, local associations, trade unions -- to such an extent that they no longer trust anyone, often blaming communists/secret societies/foreign countries/religious groups/the 'One aWorld Gov't' for all their problems;
* Those Farmers who want to pay only subsistance wages and provide poor conditions will alienate their workers, and sometimes even local communities -- effectively losing potential local support, when they should be chasing as much support as possible, whenever it does come time to lobby gov'ts for more research and information, and protection against other hostile business entities.        

Don't be fooled into thinking that just because the LABEL says 'HONEY' on it
that the bees were 100% responsible for the contents: often the honey is
supplemented with syrup to stretch the quantity of true honey content or the
honey has gone through a filter process that has removed much or all of the
'POLLEN' content.  These bottles have been known to have used imported
from China ~~~

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey

Ultra-filtering Removes Pollen, Hides Honey Origins

By Andrew Schneider | November 7, 2011

More than three-fourths of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn’t exactly what the bees produce, according to testing done exclusively for Food Safety News.

The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled “honey.”

The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world’s food safety agencies.

The food safety divisions of the  World Health Organization, the European Commission and dozens of others also have ruled that without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources.
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.VyN5uuTmqEc

If you purchase any of your honey in those cute little BEAR
bottles --- your buying 80% syrup --- that is not pure honey!
I purchase all of my honey at my local 'farmers market' as well as my bee pollen too; I know the bee keepers - I know they grow & treat their hives and I trust their product --- can't say the same for what I'd been purchasing at my local grocery store for years

4EVER2 wrote:

I sure wish they'd do more 'Bee Hive' training at the school level; they've started changing over the play ground to garden habitats and live stock areas out here in rural America --- why not teach bee keeping/honey harvesting?

MAYBE they need to get more of those 4-H projects into the rural schools over there -- and make some environmental topics central to them ?
(The near-equivalent down here is the 'Rural Youth' programmes avilable in many rural areas..).

AND MAYBE, they could also consider making 'Agricultural Studies/Agricultural Science' a compulsory subject in rural high schools -- where in many countries it is still an elective subject ?

AGRICULTURE as a subject in rural high schools often includes livestock such as bees, poultry, sheep and goats among their practical component, and excursions to local working farms..

(Eight of my fellow students at Hawkesbury went on to do an extra year to gain a Teaching certificate, on top of their Ag' qualifications -- as well as being qualified as an Agricultural Teacher, they can also teach "junior and intermediate level" general science (i.e. years 7-10), environmental studies, and "senior years" Biology (years 11 and 12 at high school) - those qualifications are generally recognised as similar in many parts of NZ, the USA, Canada and Britain, and a few other places..
I was never really interested in being a teacher, myself..).

Oh, we're very 4-H pro-active here in America but it's all an After School run program...it's only been lately that the unused abandoned sections of playgrounds have become a small garden plot/hen house or even a calf feeding station during the last months of school.  But I'm still hoping that the program will be pulled into landscaping for the honey bee and honey harvesting to teach the children how to respect those little workers instead of 'FEAR' them when they see a honey bee on dandy-lion flower.

4EVER2 wrote:

Don't be fooled into thinking that just because the LABEL says 'HONEY' on it
that the bees were 100% responsible for the contents: often the honey is
supplemented with syrup to stretch the quantity of true honey content or the
honey has gone through a filter process that has removed much or all of the
'POLLEN' content.  These bottles have been known to have used imported............

HONEY sold in the USA, Canada, Australia, NZ, Japan, and across most of Europe has to meet certain standards, for contents, weights, and how they're marketed :

HONEY sold as "pure", "natural", "organic" and the likes must be 100% honey (while allowing for minute amounts of naturally occuring pollens, plant material, bee body parts, and miniscule amounts of wood, wax, paint, etc. from hives..) .
HONEY with glucose or other additives in it must be clearly labelled as such.
ANYTHING adverised as "honey" can only be the product of Honeybees, and derived from plant nectars..

ANY FOOD products advertised as containing honey, or including the word 'honey' in its name, has to contain a specified minimum amount of honey.

ANY PRODUCTS sold that clearly defy these regulations are deemed to be illegal, fraudulent, fakes, misleading...

HONEY EXTRACTING and PACKING FACILITIES also have to meet certain quality, hygiene and safety standards in their home country..


ANYBODY OR BUSINESS breaking these laws can be prosecuted and heavily fined if caught, and repeat offenders jailed or banned from selling the product, if serious enough.

HOWEVER, Inspections of honey, and packing facilities, are often random and irregular -- so that contaminated or fake products may be on sale for a while before being detected;
Sometimes, breaches will be reported by a 'third party' before the fraudulent commodity is actually detected..


GUILTY PARTIES DO get caught every so often, though -- with prosecutions somewhere being reported every so often...          

CHINA has been the leading culprit by far, since the 1980s --  not only in watering down honey with glucose and corn syrups, but often over the years honey shipped out of China has been packed in used oil drums !    However, Argentina and Eastern Euro' countries have also been caught out over the years..

SOME OF THE WORST OFFENDERS, irregardless of country of origin, are often those "Merchandising Companies" who have absolutely no interest in the beekeeping industry itself, whatsoever -- but are only concerned with buying any saleable product for the lowest costs, and re-selling it for the maximum return -- with no concerns about quality and hygiene standards.  


CLOSER to home, some food companies have been prosecuted in the US, Australia and Canada in recent years, for attempting to pass off 'isomerized' corn syrup mixed with 15-20% honey as "pure" honey..

(ALTHOUGH, I reckon anybody who keeps on buying that product after smelling and tasting it "must have their tastebuds in their arse" - unless they genuinely don't know what honey usually smells and tastes like..).          

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

4EVER2 wrote:Don't be fooled into thinking that just because the LABEL says 'HONEY' on it
that the bees were 100% responsible for the contents: often the honey is
supplemented with syrup to stretch the quantity of true honey content or the
honey has gone through a filter process that has removed much or all of the
'POLLEN' content.  These bottles have been known to have used imported............

HONEY sold in the USA, Canada, Australia, NZ, Japan, and across most of Europe has to meet certain standards, for contents, weights, and how they're marketed :

HONEY sold as "pure", "natural", "organic" and the likes must be 100% honey (while allowing for minute amounts of naturally occuring pollens, plant material, bee body parts, and miniscule amounts of wood, wax, paint, etc. from hives..) .
HONEY with glucose or other additives in it must be clearly labelled as such.
ANYTHING adverised as "honey" can only be the product of Honeybees, and derived from plant nectars..
ANY FOOD products advertised as containing honey, or including the word 'honey' in its name, has to contain a specified minimum amount of honey.
ANY PRODUCTS sold that clearly defy these regulations are deemed to be illegal, fraudulent, fakes, misleading...
HONEY EXTRACTING and PACKING FACILITIES also have to meet certain quality, hygiene and safety standards in their home country..
ANYBODY OR BUSINESS breaking these laws can be prosecuted and heavily fined if caught, and repeat offenders jailed or banned from selling the product, if serious enough.
HOWEVER, Inspections of honey, and packing facilities, are often random and irregular -- so that contaminated or fake products may be on sale for a while before being detected;
Sometimes, breaches will be reported by a 'third party' before the fraudulent commodity is actually detected..
GUILTY PARTIES DO get caught every so often, though -- with prosecutions somewhere being reported every so often...          
CHINA has been the leading culprit by far, since the 1980s --  not only in watering down honey with glucose and corn syrups, but often over the years honey shipped out of China has been packed in used oil drums !    However, Argentina and Eastern Euro' countries have also been caught out over the years..

SOME OF THE WORST OFFENDERS, irregardless of country of origin, are often those "Merchandising Companies" who have absolutely no interest in the beekeeping industry itself, whatsoever -- but are only concerned with buying any saleable product for the lowest costs, and re-selling it for the maximum return -- with no concerns about quality and hygiene standards.  
CLOSER to home, some food companies have been prosecuted in the US, Australia and Canada in recent years, for attempting to pass off 'isomerized' corn syrup mixed with 15-20% honey as "pure" honey..
(ALTHOUGH, I reckon anybody who keeps on buying that product after smelling and tasting it "must have their tastebuds in their arse" - unless they genuinely don't know what honey usually smells and tastes like..).          

And in the partial article that I posted {read the entire article > http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.VyN5uuTmqEc } barrels of honey were shipped into a mid-point warehouse - re-labeled and shipped out to distributors for repackaging to those plants that were used by those very same grocery & pharmacy end retail store suppliers --- lousy rat bastards! 
They've always found a way around the RULES and FDA guidelines

4EVER2 wrote:Don't be fooled into thinking that just because the LABEL says 'HONEY' on it
that the bees were 100% responsible for the contents: often the honey is
supplemented with syrup to stretch the quantity of true honey content or the
honey has gone through a filter process that has removed much or all of the
'POLLEN' content.  These bottles have been known to have used imported
from China ~~~

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey

Ultra-filtering Removes Pollen, Hides Honey Origins

By Andrew Schneider | November 7, 2011

More than three-fourths of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn’t exactly what the bees produce, according to testing done exclusively for Food Safety News.

The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled “honey.”

The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world’s food safety agencies.

The food safety divisions of the  World Health Organization, the European Commission and dozens of others also have ruled that without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources.
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.VyN5uuTmqEc

If you purchase any of your honey in those cute little BEAR
bottles --- your buying 80% syrup --- that is not pure honey!
I purchase all of my honey at my local 'farmers market' as well as my bee pollen too; I know the bee keepers - I know they grow & treat their hives and I trust their product --- can't say the same for what I'd been purchasing at my local grocery store for years

Local honey (it has to have been kept within a few miles) is said to be very good for hay fever sufferers.

I've read that too. Honey for hayfever, but if I'm correct in thinking, you have to start using it/eating it etc before pollination actually starts for it to have effect.

And I just received this email from 38degrees!

Breaking news: our bees are in danger. Powerful pesticide lobbyists are trying to get banned bee-killing pesticides back on UK fields. [1]

They’ve asked the government to lift the ban for certain crops planted this year. Liz Truss, the environment minister, will make the final decision in the next few weeks. [2] So she needs to hear from hundreds of thousands of us right now that we expect her to stand up for Britain’s bees.

Please can you sign the petition demanding that she keeps bee-killing pesticides off UK fields?

SIGN THE PETITION NOW

The pesticides, called neonicotinoids, are banned across Europe because they’re responsible for killing our bees. [3] But Liz Truss could ignore the ban and allow toxic pesticides onto British fields for crops planted this summer.

She ignored the ban last year. Hundreds of thousands of 38 Degrees members put up a good fight - but we lost because the government gagged their own experts, then made the final decision behind closed doors. [4]

But while we were on the backfoot last year, this year we’re ahead. Already 160,000 of us have signed the petition. [5] We’ve been contacting our MPs and planning an event in parliament. Together we’re ready for this moment.

Our bees don’t have a voice, but 38 Degrees members do. Please sign the petition now:

eddie wrote:I've read that too. Honey for hayfever, but if I'm correct in thinking, you have to start using it/eating it etc before pollination actually starts for it to have effect.

I used to think that it was the 'HONEY' that I needed to give to my asthmatic boy...but I was corrected and started giving him Bee Pollen and it helped him greatly.
He suffered from allergies so horribly: he'd sneeze and the blood would just start flowing our of his swollen blood vessels in his nose - give him his allergy meds and he was a Zombie --- so drugged up all he wanted to do was sleep. Early spring and then again late fall --- playing sports of any kind was a hazard for him...until I started giving him a morning dosage of Bee Pollen {2 tbl spoons Am & Pm} and he stopped the OTC & prescription meds that just knocked him out.

Benefit 3 - Fights Allergies
You'll also find that taking bee pollen can also help you to fight allergies. The pollen actually can help you to build up a resistance to allergy problems.
Small traces of substances that can cause hay fever and other allergies are contained in the bee pollen.
This can help to build up an immunity to these allergies within the body, helping to reduce the symptoms you deal with that come as a result of allergies.
Benefit 4 - Better Endurance and Energy
Another of the bee pollen benefits is better endurance and energy. In fact, bee pollen has been used for hundreds of years for this very purpose.
Many athletes have used it to give their endurance and energy a boost when training.
Since bee pollen offers a wide spectrum of nutrients, it can provide better endurance and energy by providing the nutrients that the body loses on a regular basis.
The boost in metabolism that bee pollen provides will also give an energy boost to those taking it.
Benefit 5 - Improves Immune Function
Immune function can be improved when you begin to take bee pollen capsules on a regular basis as well.
Important vitamins for the immune system are included in bee pollen, including Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and various B vitamins.
Other nutrients included that help to improve the way the immune system functions include calcium, selenium, beta-carotene, lecithin, magnesium, and more. Important proteins and fats are also included that help provide more strength to the immune system.
 http://www.beepollenhub.com/bee-pollen-benefits/

Now I know some of his other friends didn't have as much success with this holistic option but their kids just wouldn't try anything that didn't TASTE like candy --- but Bee Pollen doesn't have a flavor per say --- it's pretty bland and we'd mix it with yogurt so it was easy to swallow too.

Bee pollen. I'll have to look into that. My son gets hayfever terribly and he always has exams in the summer months!
Never understand why they make children sit exams in the hayfever months.

eddie wrote:Bee pollen. I'll have to look into that. My son gets hayfever terribly and he always has exams in the summer months!
Never understand why they make children sit exams in the hayfever months.

My son had nose bleeds so horribly bad; I had to pack his nose at night with Php-H and cotton-balls or he'd wake up with a pillow covered with blood and if he sneezed at school --- well there went his paper work --- so he'd be excused to the nurses station and I run down with the 'STUFF' and we pack him up and he'd get clean test sheets and take the test in the nurses station with his head wrapped up in gauze --- poor kid.

My sons eyes used to fill with a thick gel like substance...we rushed him to A &E twice.
Thankfully as an adult he seems to have outgrown the worst symptoms.

That sounds horrible 4ever, really horrid. Poor kid.

Syl, my eldest brother used to get that gel like stuff over his eyes. He could hardly see and he used to wheeze so bad with his hayfever.

I used to get it really bad but one day, and this is going to get sneezed at....but I kinda "cured" myself from telling myself that I was imagining the hayfever, that pollen was my friend and I imagined this bubble around me. I sort of meditated for about an hour on it.
I got hayfever a little bit after that, but that day, saw the worst of my hayfever disappear forevermore!
That was about twenty years ago. I've never had it bad since and to this day, I know it was a fluke but it's never gone from my memory!!

I have dear life long friends that have been Buddhists for years and their ability to deeply meditate --- well, it's astounding. 
And they've done things that would make a physician do a double take --- and hey, if Prince could pray away his epilepsy {as a child} why can't we do other things with the power of positive prayers/meditational thoughts?

If it helps it helps....maybe there is such a thing sometimes of mind over matter.

Someone once told me that hangovers are all in the mind and he never had one no matter how much he drank.

I have only 3 wines, tell myself I will NOT have a hangover...and feel like death the next day for hours.

Syl wrote:If it helps it helps....maybe there is such a thing sometimes of mind over matter.

Someone once told me that hangovers are all in the mind and he never had one no matter how much he drank.

I have only  3 wines, tell myself I will NOT have a hangover...and feel like death the next day for hours.

   perhaps the litany is being said at the wrong TIME...next time start the 'mantra' early on not 'AFTER' you've had 3 wines    

4EVER2 wrote:

Syl wrote:If it helps it helps....maybe there is such a thing sometimes of mind over matter.

Someone once told me that hangovers are all in the mind and he never had one no matter how much he drank.

I have only  3 wines, tell myself I will NOT have a hangover...and feel like death the next day for hours.

   perhaps the litany is being said at the wrong TIME...next time start the 'mantra' early on not 'AFTER' you've had 3 wines    

Good idea...prepare the mind in advance.