[juliemd]

There were several people who promoted eating kudzu, there were even chips made out of it. Its taking over in certain areas of this town I know that. One family living right next to the railroad tracks basically have no backyard anymore due to the infestation of kudzu. I suggest several large goats.

[RedneckR0nin]

Originally Posted by Pink. ↗

THIS thing could RUIN the fishing industry.
It sounds like the plot of a horror movie — or a very stressful nature special. The northern snakehead fish has teeth like a shark and the ability to walk on land. The carnivorous fish hails from Asia but in 2002 it appeared in a small Maryland town, where it promptly obliterated wildlife in the local pond. While other invasive fish species can only travel as far as the waterways will take them, the snakehead, sometimes called "Fishzilla," can survive for up to four days out of the water and travels across land by wiggling its body back and forth like a snake. The fish has since been spotted everywhere from New York to California.

So how did it get to Maryland in the first place? A local resident ordered two snakeheads from a fish market in New York City's Chinatown neighborhood and then released them

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dzR4X5-zYa8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

My buddy has one...creepy fucking things that can live outside of water for up to weeks!

[mengala]

It's a proven fact that african bee's produce less honey than European bee's.

[Kanda444]

Originally Posted by Pink. ↗

In 1890 New York drug manufacturer Eugene Schieffelin released some 60 European starlings in Central Park. His dream was to introduce every bird mentioned by Shakespeare into North America — an intent that proved to be more Hitchcock than Bard. Schieffelin hoped the songbirds would prosper in their new home in ways the skylarks and song thrushes had not, and they certainly did. Now the purple-green iridescent birds roost in hordes of up to 1 million; they can devour up to 20 tons of potatoes in one day and their droppings are believed to be vectors of several infectious diseases. Numerous inventive attempts have been made to eradicate the birds — including strategies involving itching powder, live wires, poisoned pellets, cobalt 60 and Roman candles. Even a jetliner couldn't stop them. In 1960, a flock of some 10,000 starlings flew straight into a Lockheed Electra, crippling its engine and causing the plane to crash. Sixty-two people were killed

fuckin things are horrible! super aggressive to local birds...

[johnleeknoefler]

Originally Posted by mengala ↗

It's a proven fact that african bee's produce less honey than European bee's.

After working in bees for the first half of my life I can't agree. Africanized honey bees seem to always outproduce European bees. Of course maybe it's just because they are hybridized here in USA. It would be unrealistic to think that there are any pure strands here in USA at this time.

[lkduke3]

Weren't there any bees in North America before the European bees arrived? How could plants pollinate other than through the wind blowing the pollen?

I've had two bee trees over the last couple of years and a large swarm of bees hung around for a couple of days before they dispersed. I could walk up to them and they did little more than check me out. My son went to look at them and they chased him away! I love honeybees.

One year there were a bunch of bees floating in our pool for some reason. I scooped them out, let them dry off and gave them some sugar water. They recovered and flew away.

Sorry I ranged off topic but I like bees!

[icheerthebull]

we can blame the grey squirrels on the bankers as well!

Thomas Brocklehurst, a Victorian banker who lived at Henbury Park in Cheshire, has a lot to answer for. In 1876, he decided to release into the wild a pair of grey squirrels he had brought back with him from a business trip to America. Other landowners, viewing the non-native species as a fashionable garden novelty, soon followed suit.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...rrels-cornwall

[johnleeknoefler]

Originally Posted by icheerthebull ↗

we can blame the grey squirrels on the bankers as well!



http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...rrels-cornwall

Excellent find!. I would never of suspected. So bankers and other wealthy people now are the ones pissing and moaning about the greys that they introduced. Grey squirrels here in USA are a nuisance. Our neighbor goes on shooting sprees at least once a month. In Arkansas the people shoot them until they have a mess of ten or so and then boil the carcasses until tender. Debone them and mix the meat in Cambells Mushroom soup.

[johnleeknoefler]

Originally Posted by lkduke3 ↗

Weren't there any bees in North America before the European bees arrived? How could plants pollinate other than through the wind blowing the pollen?

I've had two bee trees over the last couple of years and a large swarm of bees hung around for a couple of days before they dispersed. I could walk up to them and they did little more than check me out. My son went to look at them and they chased him away! I love honeybees.

One year there were a bunch of bees floating in our pool for some reason. I scooped them out, let them dry off and gave them some sugar water. They recovered and flew away.

Sorry I ranged off topic but I like bees!

Bees will come for your pool water if they can't find anything else. Add some extra chlorine or bromine to the pool and set out a five gallon pail of clean water with rags draped on the side. That should cut way down on bee drownings. During dry weather bees can be a problem for pool owners. Most of our complaints were from home owners upset with bee defecation on cars. Our standard practice was to sympathize and make nice noises over the phone and suggest that perhaps some other beekeepers bees were doing the pooping.
If we got calls about pool drownings we would promptly place 50 gallon open top drums in the apiary with wooden slats floating on the water. Bees prefer clean water so this usually did the trick.
Also it's quite true that a fresh swarm will not sting you. I can't say if it's the same for africanized honey bees since really it's hard to tell the genetic makeup of the bees until they turn aggressive.
A sure sign of hybridized bees is when they are overly aggressive, swarm out easily and leave the hive empty, and stay aggressive for a couple days after being disturbed.
The mixed breed queens seem to produce more eggs and under good conditions they make more honey. But sometimes they can actually make less than European bees. It's mostly chance on what mix you will get. One other thing about the hybridized feral bees is that they seem to be less bothered by common bee diseases.
Like you I love honeybees. Growing up with them was wonderful. I was out with my grandfather during the summer months on a daily basis checking hives and tending to them.

[wujuan]

kudzu.... evil