1) identify tutu plants (Coriaria arborea) in a 3-5 kilometre radius of your hives

2) look for any passionvine leaf hoppers (Scolypopa australis) on the tutu

3) If you do find both 1) and 2), then don't…

That was great fun. I'm sure somebody was scandalised.

Enjoyment wasn't initially my response. I'm now grateful for David & Kim's conversation. Life seems much more tolerable since they stopped talking about peeing.

Chickenhawk meant two things to me: the bird, and (after spending 5 years on our country's IDPtribunal,) the cruiser.

Goodness me.
I believe the generally equivalent Australan term is rock spider.
Isn't English wonderful?

I did not know that, Emma. I'll never hear it the same again.

I did wonder what you knew about the Rethuglicans that you weren't telling us...

was already being used to describe men who cruise for under-age gay sex

I did not know that, Emma. I'll never hear it the same again..

Craig, for me the phrase is not about foolishness. It conveys the distasteful hypocrisy of loudly advocating war while avoiding it yourself. Seemed to…

Hey, Craig , I call em as I see em – lots of macho swagger and bugger all substance.

And I was kind of hoping "chickenhawk" was a cheap sneer that would have been allowed to gracelessly stagger off to the glue factory for mindless political poo words. Perhaps not.…

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/27/obama-iraq-war-end-august-2010

Someone came up with a handy compound word for that

A wrod which, unfortunately, was already being used to describe men who cruise for under-age gay sex...

Buggered if I know, but I'm sure Ted Haggard can score you an ounce. :)

LOL.

But seriously, I don't think I'd trust him as my drug dealer.

What on earth are the Republicans doing?

Buggered if I know, but I'm sure Ted Haggard can score you an ounce. :)

Playing to type – tough chickenhawks.

Sacha: Do we have to stage an intervention? We love you, and we're here for you — but it's just heartbreaking seeing…

By all the lavatory talk, perhaps?

Indeed. Although it should be noted that the listeners seemed to pitch in very keenly on the theme ...

Our David Haywood in 'Playing Favourites' with Kim Hill this morning was just the bees-knees.

That was great fun. I'm sure somebody was scandalised.

Despite his vivid personal recall he, er, wasn't there.

What on earth are…

I've never seen bees and wasps fighting in the garden, but have seen lots of wasps, native wasps or bees, bumblebees and honey bees all working the…

You mean the way that in England rabbits (which were imported for their fur and meat) are still slowly displacing the native hares?

I look upon this as the slow, pre-emptive, and really long-term revenge of the Spanish ("five centuries from now you may win in the battle of colonial…

BTW while extracting the stuff from the combs can get a bit messy on a small scale, inner western suburban Auckland honey can be pretty good.

My uncle (still I think) has some hives on his…

I often wonder how much of European flora and fauna are really that native either. As in, the prevalence of certain forms of life in Europe may have a lot more to do with the number of humans than the particular geographical location.

You mean the way that in England…

I once found a wasp inside the hive entombed in propolis

How curious. I wonder if they did that to prevent it rotting?

The wasp had probably been in there less than a year, but inside the casing of propolis it was in pretty good nick. As I was a…

Is it true that the more you are stung the less likely you are to get arthritis?

It would certainly distract from the pain. :)

I once found a wasp inside the hive entombed in propolis

How curious. I wonder if they did that to prevent it rotting?

If I were one to anthropomorphize nature, I'd say that the bee's sting is very much designed with wasps in mind as a highly likely honey and larvae thief.

That sounds about right. I had a backyard beehive in Grey Lynn for around ten years, and while I often saw…

It tears through the soft body of a wasp, ripping them apart

Without wanting to turn this into Pirates vs Ninjas, surely the wasp would have a better chance of landing a fatal hit? And a bee having sunk its sting into a wasp could be stuck with a possibly…

Does anyone know if wasps prey on bees? Can I blame vespa germanica for the lack of bees round our house?

They can steal honey, but I think head to head the bee has an advantage with their barbed sting. It tears through the soft body of a wasp, ripping…

Thoughts? I wasn't particularly impressed myself – Bennett was certainly on-message but specifics seemed to be a long way off (except maybe…

Does anyone know if wasps prey on bees? Can I…

It is curious despite the massive transplantation of European ecology how much that is native survives, and how weak the introduced species can be when not supported by the entire backdrop of European horticulture. I often wonder how much of European flora and fauna are really that native either.

…

As in, the prevalence of certain forms of life in Europe may have a lot more to do with the number of humans than the particular geographical location.

Start with nearly everything humans cultivate (largely middle eastern), add in quite a few of the fruit crops...as Islander says, Britain in…

I recoil a bit at the use of the word "lobby", frankly. It suggests a degree of sway that really isn't there.

Our system has long been underpinned by the the idea that every child has the right to an education. The practice doesn't match the theory; not nearly. I…

Euro imports to any 'foreign lamd' – i.e here- *have* to be supported, by physical species in appropriate regemes and an awful lot got left behind (soil flora e.g)-

I…

We got concerned about pollination of fruit trees and garden crops and decided we should do something about it. Now we have a couple of beehives on our place in Pt Chev.

The bees apparently range…

We have at least 32 species of native bees: all of them -as far as we know-are solitary.

Not quite all according to one source. But they don't…

You're totally right about the importation of Euro crop/eco system thing – but it is interesting that some native bees are wandering outside norms, eh?

I'd be really interested to know if the varroa problem has at all affected this, or maybe even encouraged it. I might ask around the…

We have at least 32 species of native bees: all of them -as far as we know-are solitary.

I didn't know that, actually; thought we probably had some, though, which is why I specified honeybees and bumblebees. It's remarkable how many bee species do not fall into those two categories,…

t's a bit tough to blame Ryall who has his sights firmly fixed on better medical services when Helen Clark etc had loads of time and ideology to move on pay equity.

She did. Ryall canned it. But I feel bound to point at that Ryall has had his sights…

Or like an invisible balloon that you know is red.

But maybe mine isn't that bad yet.

Cicadas

I have tinnitus. I hear cicada song, quite loud, 24/7 ...

That's the description I use when describing the condition to others, anyway.

Not for all crims, though...

At first I was like "Que?", but then... Well played!

Not so many bees. They're there, but just average numbers.

Hate wasps.

(Loved "The Wasp Factory", though.)

Also, fan of short sentences.

Cicadas don't bother deaf people.

This is a attitude travesty and should treated as such.

The budget will be an interesting read indeed. Mr English has given people hope in a variety of areas over the last few years.

Funnily enough the Ministry of Health's Disability Services is about to start a consultative road show around NZ.

Terrific, Hilary, thanks for that

To get support for children with autism and their families through the Needs Assessment and Service Coordination system, the person with autism has to be diagnosed with intellectual impairment or…

Time to pick up the damned phone…

Obama getting tough on banks and bankers

Don't you think that a *tiny* part of the blame might be with people who were keen to buy houses on 99% mortgages that they couldn't actually afford to pay, but that didn't matter because the price would rocket and they could refinance.…

Either way, the dog is not to blame.

Whew! (wipes copiously sweating forehead).

Actually I saw one bee when I went out to clean up dog poo.

Is there a bee conference somewhere? Or do I blame the dog?

From what I've heard, the varroa mite is doing the damage, some kind of parasite. But nature and selective breeding may be fighting back. There has been work on picking out resistant bees (which somehow sterilize the mites)…

It seems such a tired issue now in any case.

Yes, issues of justice and equality are so *boring*, aren't they? Let's ignore them.

imagine a tomato plant. Now imagine going around with a paintbrush and transferring pollen from one flower to another. Now imagine doing that for *every tomato we eat*. It'd be a total nightmare.

I remember reading something a few years ago that playing Guns n Roses extremely loudly did a…

has anyone else noticed that bees seem to be coming back?

Yes – I've stood on two in the last couple of weeks. I wish they'd stay away!

I'm concerned that a decision by Tony Ryall that should worry anyone with a stake in special-needs education has gone almost unreported.

Well, perhaps if Labour had an abler Opposition spokesperson in the Education portfolio this issue would get the attention it deserves. But no, not even a single presser…

Fire all the blokes, replace them with women and blam. There's your 10% budget cut.

Wouldn't that be nice if it included Tony Ryall. (I know! They have equity!)

men's jobs in some areas will go, as public service managers are asked to account for every penny.

My thought on seeing the "we can't afford wimmins" comment from Ryall was "it seems you can't afford men actually".
Fire all the blokes, replace them with women and blam. There's your…

there has to be a balance and fairness for all kids

Unpacking this rather crucially depends on what you mean by "fairness".
* fairness of resource allocation by government? (in which case, your children's education depends on your family's income)
or
* fairness of opportunity to develop potential? (in which case,…

It's a bit tough to blame Ryall who has his sights firmly fixed on better medical services when Helen Clark etc had loads of time and ideology to move on pay equity.

Beatrice – Helen Clark etc – as you call them – did a great deal about pay equity…

Why was nothing done during the long years of the Labour Government?
It's a bit tough to blame Ryall who has his sights firmly fixed on better medical services when Helen Clark etc had loads of time and ideology to move on pay equity.

Oh, yeah, let's forget about pay…

Have they not been somewhat enhanced by having their pollen spread around more selectively? I'm asking, not telling.

I dunno, but most wind and bird pollinated plants just aren't equipped for bees to pollinate them; they have flowers that bees don't see, or almost no flower at all, and so…

Well, the native flora would do just fine, seeing as how they mostly got along without bees before humans introduced them (honeybees and bumblebees, anyway.)

Have they not been somewhat enhanced by having their pollen spread around more selectively? I'm asking, not telling.

But a significant portion of our food…

I know a teenage boy who is just starting university this year .

He's 90-95% blind and has 'battled' his way through the education system.

I can't comment on any other university, but he might find things less of a battle at the tertiary level. Down here at least there's…

Cicadas, bug the hell out of me…

[NCLB] is unlikely to change under Obama.

Angus, really? I'm still hopeful, although it won't happen as fast as it would if Sasha and Malia were in DC public schools like brave little Amy Carter.

The thought of a similar regime hitting NZ schools just breaks my heart. The effects…

I haven't particularly noticed more bumblebees than…

I think you're trying to defend the indefensible.

First they pass the legislation *under*urgency*, then they ax the pay equity work…

has anyone else noticed that bees seem to be coming back?

The opposite, I'm afraid. Here in Wellington, and on a recent visit to Hamilton, I noticed I couldn't see any bees even on bee-magnet plants, but there were lots of bumblebees (I presume they are prospering without the competition…

It follows that now Tony Ryall has revoked the years of good work on public sector pay equity, men's jobs in some areas will go, as public service…

There must be some way we can have a strong united and collective voice on the education of all kids with special educational needs as a human rights issue. Possibly 10% (probably higher) of kids have special educational needs.…

I know a teenage boy who is just starting university this year .

He's 90-95% blind and has 'battled' his way through the education system.

Part of the…

...to the demonstrated failure of the [No] Child Left Behind policy of frequent testing in the US.

Which is unlikely to change under Obama. But the Act will be rebranded so that the name is less jarringly hok'um. Shall look forward Huffington Post and TPM offering extensive praise, focusing on…

The Republican response, from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, is widely agreed to have been a disaster.

Um, yes, watching Jindal argue the stimulus is eeeevil but... *whisper* Louisiana is actually going to take the overwhelming majority of it, was like watching a teenager on a chastity kick explain that blow-jobs…

What worries my slightly is that apparently Act MP Heather Roy has been allocated Assoc…

The impact of the changes…