>I question whether these statements apply to the "majority" of beekeepers. For the majority of colonies, anyway, these tools are still widely in use.

I think I was quite specific when I said the "majority of beekeepers", and not the "majority of colonies".  Yes, these tools are widely in use.

>Beekeepers seldom spend money on things they don't need.

...do you get the same beekeeping supply catalogs we do?  Smoker fuel?  HBH?  Frame grips?  But what is more relevant is what constitutes a "need"?  Would you have to quit keeping bees if you could not get foundation?  Cheap refined sugars (sucrose/HFCS)?  Frames?  Extractors?  Certainly some of these are necessary for some individual business models...but they are not needed to keep bees.  Can you imagine paying shipping on smoker fuel?

>And when you have a drought and the bees starve, which management decision is at fault? 

Well, that isn't a lot of data to work with.  Is the drought _after_ you harvested?  Have you been selecting or purchasing bees that will burn through all stores to make more brood?  Is there usually enough forage to sustain the number of hives that are now starving?  Did your hives swarm?  Telling me that the bees starved during a drought doesn't indicate whether there were management issues involved in the first place, or what they might be.

...but can we get back on topic here?  It was claimed that some "traveling beekeeper(s)" have been spreading misinformation based on poor or non-reading of scientific studies.  I don't doubt that this happens (I've certainly seen it), but what specifically are you objecting to?

deknow

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