> On a related note there is a fantastic series of internet movies on skep
> beekeeping in Germany... very detailed... hours of viewing.  The beekeeper
> featured in the video operates about 1,000 skeps and sells the honey for a
> gazillion dollars a pound.  The techniques used to divide colonies stretch
> my understanding of bee biology to its limits.  Worth watching.

Theo Fredricks of Nanaimo worked there as a boy, and leafing through his 
photo album, sent over by his former co-workers, with him a decade or more 
ago, convinced me that they way we keep bees here in North America is far 
from the only way, and probably not the best for many purposes.

Banning non-movable comb hives was a turning point in beekeeping and turned 
us away from selection for resistance toward mechanical and chemical methods 
of disease management.

I still think skeps have their place and could be a good solution for many 
pollination jobs.

Find and watch the movie.  If it is anything like what Theo showed me, it 
will change your thinking forever about our current state of 'progress' in 
beekeeping.

allen 

-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and  other info ---