On Thu, 19 Oct 2006 10:25:07 -0500, Scot Mc Pherson 
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>The only time it isn't the bees' fault is when the beekeeper makes an
>error. Cycles of nature are things the bees need to negotiate. If you
>leave on a proper amount of honey, the bees should be able to 
negotiate


Really thats quite a statement .

I suspect you and Dee have not lived and kept bees in the northern 
USA. 

In the upper Midwest we typically see a dearth of nectar here in late 
August. This coincides with bee populations at their highest peak. 
Some years we get a Sept fall flow some years not. 

If you don't think bees don't need some manipulation or feed to winter 
over here in the North ah...what can I say. 

Then on to winter where our weather can vary from warm to cold or all 
cold and so on. Winter might be short (mid -Dec to mid Feb) or long 
from late Oct to early April . 

Its also impractical too to be digging into our hives here in winter  to 
check or feed when temps are below zero into mid March some years,  
and snow depths can make access into bee yards difficult at best.  

If you do some research on bee feed in northern climates there are 
several studies that have shown that sugar syrup or corn syrup is 
equal to or superior to honey for winter bee feed. Running a succesful 
business requires decisions about how much to leave on and how 
much to feed at $0.17 per pound for syrup. 

When I here purist-like statements about how organic fruit should be 
grown and bees kept I always like to ask if the speaker knows of any 
operations like that which make a year around living. 

I grow apples and keep bees for a living, I appreciate the low useage 
of chems and medications and practice that in my business. Bottom 
line is I need to make a living. I also suspet that if it was so easy to be 
organic or 100% chem/med free there would a whole lot more folks 
doing it cause the retail price of products like that are looking good 
these days.

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