3-21-97 Vandals "Bite the Hand that Feeds Them" A young beekeeper, just getting started, has been dealt at devastating blow by vandals who destroyed about $20,000 worth of bees that he had leased from another beekeeper to be his breeding stock. Losses could total more, if he finds that the frames of comb are contaminated and unusable for replacement bees. Gary Ford of Newport in northern NY had hoped to start up his own beekeeping operation. He had joined a group of beekeepers who brings bees to South Carolina during the winter, to relieve the bees from the stresses of winter, and to raise additional bees in the spring. Yesterday, he went to his bee yard in the Deep Creek community of Georgetown County, expecting to be a midwife to his 120 hives. Instead he found the three story hives toppled and killed by vandals who sprayed some kind of liquid over them, possibly diesel fuel. He was only able to salvage less than 30 hives. Each of the 100 lost hives was like a fat, pregnant cow, ready to deliver twin calves. A few weeks ago, he had added boxes to them to give the queen brood space, and fed them heavily with sugar and corn syrup. Since then, they had been gathering the plentiful pollen, which is their protein source. The hives were full of young bees and ready to be split, each one into three new hives. Three hundred hives is half a tractor-trailer load of bees, which could have been trucked into apple growing areas in May to pollinate a million dollars worth of apples. Apple and melon growers have been scrambling to line up bees for their crops this year, and are finding the supply less than the need. As wild bees have disappeared, farmers have been forced to increase the number of bees they lease for pollination. New York, Gary's home state, requires about 30,000 hives just for apples. Despite a growing shortage of bees for US pollination needs, there are few young beekeepers. There are only about 1600 graying beekeepers left in America to pollinate the bulk of our apples, melons, almonds, and many other fruits and vegetables. Who will pollinate the next generation's food? Now Gary is faced with the questions of the salvageability of the equipment, how he will pay back the owner, and how he can establish his own bee farm, with so much of his stock destroyed. When he started his operation in January, Gary sought a place to put his leased bees. He made an agreement with "Doc" Marsh, a local farmer, who appreciated the need for pollination. Marsh has been worried over the lack of bees in his own watermelons. In his inexperience, and with only an old school bus to move the bees, Gary made a mistake. Of the possible sites, he chose a site too near people's homes. He looked over a more remote site, but concluded, "I didn't think I could manoever the bus through the brush. And I was afraid of bogging down." After he placed the bees, some neighbors complained of the bee activity, mostly of the bee droppings spotting vehicles and homes. Gary had talked with neighbors after receiving some complaints, but the problem of bee droppings had died down after the first few days. Bees in the cold north had not had opportunity to fly and relieve themselves, but had done so en masse, when they arrived in the sunny south. Because of complaints, Gary had already decided to move the bees to a more isolated site, provided by another beekeeper. But the vandals spoiled that plan. South Carolina and Florida are the main wintering grounds for honeybees from the northeast. In Florida beekeepers are discouraged with the very poor honey crops in the orange groves, due to the January freeze damage to the buds. Some are now on the way to South Carolina to try to salvage some income from our blackberry blossoms, which make a high-quality honey. Then they will move on north to pollinate apples, blueberries, and other fruit, followed by a summer in the clover pastures to make honey again. Most commercial beekeepers today are migratory, moving with the season to pollination contracts and honey producing areas. It costs about $100 per year to maintain each beehive in this mode. Today's apple growers now maintain high density orchards of dwarf trees on trellises, rather than the old-fashioned, but marginally productive, big trees. Likewise, beekeepers have had to switch to a high-intensity form of beekeeping to survive. Dave Green, of Hemingway, a local beekeeper who supplies bees for South Carolina melon, squash, kiwifruit, and cucumber growers, notes that vandalism has been increasing in recent years. "Bees have become so scarce that people no longer accept them as normal. Two generations ago, there were many farmer-beekeepers in the area, and no one thought much of them, except to leave them alone. Today, many people are fearful. And the Hollywood 'killer bee' hype has made some folks panicky and hostile. Green has had frequent losses when he places hives in the fields, from vandals who burn hives, shoot at them, or run over them. "Some young buck, probably high on beer and testosterone, ran a four-wheel drive through one of my bee yards recently, smashing up hives and equipment." Beekeepers are frequently up against a lack of understanding in the community. A panicky woman from Center Crossroad community recently stopped at Green's Hemingway workshop, complaining of bees "swarming" around her home. Janice and Dave, went, expecting to find a swarm in a bush or tree. Instead they found bees visiting the blossoms of her Chinese holly hedge. "She was spraying them with insecticide, trying to stop them!" "Don't you want berries on your holly?" he told her. "That's the natural order of things. Bees visit the blossoms and get fed. They pollinate the blossoms, and the berries form, so the birds get fed too! They aren't the least bit interested in stinging you!" These bees are from a nearby apiary owned by a young couple who also migrate to South Carolina for the winter. They are also beginning their own beekeeping operation, with help from her father-in-law, who once had a large bee farm. "These bees are our livestock. They must range free to feed themselves, and do their job, which is to pollinate our fruits and vegetables, and the feed for a lot of birds and wildlife." "Of course, the worst vandals are the insecticide applicators, who fail to check for bees visiting the blossoms in the fields they spray. Pesticides that are toxic to bees, have directions that prohibit application while bees are visiting. A lot of blooming cotton is sprayed, without any thought for the bees that are so badly needed. This kind of vandalism keeps us in poverty." "I feel sorry for Gary. He's invested everything he has in the bees. He's a fine, Christian young man, and he has a young family to support. Now he's lost most of his livestock." (Perhaps other beekeepers could help him get back up?) [log in to unmask] Dave Green, PO Box 1200, Hemingway, SC 29554 (Dave & Jan's Pollination Service, Pot o'Gold Honey Co.) Business Phone 803-558-9598 or Home 803-558-0133 Pollination for lay people, students, teachers ....Of bees, beekeepers, and food http://users.aol.com/queenbjan/primbees.htm Pollination for the pros - those involved in doing it: Practical Pollination Home Page Dave & Janice Green http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html Jan's Sweetness and Light Varietal Honeys and Gift Sets http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm