>
> In a message dated 08/04/2008 01:36:39 GMT Standard Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> If you wanted to stick a pinin
> the problem it would be the apparent weakened immune
> system of our honeybees, caused by the ‘environmental
> factor’ , which can be any number
> of accumulated stresses,
>
There were a lot of very helpful replies to my original question, which I
am very grateful for. This is not one of them. You see, just saying the
problem is "the apparent weakened immune system" doesn't (a) tell me what
is weakening the immune system, (b) tell me what I can do to find out what
is weakening the immune system, or (c) suggest anything that I can do
about it. It's like saying someone "died of heart stoppage" without ever
mentioning that the *reason* his heart stopped was because someone shot
him.
>
> One of which might be lack of available sources of propolis.
>
I don't think so. The yard where I keep bees is surrounded by a
well-forested area, with many species of trees, including a lot of pines,
spruce, cedar, and other resinous plants. The bees have always had plenty
of propolis to use in the hives, everything gets glued together with great
thoroughness, holes get patched up completely, and all of the hives are
well-coated inside.
And before somebody says "pesticides", this is a rural, yet
non-agricultural, area. The towns don't spray for mosquitos, the county
doesn't spray the sides of the roads, there are no nearby farmers who
would spray their crops, and the forestry companies are very much into the
whole let-it-grow-with-minimal-intervention idea. If I've got a pesticide
problem, then the only place where you *wouldn't* have a pesticide problem
would be someplace like Kerguelen Island.
I've got a harsh climate and mites (with whatever viruses the mites
spread) and probably whatever other diseases have become endemic. Isn't
that bad enough?
So anyway, I'm going through the many helpful suggestions to decide what I
should do next. One of the more intriguing suggestions (which I have
recieved from a couple of different sources who are having good luck with
it) is to make up nucs in the later part of the summer, and overwinter a
large number of nucs instead of trying to overwinter a small number of
full hives.
--
Tim Eisele
[log in to unmask]
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