Greg Hankins wrote: Also fairly often "oh, year my dad, (or Granddad}
kept a few hives in Alabama" or some such identification reaction."

I have ten hives of bees in a secluded, wooded area.  Recently I have
attempted to sell some of the timber on my land and loggers have come
out to appraise or consider purchase of it.  What interested me
enormously is that none of them were afraid of the bees.  They walk by
the hives without fear.  They look at the hives fondly and admiringly
say thinng like, "They're working, ain't they!!!"  Then they always say,
"My daddy used to keep bees," (or uncle or some close family member).

However, when my "city" or small town aquaintances learn I have bees
(this sight unseen) they wrinkle their noses and say as a first comment,
without variation,  "Aren't you afraid?"

When I press a person to see what knowledge he she has, the base
information that comes out from everybody -- loggers and city folk alike
-- is "Nearly all the bees are dead now, aren't they?  Didn't some mites
or something get them?"  One man told me his brother and he kept bees
for years "until the government sprayed for gypsy moths and killed them
all."

I notice that Organic Gardening and all the other gardening magazines I
read run an article which says virtually the same thing in each magazine
the import of which is that honey bees are almost extinct and then lists
a number of other pollinators and how to encourage them, adding that in
some way they are better than honey bees, as in bumble bees work longer
hours.  Recently our agriculture columnist in our local newspaper had a
long article on applying pesticides and never once mentioned bees but
said to spray in the early morning or late afternoon when there was less
likelihood of drift.  Perhaps the agricultural agents are unwittingly
doing beekeepers more harm than good by not knowing about bees?

Elizabeth Petofi
Virginia