Robin wrote: "Each time, while the inspector spent an hour or more 
going through my
hives, I had a one-to-one tutorial with a beekeeping expert when I 
could ask
questions on anything that worried me or on which I felt insufficiently
informed."

I once spent a day with an inspector in an adjoining area while she was 
mainly doing repeat inspections of apiaries that, earlier in the year, 
had been treated for EFB by the shook swarm method which is relatively, 
but not totally, effective.  I was impressed that she was able to spot 
a dodgy cell in a hive after having already thoroughly gone through 
several other hives in the apiary.  The new test kits are very helpful 
in instant confirmation of diagnosis.  The same inspector spotted AFB 
in a colony at Gormanston that 'experts' had been using for 
demonstrations all week!

On another occasion, a different inspector was doing a 'safari' around 
several apiaries as part of a BKA education day.  It was late afternoon 
and most people had drifted off when, in hive 13 out of 15, in an 
apiary that had been set up to take advantage of oilseed rape, she 
found a couple of cells that tested positive for AFB.  There was an 
instant 'standstill order' preventing anything being removed from the 
site before a bonfire had been arranged. The owner (now an inspector 
himself) had recently purchased the colonies from a beekeeper who was 
retiring. He got his money back!

In the UK the inspectorate is very much supported by beekeepers.  The 
policy of burning for AFB has reduced incidence to < 1% of colonies.  
They used to burn for EFB too but stopped doing so about 15 years ago, 
since when EFB has been on the increase.

We have 'BDI', short for Bee Diseases Insurance, that is run by 
beekeepers for beekeepers and has been around for 70 years.  The first 
3 colonies are covered by your annual subscription to the BKA, and you 
pay a small, affordable, premium for additional colonies.  BDI pays 
compensation for hives destroyed by the Inspectorate.  Any surplus 
funds go towards research.  It's a good system and it works.  Maybe US 
beekeepers could set up something similar.

Chris




  

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