>>  Now I might spend 30 hours a year on them and only work on them a few 
>> times.
>
> Yes.  Some of us pick up the "benign neglect" style of beekeeping.  With 
> an 82-year-old back and the Louisiana heat, it beats the alternatives and 
> seems to work at least as well.

What I did mention is that when I was a 'commercial beekeeper', I was 
actually a crop pollinator and a honey producer who kept bees for that 
purpose.

Now I am purely a beekeeper and keep the bees for the sake of keeping bees. 
There is a huge difference.

These days, I try to avoid producing and handling honey and just keep 
splitting the bees when they threaten to start making too much of that 
heavy, gooey nuisance.  I use a quick and dirty walk-away method.  At some 
point soon, I'm going to have to sell some hives if the trend continues.

I should also mention, I keep them loaded with Global's standard pollen 
patties all spring and into the summer.  Right now, I have three patties on 
most hives and at least one on all of them.  Seems that constant feeding in 
spring results in better bees all around and reduces the winter loss the 
following winter to the 15% range, which is about as good as one can expect 
over time in our cold, long winters.  (More info and pix at 
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary )

allen 

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