Barry Birkey wrote:
> <snip>
> As a side note, I also find quite interesting that in all the times this
> topic of small cell size has come up for discussion on BEE-L, there has
> never been any input by any researcher or scientist to aid in this topic.
> Why is that? Is the idea so off base that it's ludicrous? I know there have
> been studies on this from the US Gov. side.
> <snip>
> Regards,
> Barry
All :
There have been and are studies at this lab regarding smaller comb size. The
Lusby family is well known to us .... their business is operated from SE Tucson,
and the Hayden Bee Research Center is in N Tucson. We have worked with lots of
their hand-made foundation. I am not qualified to speak on the subject - you
might correspond directly with Dr. Eric Erickson about comb size and mite
resistance at
[log in to unmask]
As to the reason why there is little to no input from researchers into
newsgroups, I suggest you get a copy of the mailing list. As a USDA-ARS research
technician, I seem to be the only visible gov't. presence on the two major
internet newsgroups. This has puzzled me for the several years I have
participated. Possibly one reason is that my situation (recovering from an auto
wreck in 1995 and back surgery in 1999) has allowed me more computer time than
the researchers who must publish to prove their jobs. My belief, sometimes
founded on fact, is that many researchers believe that most internet newsgroup
participants are hobbyists. I have looked into this, and do not believe it, but
have had little success in pulling in more people. Possibly the younger
researchers and those more comfortable with email will join in more readily, and
experience the benefits of this large, diverse, intelligent, and generally
well-informed conversational group. I have not been able to understand why the
USDA-ARS bee labs are almost invisible in these groups.
For those of you who have never heard, there are (still) USDA-Agricultural
Research Service beelabs in Beltsville, MD,
Baton Rouge, LA,
Weslaco, TX,
Tucson, AZ,
and Logan, UT.
My feeling is that we (the USDA) are in the information business - our research
is useless unless it is shared continually with our customers, you. Just
publishing in ABJ or Gleanings, etc. is no longer enough.
As I near (early)retirement this year or next, my fear is that the "golden age"
of USDA research has passed, along with the likes of Woodrow, Todd, McGregor,
Levin, Barker, Waller, Moffett, and others, but my hope is that this period is
just a realignment to the electronic age, and that others will join in.
-----------------------------------------------------------
John F. Edwards
Carl Hayden Bee Research Center
Agricultural Research Service - USDA
Tucson, Arizona 85719
http://198.22.133.109/
http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/home/edwards/edwards.html
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