In a message dated 07/07/04 16:51:36 GMT Daylight Time,  [log in to unmask]
writes:

<<If you are a hobbyist, I personally urge you to 'get  off'.  Stop buying
nucs
or hives from others (regardless of how much  you may trust them) unless you
can isolate them from your other bees and  equipment for 2 full seasons,
while you do not treat and observe them for  disease.  If you get AFB, burn
the equipment and shake the bees onto  foundation and start over.

I have been criticized for saying it  before...but I see the 'problem' as the
migratory commercial beekeeper who  is spreading resistant AFB far and wide,
as (s)he controls (but does not  eliminate) it by use of illegal drugs at who
knows what dosage.  If  you don't think it is going on, get your head out of
the  sand!

Lloyd
Lloyd Spear, Owner Ross Rounds,  Inc.>>



Do American beekeepers follow the British tradition  of rotating combs? I can
well understand why a large-scale beek wouldn't need  the work, but if you
only have a few hives, then its good practice to  give each hive a couple of
frames of foundation every year, and melt  the oldest combs. Mark them with the
year's queen colour to keep track. That way  old combs which may contain AFB
spores are removed, and there's that much less  chance of infection building up.

    Regards,

    Robert Brenchley

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