> am i wrong in thinking that the widespread use of treatments and artifical
> feeds are common factors among unhealthy colonies?
You are right, but these are part of the _solution_ and only a minor part of
the problem, and _if_ they are a part of the problem at all, that is largely
due to misuse or overuse.
> does anyone else (besides dee) have a "bounce back" story from ccd
> (repopulating deadout equipment from survivors without fumigating or
> treating, and getting a good honey crop the same year...in the desert)?
> if so, how come we aren't hearing about them?
We need to get one thing perfectly clear here, since many are holding the
Lusby experience up as a model for sustainable commercial or even sideline
beekeeping and the facts need to be known. I would not mention it otherwise
Not to take anything away from Dee and Ed's work, but Dee is _not_ a
commercial beekeeper by any definition that includes making a living from
bees. Moreover, her "bounce back" was more of a 'creep back" and was
accomplished over a long period, with great cost, and, moreover, most people
do not know that it was accomplished to a considerable extent through the
addition of swarms captured from a golf course and around the City of
Tucson -- and by sacrificing any hope of a significant honey crop. She may
be the world's biggest hobby beekeeper, but I don't think she has _netted_ a
dime in the past decade -- from beekeeping, that is.
> "SHOW ME" is exactly why ramona and i went to arizona twice this spring
> and went through over 600 hives with dee. we didn't come to this by
> trying to be "radical", "different", or even "green". we didn't want to
> use treatments in our hives....and "the establishment" of beekeeping
> science didn't offer any help in this regard...so we found someone who was
> not only being successful, but was willing to be open about what she was
> doing and shared her successes and failures freely.
Yes. Dee has a lot of great ideas, is a great hostess, and I recommend that
everyone pay her a visit. I believe she was talking about a beekeeper B&B
and a school when I was there last. (http://www.honeybeeworld.com/Lusby/) I
don't know if that came about. I would not recommend her approach as a
model for anyone expecting to be a migratory commercial beekeeper, but her
contribution to debate has been significant.
There are huge and obvious inconsistencies in the theories I hear
evangelized, and I recommend that anyone listening to evangelist beekeepers
take the blinders off and look around at what successful commercial
beekeepers are doing.
After all, successful commercial beekeepers cannot be completely wrong since
they make their living from bees and some have for generations.
That is more than I can say for many, if not all the evangelists.
allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/Lusby/
---
There are two ways to slide easily through life; to believe everything or to
doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking.
Alfred Korzybski (1879 - 1950)
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