I wish to add this to the tread
to explain some facts in regards 
to my feral bee update.

I saw a TV news clip which featured
a beekeeper living within 40 miles of
me stating that this was a good bee 
year because he had 3 calls to date.

I receive 3 to 5 bee referrals per
'nice bee day'.  By the same date 
as mentioned by the beekeeper above,
I have received over 30 calls.  

To provide a better understanding of
my resources for bee calls.  The pest
control company which refers calls to
me covers a 3 county area.  They are
perhaps the largest pest control company
in this region, and maintains a policy 
not to kill honeybees and to refer
ALL bee calls to beekeepers.

I am answering calls within an approximate
area of 25 miles from my home.   I pick
and choose which calls I respond to,
I do not agree to bee removals which 
pose a danger such as elevated sites. 
I do not accept calls which have a high
difficulty of success.  I go for the easy
removals, and still manage to arrange 
for 3 or 4 removals per week and at least 
as many on site consultations.  I do 
not accept bee removals which do 
not pay, -and will walk if terms are 
not agreed to.  However, I will make 
exceptions to the terms for less well off
folks.  This is the best I can do with
bee removals and still maintain my 
day job.

Because of the resources provided by
the pest company,  I believe I am in a good 
position to provide a quality assessment
of the state of the feral population within
a 25 mile radius of my home.  

I can understand the skepticism held
by some towards my reports on the feral
resurgence.  Because if you dont see it
occurring in your region, how can one
be expected to understand the possibility 
of it occurring elsewhere?

I do understand this, because I also have great
skepticism that bee declines are actually
occurring, because I see no evidence of a 
bee decline in this region.   

Best wishes
Joe Waggle
SW Pennsylvania

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