>We can choose to ignore and belittle the new beekeepers, and

> let them fail, leaving only the stubborn to remain, or we can try and
> mentor
> them
>

I'm wholly in agreement with the above sentiments.  It can be a real pain,
but if more of us did so, it would really help.
At a recent field session that I gave in a hobby beekeeper-crowded area, in
the demo yard I was able to find and point out every single brood disease
(including a full-blown case of AFB) and colonies on the verge of
varroa/DWV collapse.

I then asked for a show of hands of attendees who had apiaries within
flight range (several).  I was then able to make the point that every
beekeeper has the responsibility to the beekeeping community to control
those diseases.



>   >our own traditional efforts have done nothing but create the impression
> among most "reasonable people" that
> one would rather have a child molester in the neighborhood than a
> beekeeper.
>

For 30 years, my local association has manned a beekeeper building at our
local county fair.  I set up two obs hives inside.  In recent years, I've
piped the bees through a clear tube to the roof and allowed them to fly
freely.  Everyone loves it.   But barrier of the glass still allows them to
maintain their fear that they must be protected from honey bees.

To address this, last year (and this) I set up a hexagonal open-top, 8-ft
high screened cage (black screening) with a single deep hive on a stand
inside.  Once a day one of us would step inside and give a demo of hive
manipulation, wearing shorts and a tee shirt.  Up to a hundred people would
crowd around as we showed what was happening on each frame.  The impact
upon the audience is completely different from that of the obs hives, since
now they see a human being safely at work in a bee colony, inches from
their faces.  With each demo we completely shift the fear paradigm of all
in the audience.


>Imagine the amount of research and support we'd get if bees became only 10%
> as popular as cats and dogs.


If that large a percentage of the population kept bees, the main research
we'd need was how to keep them from starving : )  But point well taken!
Torches would indeed be lit.



> >Many new beekeepers look upon an organized group as entirely optional, as
> the current generation has been endowed with self-assurance gained from an
> "all participants get trophies" childhood, and nothing but positive
> reinforcement from all sides, all the way through college.  Many approach
> us
> only after killing their first hive of bees, only then realizing that they
> needed to learn something.
>

Well said Jim!  I sure see this in ultra liberal California!

>
> ** You should see [the film More than Honey] if you have not, it is filmed
> by true craftsmen in
> lush 1080p HD using high-speed cameras for slo-mo though lenses used in
> orthoscopic surgery so as to get "into the hive".  It is also very
> dogma-free, and not even a little bit accusatory.


The director of the film (who had no prior bee experience) stayed at my
home for a month the year prior to filming in order to learn about
beekeeping, to absorb what the actual situation with bees was, and to be
introduced to potential subjects.  I've been invited to a few screenings,
but they've been too far away, so I have yet to see the film : (

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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