On Aug 31, 2013, at 11:21 AM, allen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Although lists can be a source of real information, they can equally be
> a source of misinformation and should be regarded only as a form of
> entertainment and time-wasting only slightly less screwy and unreal than
> TV sitcom programming.
> 
> Of course BEE-L is different.

I would like this clarified. Are you being facetious or do you really thing that what we are producing here is entertainment? Because if you do, I would rather not contribute to that. I know some of the posts are laughable, but some of us do our best to raise the bar.

Insofar as the participation of researchers, you would have to show if they are participating at a rate higher or lower than their existence in the general public. Because if beekeepers outnumber researchers by 10,000 to one, we are lucky to have even one on the list.

According to Dennis van Engelsdorp

> The number of honey-producing colonies in the US dropped 61% from their high of 5.9 million managed in 1947 to the low of 2.3 million reported in 2008 . After 1985, NASS no longer counted beekeepers with five or fewer hives, potentially explaining some of the steep decline in colony numbers recorded between 1985 and 1986. A majority of beekeepers in the US (~ 70%) are relatively small, managing less than 25 colonies.

As I mentioned, I was at Penn State earlier this month and listened to 4 days of research presentations. In addition there were almost 90 posters. I would share the info here, but it cost me about $600 to attend, so I am going to sell the story to try to recoup some of that.


Peter Loring Borst
Paula Cohen Lab
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

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