Charles
>Being able to say your treatment free with a sum totally of 14 hives,  never talking honey and catching feral swarms makes great PR,  just recall the day job is your real passion <

Most bee keepers are hobbiest or sideliners.  They may not have the most number of bees under thier care but they are the biggest number of beekeepers.  Some of them are pretty serious about thier hobby which is bee keeping.  Most of those hobbiest do want some product from the bees they keep.  It does take guts for those guys that make thier sole living off of bees and thier perspective on risk assesment needs to be right to survive.  If they have found something that works, nobody can fault them for believing it is the only way.  If one in eight bee keepers quit after there first few years, the ones that stay are probly getting something to stay for, big or hobbiest.

I do admit that every one seems to be able to sell thier packages and that does say something also.  Not trying to discount that, of course I also know about someone who produces honey off of packages bought every spring and does not winter them.
Cheers
gww

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html