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Mon, 22 Feb 2021 16:14:01 -0500 |
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*One has to wonder - are these conditions suitable for survival of
anysignificant number of feral hives? *
Feral colonies tend to have much higher insulation values, and smaller nest
sizes than our Langstroth hives. Queens that survive as feral colonies
must be prudent with their resources, but they have the distinct advantage
higher insulation values, and the retention of the heat of vaporization of
metabolic water, which I previously calculated to be approximately 12% of
the caloric content of honey.
The small nest sizes, will lead to increased swarming, which will keep
varroa levels sustained, but should prevent exponential spikes.
That being said, feral colonies are still at risk of " mite bombs" from
negligent beekeepers, or collapsed feral colonies (as Randy had previously
pointed out in the previous discussion on helping the bees). The smaller
nest sizes *should *limit the mite bomb potential from feral colonies. The
negligent hobbyists, those who do not euthanize high mite load colonies, or
ineffective treatments are still a big threat to not just honey bees.
Apparently the virus spillover is a huge risk to local native pollinators
as well.
All the above is just my personal opinion, take it with a teaspoon of
salt.
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