In a message dated 1/19/00 12:14:19 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<< Ironically, it appears that such accusations originate mostly from white
members
of homo sapiens which is also a highly invasive group of a highly invasive
species that outcompetes native groups and cultures and destroys habitat as
well
as other species... >>

    Irony and hypocrisy aside, the notion that bees are an unwelcome invasive
alien species is ascendant right now. I've talked to or read the comments of
publication editors, garden catalogs, gardeners, organic growers and
conservationists who are buying into this new story of the honey bee. If it
hardens into orthodoxy, beekeeping opportunities in this country could be
greatly diminished.
    I live in an apartment in the city and keep my bees on organic farms that
have been established on town conservation land in the suburbs. If a new
farmer comes along who has a bad attitude about honey bees, I'm out of luck —
the same as if a new conservation officer comes along who believes my bees
are harming native pollinator populations and refuses their presence. We need
to be more than ironic, we need to be convincing.
    There have been recent queries posted here about how to keep bees on
federal lands. If administrators were to come along who view bees as an
unfavorable species, it would make it all the more difficult to gain access.
    Or even worse, the number of cities and government-managed landscapes —
local, state, and federal — that are off-limits to beekeeping by regulation
and ordinance may start to accelerate. Beekeepers, unlike others whose
livestock grazes on public land, don't have the money or the clout to defend
themselves effectively.
    The effect of keeping bees on native pollinator populations (those that
forage on the same flowers as honey bees), except in some localized areas, is
probably insignificant, at least relative to the problems of habitat loss and
pesticide kills. I fully support research about alternative pollinators — but
not at the expense of beekeeping research. And certainly not if the arguments
that are made undermine the actitivity of keeping bees in this country. I
suspect there are far too many good reasons to fund alternative pollinator
research in this country without making honey bees a scapegoat.

John