Peter Borst wrote:

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> "stress resulting from generally accepted beekeeping practices ... is
> the real killer of domesticated honeybee colonies."
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>  Hello Peter and All,

 Stress has a negative affect on everything. Stress caused by moving bees will
cause Varroa infested hives to die rapidly.
 About 6 years ago I put a post here about 30 hives I moved from the mountains
down home and were dead in two weeks.
The hives I still had in the same location in the mountains had Varroa but were
alive. At that time I stated that the bees died from a stronger pathogen than
just weak bees. Three years later it was published that Varroa vectored 3 virus.

 Stress will lower resistance to desease. Some beekeepers bang around in a hive
as if they own the place. Its the bees home and they want to keep it under there
control. We need to slow down and observe . I  look at how the bees stand and
move on the comb. The sound of a hive will tell you a lot. That is why we have
been doing some sound work in a hive. Much more complicated than I ever imagined
going into the project. Look at what they are trying to do in the box. If you
keep changing what they want to do with your hands , it will be a never ending
battle. If you keep getting bur comb between the box's , you have a space
problem that the bees are trying to fix. Slow down and look , the bees will show
you the way. Observation is your best tool..
 I will be pulling honey today. That will cause some problems in my yards. Some
hives are 7 high now  and I have to get them down to 4 . So I'm faced with doing
what I have to do and what the bees want.The bees would like me to stay in bed
today.
Plenty of stress today, even for me.
 Best Regards
Roy

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