On Thu, Nov 14, 2013 at 7:41 AM, James Fischer <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>
>
> As proof of this, I submit the announced "last meeting" of LA's "Backwards
> Beekeepers" (that's not a pejorative, it is what they call themselves. See
> http://backwardsbeekeepers.com) was held recently. Even with a steady
> supply of free swarms of bees having varying levels of africanization (and
> hence, presumed varroa tolerance), the emotional strain of losing hives
> year
> after year to varroa or repeated swarming to the point of colony failure
> made the basic premise unsustainable.
>
As a former member of that club, the Backwards Beekeepers, and also as an
appreciative reader of this list, I would like to set the record straight:
the reason the club folded is actually the opposite of what James has
proposed. Feral bees in Los Angeles are so healthy and plentiful that the
group grew beyond the small little neighborhood club that its original
founders wished, but instead saw monthly meetings with over a hundred
attendants, and every month more and more; a Yahoo listserve with over
1,000 subscribers, requiring the dedication of several moderators; and
spawning a rescue group providing free services, with half a dozen
dispatchers, which got way too big to manage.
Trendy city beekeeping with backyard hives is a phenomenon that will indeed
spawn some hive-failures from lack of husbandry, I agree. But like city
dwellers who do grow successful organic gardens, there are also those who
will learn to be successful beekeepers. Especially in Los Angeles, where we
have tons of thriving feral survivor stock, which, with some careful
attention and intelligent oversight, seem to take extremely well to being
put into hive boxes.
Ruth Askren, live bee removal
20 hives of my own
20 hives of my clients
all feral
in the Los Angeles area
www.beecapture.com
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