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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Justin Kay <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 26 Jul 2018 11:13:40 -0400
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>
>
> If you read what I write and come to a different conclusion than someone
> else, it doesn't matter to me. I am not trying to persuade anyone, not
> having any sort of an agenda other than to *look more closely* at certain
> topics, such as bee breeding.
>

I'll fully admit that when I read some of your posts, it appears as if you
do have an agenda. The vast majority of your postings are summarizations of
other individual's works that are used to inform and generate discussion.
But occasionally a post comes up that appears significantly more
"directive" than others.

For example, your "strike one", "strike two" and "strike three" against
"queen breeders" a few weeks ago. I think it's hard to read those postings
and NOT believe you have an agenda against queen breeders, or that you are
attempting to persuade others that their breeding techniques aren't
accurate or supportive. It may be my interpretation though.

>
> Sue Colby and Tarpys point on why bees are behind is right on target, I
> myself have made that point here several times in the last years.  Lack of
> standards  amongst beekeepers is a major issue.  The only ones doing
> unbiased test  are then shot down by the losers.  WE would benefit from a
> standards group that was sharp enough to do season to season head to head
> test like the other AG industries.
>

I'm not in the breeding business, but I would imagine it is significantly
easier to create one set of standards for dairy cows, laying chickens, or
many other agricultural animals for the entire agricultural industry than
it would be for the bee industry (on the whole). More milk = a better dairy
cow. Faster growth rate & more eggs = a better egg hen. But what makes a
better honey bee? Some select for gentleness, while others select against
it (or at least believe the nasty ones are more productive). Some select
for resistance to disease, while others could care less. A good bee for
pollination isn't necessarily a good bee for honey production, and neither
are necessarily good bees for a package or nuc operation. Then there's
early spring build up, propolis use, colony size, "overwintering ability"
(as if you can call that one trait alone), and "dearth" shutdown (if any),
just to name a few. Assuming you can get the "industry" to agree on the
whole on even a few individual lines of what is best, geographic location,
and even micro climates, throws that selection criteria right out the
window. What's a good honey producing bee for me in the Piedmont region of
NC won't help the coastal region or the mountain region at all, and they're
each about 2 hours away from me. Imagine going 500, or a few thousand miles
further away.

Beyond that, no one is really teaching hobby, small, or sideline beekeepers
much about what to select for in their breeding operations. I've heard it
over and over again at local and regional bee meetings "breed from your
best colonies." But if you ask indepth questions (how to select for drone
colonies to supplement the genetics in your mother/grafting colonies, or
the order on what to select for such as honey production first then
gentleness then resistance, or resistance then honey production then
gentleness, or just a grab bag of "this one's good enough") and the
conversations quickly break down. Further guidance is nearly never given.

To the guy with 5 or even 50 colonies, it would be incredibly easy for him,
in the short term, to create inbreeding. Or quickly select for an
undesirable bee. But even if he beat the odds, it takes constant selection
and vigilance to maintain that criteria, as those 5 colonies are impacting
the feral genetics very little, especially when the guy 2 miles away is
importing queens from other locations or is selecting for entirely
different traits than you are.

There is so much more at play with honey bee breeding than there is with
cow breeding. It's almost like comparing apples to pomegranates.

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