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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Jerry Bromenshenk <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 14 May 2014 11:54:37 -0400
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The Christian Science Monitor spread this same B.S.

I hit the ceiling when I saw a local TV broadcast where from a nearby town in MT where an earnest young beekeeper and a former employee at a bee lab from another state are interviewed.  The beekeeper is teaching beekeeping at a local community college.  The report was HIGH overwinter loss, oh what to do?  The video showed use of SMALL Top Bar hives (in a town near the Canadian Border).  Beekeeper error - sufficient food, a good sized population, and wrapping in black roofing felt to provide protection from winds and provide some warmth on days when sun is out so bees can break cluster and move solves the problem - we don't lose bees in MT due to cold; not if you know how to do it.  Besides, Southwick took colonies of bees down to  temperatures colder than ever seen in our winters and his colonies were fine if they had sufficient numbers of bees and accessible honey stores.  They survived his -80 C freezer - personal communication about two weeks before he passed from cancer.

Back to MT and the TV bit.  The 'expert'  who worked in a bee lab before moving to MT proclaimed 20-30% annual loss was occurring - all  due to neonics.  And, he noted, we're now growing canola grown from neonic-treated seed.  That's true, we're seeing canola in MT and the Dakotas, not just Canada.  Still, no beekeeper or canola grower in MT to my knowledge has ever reported a bee kill.

My first response was to call our local TV station to set them right.  Then I cooled down.  I'm hosting the 36th Annual Meeting of the Western Apiculture Society in Missoula Sept 17-20, complete with Workshops, Trade Show, and Honey Harvest Festival.  So, I pulled some strings and got the main Anchor from the KPAX TV Station to come out the next week when we handed out packages brought in from CA for us and local area beekeepers by Rick Molenda, Western Bee.

Jill Valley from KPAX not only did a story, but participated in the hiving of a package.  We then provided that colony to KPAX - they adopted a hive that day.  
In four weeks, Jill the 'new' beekeeper (she's never kept bees) will come out to check on their adopted hive, report on seeing, as she says "the babies".   She's appears to be excited.

Through the summer, Jill will check in and post updates on their hive via the nightly news and on the station and Jill's Facebook pages.  In late summer, Jill will extract their honey, and we will have a Report on all of this and conduct an Auction of KPAX honey for Charity at the WAS/HONEY HARVEST Festival.

We've done stories in the studio with Jill in the past.  She's smart, gets the story right; so I deliberately chose her as the person to educate about bees.  Looking forward to seeing how this progresses.
 
J.J. Bromenshenk
Bee Alert
Missoula, Mt
 

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