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Subject:
From:
Morty Lipton <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 18 Feb 1996 22:30:49 -0500
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This septuagenarian 'beekeeper'had three to six hives for a good many
years with fair results but as an avid organic gardener, I was reluctant
to use pesticides when in '89 I lost all my hives. I decided to abandon
beekeeping but I kept reading the journals hoping to discover some way
for me to rejoin the fraternity.
                Well, it was an experience running a cooperative garden in the
community in which I have resided for over forty years
<http/ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/edkramer/bryngwel.htm>
that persuaded me to rejoin the bee fray.
                When 3 years ago some of our gardeners expressed interest in raising
strawberries, my initial reaction was not very positive. I didn't feel
that our group had the discipline required for success with June
berries; first year deblossoming, the weeding, etc.Then I came across
some new varieties called 'day neutrals'.Briefly, let me just say that
with 'day neutrals' you get immediate results, deblossoming is not
essential during the first year & the two varieties we planted, Tribute
& Tristar, produced excellent tasty crops, required no pesticides and
minimal care. These plants produced berries all summer long, with the
harvest peaking at six week intervals.
                When I checked all the usual plant sources for our first planting I
was surprised to find that all the well known commercial sources for
these plants barely mentioned them in their ads, and the few that did
presented rather confused and uninformed descriptions.
                For years the growers have been listing some excellent varieties which
they incorrectly described as everbearers. With the arrival of the 'day
neutrals' they had a problem. You see the 'day-neutrals' are true
everbearers. If you clearly explained things in your ads you would be
admitting that the plants traditionally described as everbearers were
not true everbearers at all. And then it occurred to me that the growers
also had huge investments in the traditional June berries. Why push
'day-neutrals'?
                Could something similiar be happening in the bee industry? Could it be
that the investment in the Italian bees has had something to do with the
relative lack of information that I found in the journals about other
bee varieties that had developed some mite resistance. Some of the
Carniolans and Buckfasts especially interested me. And so I decided to
get back in the business of beekeeping.
                Because of my age, I decided to try raising a few colonies in a small
building that I had used for extracting honey. That could be the subject
of another communication if anyone is interested. The challenge was to
arrange all the activities involved in beekeeping; hive manipulation,
super storage, honey extraction, etc all in a small space. Since I will
be housing my bees in a fully enclosed shelter, I will find it easier to
observe my colonies for disease and mites and I am building a slot in
the bottom board into which I can insert papers for Varroa inspections.
The only guidance I have had in the construction of my beehouse came
from 'The Complete Handbook of Beekeeping" by Herbert Mace. The editor
of Bee Culture informs me that he knows of only three other bee houses
in the U.S.
                In my community of 72 homesteads there were four other beekeepers.
Like myself, two of the group have given up. Of the two remaining
locations only two strong hives remain and one of these were Buckfasts.
This spring we have all decided to restrict our colonies to the
Buckfasts. We will all use Apistan as prescribed but with my colonies I
plan on taking a chance on not using either menthol or terramycin

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