Hi all:

It was written and replied to by PB:
>I do get AFB but at levels that are not destructive to the
hive.

What is that supposed to mean?

Reply:
Probably that there was not sufficient AFB material within
the colony that it couldnot handle itself and therefore it
was staying healthy and keeping everything under control.

Interesting on reading what beekeepers consider IPM
nowadays. The movement started in California afaer WWII as
supervised insect control, which in the 1950s became
"integrated control". This was when entomologists began to
identify the best mix of chemical and biological controls
of a given pest to avoid conoflict with biological control
(bio-control in the beginning was without chemicals).

President Nixon made IPM national policy in 1992 and by
1993, the USDA, EPA, and FDA bought the idea and called for
implementing IPM on 75% of US crop acerage by 2000 (by some
estimates, true IPM is practiced on only 408% of US farm
acerage.

Many confuse "integrated control" with IPM. what IPM did
was extend the concept of integrated control to all classes
of pests and to include more than chemical or biological
controls. Artificial control like pesticides were to be
applied as integrated control, but these now had to be
compatible with control tactics for all classes of pests.

In 1998 the USDA put in place a PAMS strategy for IPM where
is where beekeepers today will recognize certain things now
happening. For to qualify as IPM, a farmer or beekeeper
would have to use at least three of the PAMS strategy
scenarios which are practicing 1) prevention, 2) avoidance,
3) monitoring 4) suppresion.

Monitoring beekeepers today seem to have learned well.
Prevention they try with so-called various treatments.
Avoidance or setting the stage for not coming down with the
problem of out-of-control mites is practiced by few, as is
suppression, though resistance strains of bees are popping
up here and there.

To me IPM to be really effective is to do it without the
chemical side, but this takes much planning and field work
and is labor intensive. But it is the long road to security
and live bees, when the other road is various treatments
and a continuing treatmill that gets harder and harder to
get off of with ease and keep a livehood going.

Just some thoughts and a little history for some not
familiar with the past.

Regards,

Dee A. Lusby





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