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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
George W Imirie <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 10 Jul 1998 13:12:46 EDT
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Alan:  Is the Frat House still at 1010 N. Ann St?  I was there getting my
Ph.D. in physics until the Army wanted me in Oak Ridge for the Manhattan
Project., and I had kept bees already ten years then.
     Do you like the heat and humidity, not to mention a dearth of food?
Nectar flow except in the clover or alfalfa areas in the Dakota area is very
small - your flow was in May and June.  I advise beekeepers to take a months
vacation to Europe in August when it is worse.  The Buckfast is a fine bee,
but maybe not quite as gentle as a well-bred Italian (there are a lot of lousy
Italians also).  Further, the stronger the population, the more defensive bees
become - genetically very normal; but a weak colony makes very little honey.
It is easy to tell that you know NOTHING about BEE BEHAVIOR when you mention "
getting more angry because they have a home of value".  That statement is a
classic example of ANTHROPOMORPHISM, which means you will never be able to
Upgrade from a beeHAVER To beeKEEPER until you learn NOT to think
anthropomorphically.
See a DICTIONARY.
Times Change!  Today, you have a computer, maybe a micro-wave oven, tubeless
tires, some people have AIDS, your bees have mites (both tracheal and Varroa).
Your Daddy or Grand Daddy did not have any of these things!  YOU CANNOT KEEP
BEES TODAY LIKE DADDY KEPT BEES!   Most of the old time beekeepers no longer
have bees because they refused to learn how to treat for mites, which has to
be done EVERY SINGLE YEAR without fail or you have dead bees.  I am being
NASTY, BLUNT, DEMANDING, or EGOTISTICAL?  No! Like Jack Webb on Dragnet said
"Just tell the FACTS!'  The mites were not in the US until 1984, and now they
in 49 states (not Hawaii) and in every county.  Hence, YOUR bees have mites,
and they will probably be dead next year unless treated this August and
October.
     Books written before about 1992 are almost useless now, just 6 years
later because they do not cover Mites, viruses, Killer Bees, and Public Fear
of bees brought about by too many killer bee movies.  Further, more than half
of all the bee colonies of 1984 are now dead today in the whole US, and less
than half of the registered beekeepers that existed 15 years ago.
    You need an EXCELLENT book for beginners.  The best ever written (I think)
had its revised third edition JUST RELEASED 60 days ago; The Beekeepers
Handbook by Dr. Diana Sammataro available from E mail: [log in to unmask]
for $30.  Diana got her Ph.D. working on tracheal mites.  After you have
matured a little, the best book to really learn beeKEEPING rather than just
"having bees" is the 1992 Revised Edition of The Hive and Honeybee, written
for 31 of America's TOP apiculturists, scientists and researchers, and the 103
page Chapter 8 by Dr. Norm Gary is the most important 100 pages you should
ever read.  Maybe I will finish my new book in the next year or so if I don't
have another disabling stroke.
     I know I have been rough, but I am trying to make you heed good advice
rather than just being a nice fellow.  I will answer your questions if you
desire, but I leave tomorrow for a week at E.A.S. meeting in PA. where I am
giving workshops on Queen Management and Swarming, so I will be computer
absent.
      By the way - keep that 1:1 feed on the bees until fall - don't let
anybody talk you out of it.
                                                                        George Imirie - 65 years beekeeping in Maryland

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