>> If someone had good business sense, they can be a successful
>> beekeeper, even if their beekeeping skills are sub-par.  But usually
>>  good business sense teaches us how to become better beekeepers.

>Wise words.

To be honest, I wrote that with a specific successful beekeeper in mind.

I helped him a few years ago.  In the beeyards, there were various pieces of scrap plastic strips on the ground.  There was no consistent size.  They would vary from an inch wide and 5 or 6 inches long, to two and a half inches wide and maybe ten inches long.  I asked the beekeeper what the plastic pieces were.

They were homemade mite strips.  They would mix up crazy concoctions and smear the goop on the plastic pieces and stick them in the hives.

He didn't make it sound like there was any consistent measuring of whatever chemical cocktail they were using.  They just smeared some on the strip and stuck it in the hive.  And judging by the lack of consistency in the size of the plastic pieces, it came as no surprise when he talked about inconsistent results.  Nothing worked effectively.

He was also certain that formic acid would not work on mites.  His reasoning was because formic acid is in ants.  Sometimes black ants would get above inner covers.  He had crushed a bunch of ants under lids before, and that didn't kill the mites so he was convinced that formic acid didn't work.

We dumped 600 packages in the beginning of April, and then made 200 splits in May.  Him and I pulled 161,000 pounds of honey that year, with 2 other guys in the extracting room.  820 hives with 196 pounds of honey per hive.  

Sometimes you just have to shake your head.

Excellent business sense.  In some areas, definitely sub-par beekeeping skills.  Very successful beekeeper.  (Although at times he denies being a beekeeper, and just calls himself a bee box handler.)

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