superbee wrote:

>Now I see a percentage of bees which swarm and old hive never raises a new
>
>>queen. Myself and other beekeepers which have noticed the problem are at a
>>loss as to why the problem has became greater. We do however drop those bees
>>
>>from breeding programs many times in case genetics is the problem.
>
>
>This problem is probably caused by the use of coumaphos in the hives.
>
Hello Roger and All,

Many different affects are happening at the same time to our honeybees.
Our intervention with chemicals will cause
an affect on hive behavior. Remember that chemicals ( Pheromones)
 controls a lot of the hives behavior. The complexity of the 200
pheromones is outside of our reach at this time. The studies of queen
pheromones alone has a great variance. Mark Winston sent me some hard
copy of his work, when we were have a problem with the white line of
Russian stock.
 My position on adding chemicals into beehives still stands. You better
understand the down side of your short term fix.
In nature , change comes slow. With man helping out ( jet planes ),
change comes fast.Then we try to have a fast fix.
 The problem is more the nature of Man, than nature itself.
We debate or discus different little parts of the puzzle. That is the
only way we can explain things to each other. One piece at a time.  Look
down into a beehive and explain to me , what you see. If you are very
observant , you can write a very long book. That is why there is so much
literature on honeybees. I have more questions than answers. I have been
keeping bees for over 35 years. The bees have been wonderful for me. I'm
grateful for the gifts they have given me. Its way beyond honey and
pollen. Take the time to let the bees teach you.
Very Best Regards
Roy

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