I've been thinking.

Over the years we see a lot of posts on BEE-L, sci.ag.bee , and elsewhere in
which people are  --- basically -- worrying about their bees.  There is a
blizzard of replies in which other people try to guess what is the problem.  All
of us worry.  I know I do, and it's usually when I know I've ignored one of the
basics, or tried to get fancy.

The thing is that bees -- we are told by good authority -- have managed to
survive in widely varying conditions without -- or in spite of -- mankind's
assistance since time immemorial.  So why do we worry?  If we put enough good
bees into the right number of good boxes in a good place and watch for disease
and predators, and feed them if they get too light, why should we worry?

I think we worry mostly because we want to exceed the natural level of success
of bees in terms of multiplication, survival, and production of hive products,
and we often do it in locations that may not favour bees.  As a consequence, we
place heavy demands on the bees.

>From time to time, I think we need to sit back and realise that the bees usually
do fine by themselves if we have followed the mainstream practices outlined in
all the books and avoided oddball ideas or tricky manoeuvres.  Some of the books
get into strange manipulations like Demareeing and shook swarming, but if one
sticks to the simple basics, there is little likelihood of serious problems. If
we keep it simple we have a lot less worries.

Basically, bees need to have good nutrition, good quarters, and a good location.
Beyond that, nature will ensure that there is reasonable success.  In today's
environment, some awareness of detection and prevention disease and predators is
necessary in addition, but here again, simplicity and conservative approaches
pay off in high success rates.

That's why we suggest that beginners get more than one hive and also that they
identify someone local who has had good success over the years -- in the opinion
of his/her peers, not, necessarily him/herself -- and do as (s)he does.  With
several hives, the natural failure rate will not normally leave one without
bees, although a loss here or there is perfectly normal.  Beginners need to know
that commercial operators run thousands of hives profitably, and some seldom do
more than glance under the lid once in a while to ensure there are still bees
there and that they look OK.  Sure they take some losses, but they always have a
(simple) plan to make up for them.

Bees are tuned to work, 'straight from the factory'.  The more one plays with
the bees, the more risk of failure or trouble there is.  It's much like a modern
car: if you do the regular preventative maintenance and do checkups
periodically, reliability is pretty well assured.  If you try to soup up your
machine or alter the factory configuration, you are asking for reduced
reliability, and moreover no one will stand behind you to make things right. You
MAY get improved performance, but you may also have bad economy -- or even a
wreck.

The best advice is to keep it simple and let the bees do what they have been
doing for millennia.

allen

PS: I've done a bit of work on http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee lately, and
added some new material including a link to some simple security items that wise
internet users might want to consider.  I now personally run a firewall, and
find it simple to use and effective.  So please do drop by and visit.  I made it
just for you.  And, if you notice any problems, I'd appreciate any feedback as
to broken links, etc.
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