jose villa wrote:
> I read with great interest the dialogue generated by Allen Dick's
> posting of a chart that we had on the wall during the AHPA visit to
> the USDA, ARS Bee lab in Baton Rouge.  I want to present a few
> thoughts to the group that has shown so much interest in the topic.

I've heard it said that the future is already here, but it's not evenly
distributed.  That very insightful observation applies very much to our
industry.  Whether the future will be the happy one we see illustrated
in the current results of the years of work with the Russian Primorsky
stock, SMR and other selected stock, or the disaster that is currently
unfolding in Florida with Monster Mites, is up to beekeepers.   Things
can go either way.

I'd like to thank Jose and all the people at the Baton Rouge lab for
their hospitality on our recent visit, and for clarifying my impressions
in his post here on BEE-L.  I think many of us are not completely aware
of, or too easily forget, the great work that a large network of
talented people are doing to assess and respond to the challenges that
face the bee industry in North America and throughout the world.
Opportunities like the one we had at Baton Rouge during the AHPA meeting
help bring this home to those of us who are trying to understand where
the future lies.

Unfortunately many beekeepers are busy with their own problems, and are
simply unaware what is happening across the continent.  As such, many
are part of the problem when they could easily become part of a
solution.  Many have been and will be taken unaware because they are
oblivious to the dangers and just as unaware of available solutions.

Good information is out there, but beekeepers are often too busy to
investigate, and often many who try are confounded by contradictory
claims and by confusing reports.  It is often hard to separate the wheat
from the chaff.  To add to the confusion, proponents of bogus or half
solutions are often very strident and general in their claims, while
those who have real solutions are often quiet, cautious and quite
specific about what they can offer.

I'm particularly pleased that the people on the front lines of study,
those in the USDA labs and their counterparts in Canada, are so
approachable and willing to participate in one on one discussions with
beekeepers.  They attend the conventions and even local meetings and
talk face to face with beekeepers, they visit beeyards when invited to
see what is happening on the ground, and they publish in the magazines
that beekeepers (should) read.

Our best hope to ensure a prosperous future in beekeeeping is to attend
these meetings, read the beekeeping magazines, and to get together in
forums like this to compare ideas and experience.  We will certainly
never all agree, nor should we, but as long as we can maintain dialogue,
we can draw on a vast fund of experience from many regions and methods
of operation.  We are very fortunate on BEE-L to have a finger on the
pulse of the industry and a diversity of thought.

> First of all, the plot of breeder susceptibility was published in an
article in the American Bee Journal, April 2000, by Bob Danka and
myself.

I've often thought that I just happened on a great new revelation, only
to see that it has been published a year or two back. Oh, well.  Better
later than never.  Sometimes things just don't stick the first time, and
(kick me) I think my subscription had lapsed at that particular time.

It goes to show: BEE-L is a great source of ideas, but the ideas that
are presented sketchily here on BEE-L are usually more fully fleshed out
in Bee Culture, The American Bee Journal and other magazines, and often
at some time in the past.  These publications do our industry a great
service, and I think we all should promote them to newcomers, and maybe
we should make a point of reading them more thoroughly ourselves.  I
know I will.

And it goes to show that our research people are really identifying and
solving the problems, and publishing.  The difficulty is in getting the
solutions into the real world.  As they say, that's where the rubber
hits the road, and that is the challenge for the next two years.  Will
we see the solutions that have been developed for us get into common
use, or will we see this opportunity slip away and again hear of massive
(and unnecessary) bee losses?

The answer lies in whether we can work together and agree on how to
accomplish the task, and whether we can overcome the political divisions
and inertia.  The knowledge, and methods are at hand.

Time will tell.

allen
www.honeybeeworld.com