Allen writes:

> The second is. "what has been her major source of funds 

A third question would be: what are the bee losses and how are these made up? 

A few years back the press was reporting that the "Organic Beekeepers" had 5000 members and they "never lost bees". Never mind the spurious numbers, any real beekeeper knows that all beekeepers lose bees. How they keep the numbers up is what matters. 

As I understand it, the Arizona method is to drive around collecting swarms, as many as twenty a day in season. Now, if that is how to do it, that's terrific! But how many of us are in a location that generates that many swarms per beekeeper? I am lucky to get ten calls per season (and I don't even go after most of those)

What kind of bees would you get off the golf courses in Tuscon, AZ? I doubt any of these folks keeps them close to human habitation. So much for breeding better bees, in any case. 

By the way, this technique is used almost exclusively in Africa. Collecting swarms is the main beekeeping activity, followed by taking their honey. The bees then abscond. I wouldn't call that "beekeeping" however.

Pete

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