deknow wrote:

>>>>this is an interesting question.  what if the bees are not "african" but
interfere with your local mating program?  what if the hives are really
strong, and start to rob your hives out?  what if they are packed with mites
or nosema spores?  what if there is limited forage in your area, and the
additional hives cause shortages?  what if the beekeeper across the street
open feeds when you are trying to collect honey?  what if the beekeeper
across the street has weak hives, initiates robbing (your bees robbing
his/hers), and then puts reverse cone traps on the entrances to trap your bees?


Non of those things are regulated by NY State. As Lloyd points out,
neighbors should be able to work out such problems. In the matter of
contagious diseases or invasive pests (African bees included), there are
laws on the books. 

It is not against the law to have a mean hive if it isn't bothering anybody.
If your keeping bees constitutes a nuisance, there are plenty of local
ordinances. Like, if you put 50 hives in a lot by an elementary school or
public park. 

The NY State inspectors check apiaries for Foulbrood (illegal), small hive
beetles, varroa levels, fire ants, African bees (illegal) and recently we
have been doing a lot of sampling for nosema. 

We are trying to cover a lot of different interests here. There is the
beekeeper, the bee industry, the fruit industry, the public, the state; they
all have a different point of view on what should and should not be regulated. 

I view bee inspection like automobile safety inspection. If everybody had a
safe well maintained car there would be no need for it. We have annual
inspection in NY; that way you can be pretty sure the guy that is driving
toward you at 65 MPH has functioning brakes and steering. He might be drunk.

So if you want to keep bees, you are going to want some assurance that the
hives down the road aren't rotten with AFB or Africanized, say. If the owner
will let you look at them, fine. If not, NY State has the prerogative to
inspect any hives in the state and abate violations. 

In the past, there were many abuses of the system and a lot of people have
soured on bee inspection over the years. I joined the "force" to try to
change that. Any suggestions are welcomed; contact me off list if you prefer.

Peter Borst
Ithaca, NY

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