> Do beekeepers try to get the cheapest labor they can hire?  Of course not. 

Hmm. I worked for many commercial beekeepers over the years and those jobs were the worst paying I had. My first one in 1974 paid minimum wage and we were expected to work 60 to 80 hours a week, 7 days a week. An acquaintance of mine worked for the same beekeeper until about 2000 and he was getting the same deal: minimum wage, maximum hours. He finally quit when he was in a terrible truck accident and the boss told him he was going to be dropped off the group insurance policy because of the expense of his hospitalization. Most beekeeper's helpers I have met start out thinking that it's a cool profession and quit when they find out it's stinging, endless hours of driving, and the worst pay imaginable. 

Pete

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