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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Bob Harrison <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 1 Mar 2011 02:32:19 -0600
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> I'll concur with Bob that bees sometimes actively work field corn
> pollen and store in the comb, even though they generally prefer to
> collect other pollens.

I have seen bees hoard pollen in my area ever since I started keeping bees
in the Midwest. I never saw happen in Florida or Texas  but others may have.
For this reason I doubt is all linked to a line of bees trait. In the
Midwest we see the pollen hoarding after our main honey flow and in areas
which for whatever reason does not have a fall flow going on. I reported the
pollen hoarding several times over the years on the list.(in archives)
 EVERY year I find
some deadouts for which the cause of the deadout can be linked to bees
trying to cluster over say 8-9 frames of pollen.


> Also concur with longer pollen exposure due to staggered plantings.

We have what we call "weekend farmers" and they only plant their fields on
weekends. other *full time*farmers plant several thousand acres and it takes
most the spring to get all the crops in. Soil moisture dictates most of
their activities.

> However, there is abundant research, by both pesticide companies and
> independent researchers indicating that properly-applied neonics show
> no observable harmful effects to bees or brood.  There is virtually no
> data to the contrary.

The above has always been the pesticide company position yet we know the
pesticide is found in both the nectar & pollen of systemic pesticides. We
know the amount of said pesticide needed to kill bees and learning the
amount needed to produce sub lethal effects. Much of what certain chemical
companies claimed as to the levels needed in order to see observable effects
in bees we now know are not correct.
We know that the neonics were brought on the market without having the
required testing done before hitting the market.

Its easy for beekeepers to see as health people saw with tobacco that the
chemical companies are not going to give up a cash cow without a fight. My
advice to beekeepers has long been to learn to keep bees around areas of the
neonics. Bees  are collateral damage *in my opinion* with neonic use and
even though many understand the importance of bees for pollination the
profits from the crops using the neonics will win out over the interests of
beekeepers.

 There need to be some label
> changes, and it is my strong impression that the pesticide companies
> are more than willing to do so.

I won't be holding my breath. The history of beekeeper problems with
pesticides and chemical company response has always ended up in the favor of
the pesticide companies. The chemical companies back in the days of the
Penncap M. kills rarely came up paying for bee kills and were happy to
let the U.S. tax payer pay for the damage their products caused. The largest
beekeepers in the U.S. have learned from past history and the reason why
some are researching a indemnity program like the one we lost in 1978.

> There are also a paucity of what I would consider to be good long-term
> field trials, which is why I am proposing a suggested protocol.

We have seen this dog & pony show before with pesticide companies and
tobacco companies. Decades can go by before enough research is found *which
can not be contested* by the chemical companies to get changes .I have
survived this long in beekeeping due to understanding the *game*.
I personally have called the USDA as have others when we saw a large amount
of dead hives with no apparent reason for their demise only to have the
hives sit for weeks without any response from the USDA.  Only told to file a
disaster form .

It is only by the
> collection of hard data that we are going to make any progress on
> determining what factors are actually causing the problems.

How's that going for you? Still no answers on what killed the hives in
2006/2007.
Little new information on what CCD is. No new antibiotic for control of
nosema ceranae. No legal formic product available nor ways U.S. beekeepers
can apply oxalic acid or formic without issue.

>
> Luckily, there are some very good researchers, such as Dr Bromenshenk,
> and a number of others who don't post to the List, who are doing that
> very thing!

And colleges working with tax payer money to find solutions for our problems
which in turn will be used by some to come up with products which can be
sold to beekeepers making big bucks (like mega bee ).

I am optimistic that beekeepers working with beekeepers will find a way to
survive like we always have done but our numbers are dwindling like the bees
numbers.

I appreciate the efforts of Randy, Jerry and others but live in the real
world of U.S. beekeeping today.

bob

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