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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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randy oliver <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 27 Nov 2015 13:39:33 -0800
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>
> >I hate to say it, but the way you describe feedlot beekeeping, it sounds
> very similar. Laughing all the way to the bank, etc.


I thank Jim for so eloquently explaining the difference.  None of us are
going to waste a penny by feeding protein sub when uncalled for, and as Jim
points out, the bees tend to reject it anyway.

In a "natural" situation, the bee population will increase until it reaches
the carrying capacity of the landscape.  At that point, a large proportion
of the colonies will starve to death each year.  Yes, this is natural
selection, but not what most professional beekeepers wish to experience.

We supply pollination services to the agricultural sector.  In order to do
so, we must provide our livestock with good nutrition.  We can move them
thousands of miles (burning fossil fuels) to attempt to find good forage.
Or we can supplement them.

We are not managing a "wild" population.  We are managing domestic animals
that are bred for the lifestyle.  The better professional beekeepers treat
their bees far better than the typical hobbyist (as evidenced by the
mortality data from the BIP).

Our well cared for bees then reward us in return, thus allowing us to put
money in the bank  (I didn't realizing  that laughing when your bees do
well was a crime.)


-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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