Hi Guys,

And this is not the first instance of a 'sheep dip' approach concerning
mites. It was a common practice in 90's. A catastrophic loss of hives was
occuring on the west coast. And there were lots of commercial beekeepers on
the verge of going broke due to low market prices and hive losses. They
sprayed just about everything found in the barn into their hives to try and
survive.

Almond pollination is a good time to meet some of them. They will see your
bee truck, come up, and strike up a conversation. You can find them running
the hardware or auto parts stores. Those who used semi's with the bees are
often in the trucking business. They will have a few hobby hives but are out
of the commercial bee business.

Others continued these practices to try and save some money. They were just
too cheap to use strips. And I know of others who routinely reused strips,
or just added one new strip/year without removing any, ever! I've seen hives
managed that way with over nine strips in the broodnest! I've seen hives
with strips in the honey supers!!!! Anyone want some honey from those
commercial beekeepers. Yummmm.....Yummmm

History is about to repeat itself again. If anyone is walking around the
barnyard looking for a solution to the mites, in a few years they might find
themselves driving a truck, or working retail sales.

I challenge any commercial beekeeper to setup a yard of bees on clean wax
and equipment. Compare it with those hives that have been treated over the
years. You won't need a scientist to show you the difference. And then find
a way to keep them clean.

Canada and Europe have experience with organic acids. Oxalic has great
commercial potential with few drawbacks. The wheel doesn't have to be
reinvented to get clean, effective, treatment alternatives. Not treating
hives  has got to be better than any treatment. That's were ideas like small
cell and genetic selection come in.

Gone are the days when a beekeeper can just stick a strip or spray each hive
and then forget it. Also gone are the days when such a beekeeper could sell
truckloads of honey from those hives. If the resistant mites don't wake that
kind of beekeeper up, then establishing proof of purity and carrying enough
product liability, BEFORE any honey sale, sure should.

In the future, the distinguishing characteristic for the market price of
honey might not be based mostly on its color.

Agriculture and food processing industries are a far cry from what they were
 after WWII and into the 50's. But much of commercial beekeeping is still
stuck in that mode. From what I've read, most of the leading researchers no
longer recommend prophylactic treatments. They are introducing IPM
strategies, selecting bees, etc. They are trying to get American beekeeper
off the pesticide treatmill. And it's the right direction to go.

Regards
Dennis Murrell

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