Michael Palmer:
My point is...what if the rains hadn't come. What if the
bees weren't able to gather enough to feed themselves. Once
all the honey you have on hand is used up, then what? 
Allowing 2 or 3 weaklings to die, in each yard is one
thing. Would you allow the entire yard to die? Would you
allow your entire operation to die? What would be the
point?


Reply:
First of all even in our desert climate and hardest of
years, your what-if still does not pertain to real world,
at least out here. And the few years before, rain didn't
come that much with monsoons, and we were behind with rain
tallies, and only had even 6-8 inches or less for whole
year.

Still as bad as it is normally, some bees do gather honey
quite well, and the bees are fast sorted out with surival
of the fittest. It is something I think you would have to
see in an extreme climate to be able to recognize it.

 But even so with about 30 yards to manage, in really bad
years you do what you do with other livestock grazed on the
open range. You simply move them to other available
pasture, as there is always variability in pasture and
plants during droughts/dearths. 

Did that with 3 yards this year by the way in first half.
Had to relocate 3 truckloads to other valleys/maountain
ranges we keep our beeyards in. Then after seeing paths
started of first rains, then you have to move bees back
from where taken and reset back up once situations
straighten out. 

While we don't do migratory beekeeping, we do keep bees in
4 main valleys/mountain ranges in S. Arizona and work bees
accordingly. It is same with cattle in open range grazing.
You move them from pasture to pasture as needed..., with
bees you try to locate using sites picked for full year
diversity of plants, meaning plants applicable for good
spring buildup, main flows, and late summer, and fall
maintenance. You do not pick for one specific time of year
for that is poor site location picking for good sustainable
forage for your bees.

Also like I said in previous post, you learn to work with
unlimited broodnest management for carryover stores to get
you thru most all lulls and droughts, to give the bees a
chance to adjust themselves for what they have to do and
most often times they will. 

continuing:
I don't believe in taking all the bees hard earned honey,
and replacing it with sugar. But, colonies that are too
light to winter get what is needed.

Reply:
We too balance stores by robinhooding from the good
produces to the lesser ones, by only to a certain point.
New splits/divides are fed back, and those newly caught in
the feral are also fed. But those hive being there all year
and still in holding pattern are let go and phased out and
absorbed. They must show they can build and sustain in our
harsh desert climate. If they cannot then sorry, they go.

 continuing:
Tell me...you all who claim to never feed sugar...as if it
were some immoral venture...how is that plan a bad thing?
How does feeding sugar to these colonies effect my long
term breeding program? If I let them die, as you all
suggest, where will I get the bees and brood for my splits 
next summer? Should I split up my best colonies? I think
not. These are my honey producers. ..... By feeding a bit
of sugar to the inferior stocks, I can maintain my
bee/brood resource for next years' splits, and my best
colonies for honey production.


Reply:
No offense, but if you are feeding the weak and keeping the
best for honey production and not spliting from them for
increase, or as you say: "By feeding a bit of sugar to the
inferior stocks I can maintain my bee/brood resource for
next years splits..........and my best colones for honey
production" Who would want to do splits from the weaker
side carried over that cannot feed selves? and then do
honey production how----------by taking the honey and
feeding back sugar? This is not honey production IMPOV with
good strong stock.

I like stock that even in the hardest of drought years has
own honey to live on, and still makes surplus for me. But I
get this stock by spliting/dividing from the strong only
and not carrying the bottom 1/3 weaker if they cannot
maintain themselves right througout the active year.

To carry the weak end for longhaul somehow doesn't sound a
good longterm path to go down.

Regards,

Dee





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