Why does it have to be a choice between the work of  professional bee
scientists and that of amateurs? Surely that's an  unjustifiable polarisation; can
they not find a way to work together? I see no  reason why the work of a
beekeeper can't be just as valuable as that of a  scientist, and vice versa. No
scientist can spread their experimental hives over  an entire continent, so their
results are as likely to be affected by local  factors as anyone else's. That
can, of course, be overcome by a community of  scientists working together; at
the moment we have work on fungi as potential  varroa treatments being done
both in the UK and in the States, for instance.  Amateurs, too, if I can use
such a term when some may well be professional  beekeepers, can work together.
The original scientists, after all, were amateurs  with enough money to have the
leisure and the education to do it, and there are  still areas where amateurs
make valuable contributions. I see no reason why  beekeeping shouldn't be
another.

    Regards,

    Robert Brenchley

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