> > >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 *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html