Hi Bob & All,

> Those considering beekeeping for a living need to spend time with a full
> time  beekeeper and you will see a big difference between beekeeping books
> methods and the way we actually keep bees.
>

Yes, this is really so true. That is what I did when I first started beekeeping. I spent most all my first summer beekeeping with
one of the most prominent commercial beekeepers and his partner, Small for a commercial beekeeper in the lower 48, but one of the
largest in Alaska keeping around 400 hives. This set me up to manage bees unlike a hobbyist and to work at wintering bees unlike
most beekeepers do up here.

> Over feeding causes many swarms  especially for new beekeepers.
>

Yes and it can cause other things to happen also, such as interrupting foraging habits and if fed to long could cause sugar syrup to
get into places where you would rather have honey.

I
> agree with the labor consuming but do not see the spread of disease part as
> the frames and equipment come from my own operation and I consider each yard
> as one big living hive with drones moving freely between all hives
> (happens).
>

This is also true and disease is just a fact of life to be dealt with accordingly, pretty much the small stuff that can't be sweated
to much.

 . ..   Keith Malone, Chugiak, Alaska USA, http://www.cer.org/,
c(((([ , Apiarian, http://takeoff.to/alaskahoney/,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Norlandbeekeepers/ ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ApiarianBreedersGuild/

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