Robert Brenchley wrote:

>     Yes, but what strain of bee?

Please read my post. It is a matter of degree.

This list is fun. Pardon me while I remove the arrows.

Actually, I am only trying to help. Plus, I am acting as a conduit for
info that was given to me by better beekeepers than me and scientific
studies that back them up. And it works.

As far as bees surviving quite well in the wild, true. But the key word
is survive. If we operated on that principle (which has been championed
on this list in the past- by those who not longer post) we would be out
of beekeeping quite early. Or we would "survive" but not get the best
out of our bees. That is especially true for northern beekeepers who are
faced with harsh winters and short summers. We have to practice the most
efficient beekeeping or we will be marginal or end up with a lot of
empty equipment.

You can get by the further south you go. But why not do better than just
get by. That is George Imire's main point. The difference between having
and keeping bees.

I came into beekeeping just when Tracheal arrived and saw quite a few
beekeepers drop out of keeping bees. Their practice was "set and forget"
and tracheal did them in. When Varroa hit, we lost many more Beekeepers.

I look at most of the current set of new Beekeepers as understanding
that there is a lot more to keeping bees than just "set and forget".
They actually want to read George's "Pink Pages" and become good
beekeepers.

Mainly because his advice works.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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