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Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:43:36 -0400 |
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> Due to the close proximity of the boxes
> holding the bees, Drifting...
Sure, drifting can happen, but one has the same
problem with hives on pallets, don't they? My Dad
is a big fan of brightly-painted plastic coffee-can
lids thumb-tacked to the front of hives, and he
keeps his hives in a very tight semi-circular line
year-round.
> and robbing may occur.
When the blooms are over, the hives go back to their
yards and are taken off the trailers. Hives working
blooms rarely get to robbing.
> colony manipulation becomes impossible without
> major disruption.
Such a major disruption, sometimes I even
get stung! :) Seriously, life is too short
to work nasty bees. I'd requeen if this
became an issue.
> Disease transfer can occur with greater ease.
For some diseases, that's partly a function
of drift, but for other diseases, drift is
a very minor component, isn't it?
> Colonies are often in a heightened defensive
> mode - where normal colony "investigation" can
> lead to swirling mass of stinging bees.
Wow, got any video? I've not seen or experienced
this myself, nor has anyone every mentioned it to
me, despite bees being crammed into very close
quarters by many backyard beekeepers who keep
making splits. I'd be willing to wager that
the overwhelming majority of beekeepers in
North America keep their hives no more than
an arms length away from each other year round.
Here's what appears to be the earliest apiary ever
found, and the hives were no more than a few inches
apart, just about as close as one can get them on
a trailer.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20588417/
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