On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 4:38 PM, Grant Gillard <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Yeah, I know first-hand some guys that absolutely do not treat their hives.

Well, like Kathy and Lucy, I'm another beekeeper who doesn't treat my
hives. I follow Dee Lusby's method. I will admit that for now I only
have two hives. If I had more room I'd have a lot more. I'm working on
that.

>
> I think they do this out of basic "laziness," or maybe their bees are more like feral pets in the backyard and a lower priority than I think the bees deserve.

A general and unfair assumption.

> I also observe a stubborn streak of obstinancy that, as beekeepers, they think they are somehow different than those "other" guys who dope up their bees.

Yes, we can be stubborn but I don't think we're obstinate about it. Is
it wrong to fight for what we think is right? What you call obstinate,
I call passion.

> They like to think they're keeping bees like ol' Grandpa did.  Then toss in an ignorant distrust of chemicals in general, and sometimes just plain old ignorance of what is vexing our bees and how it costs so much to treat them.

I'm the first in my family to keep bees. Most of my family think I'm
nuts for doing so. They do look forward to the honey though. I don't
use chemicals because I simply don't want to put anything in the hives
that aren't natural. I have studied the chemicals and I didn't like
what I saw. A lot of organic farmers refuse to use pesticides. Is
their decision to not use chemicals considered ignorant? I didn't
arrive at my decision lightly. I did a lot of research. I use small
cell. A lot of people say that it is hocus pokus, fairy dust and snake
oil. Dr. Spivak says that untreated hives will die within 6 months to
two years. Both of my hives are past six months. So far they're doing
great. They're not isolated either. They're near six other hives from
another beekeeper who uses standard foundation and treats his hives
with Apistan. It's a given that I'm getting some drift from his hives
and I know they do have Varroa.

>
> On the whole, their bees live without treatments.  But their results are also anecdotal and mixed.  They tell me they often split their hives (mostly walk-away splits allowing the bees to raise their own queen) to fill in the winter dead-outs.

I've lost two hives that were weak to begin with. Both were wiped out
when they were invaded by wax moths and were then robbed out.

>
> But these beekeepers seldom harvest any appreciable amounts of honey, and as they routinely complain about how their bees are always swarming, I think their secret is the brood break that occurs when the old queen shuts down and the new queen has yet to mate and resume the brood rearing where the varroa multiply.
>
> Their "success" at keeping bees alive without treatments is somewhat of a mystery.

The jury is still out. We'll have to see how these two do. I'll do a
measurement of Varroa in the spring when they're building up.


Jamie Krasnoo

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