Greetings

I would humbly suggest that if there is anything we have learned in these past several years it's that there are already too many contaminants in bee hives. I think it's high time to avoid adding ANYTHING to hives that isn't proven to be absolutely necessary for the health of the hives. 

I avoid antibiotics, sugar, corn syrup, essential oils, vitamins, organic acids, all of it. Try to get your bees into a good area where they can obtain all of they need from the environment, and avoid areas where there are just too many bees already or a heavy influx of transients, if you can. 

I am not blaming these or anything else on our problems, nor do I suggest letting bees die due to starvation or curable diseases. There is an appropriate time to feed syrup, pollen supplements and antibiotics. But I think we all need to rethink the notion that *we need to add stuff* to the colony environment. 

Along these lines, Marla Spivak is studying propolis, which may have natural antiseptic properties. Personally, I suspect that lemon grass oils and other imitation pheromones are highly disruptive to the colony, and would avoid them as well. See my writings in the American Bee Journal on how odors are used for communication and organization.

If this conflicts with anything I said or wrote in the past, well, I changed my mind. New information suggests that we need to understand very clearly 1) what constitutes a naturally healthy colony; 2) what WE DO that impairs that; 3) what, if anything, we can do to enhance their health.

PLB

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