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Date: | Wed, 14 Apr 2021 13:20:43 -0400 |
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>"We found significant differences in both the mean Varroa mite per bee ratio... and the average percentage of drones... in packages... significant differences in the number of Nosema-infected packages..."
> I asked if they would name the suppliers that shipped the packages
There's two main US sources for packages "The Southeast" and "California".
In the Southeast:
The bees are shaken from hives owned by beekeepers contracted by the queen producer.
Any one package contains bees shaken from certainly the same yard, but any set of packages delivered to the customer could each have bees shaken by a different beekeeper.
The package producer is working in a sellers' market for bees, and feels lucky to be able to meet demand. He is not going to start imposing quality demands above "living" for the bees shaken.
In California:
It's even worse. The bees come out of the almonds, after exposure to Lord only knows what, and then are shaken into packages shipped continent-wide.
There simply is no more elegant distribution scheme for insuring that absolutely every pest and pathogen known to man is spread as far and wide as possible, and presented to the least-qualified judge of bee health - novices buying packages.
Again, the package producer is working in a sellers' market for bees, and feels lucky to be able to meet demand.
> he became a bit testy with my line of inquiry.
This was a bee researcher, not a state attorney general. There weren't going to be any criminal indictments over any of this, and the researcher backed into a corner was not going to risk his reputation by even being quoted or misquoted by a possibly hot-under-the-collar beekeeper with an axe to grind, no matter how justified the complaint might be. But it has always been thus.
Do packages spread pest, pathogens, and diseases? Yes. Do migratory operations? Yes. Are my nucs 100% disease and pest free? To the best of my ability, sure, but there is no absolute guarantee I can offer beyond a money-back guarantee. Is a swarm or a feral colony disease and pest free? They are dice rolls, so I still quarantine swarms out on Long Island until they grow into a nuc, and prove they have a laying queen and a lack of obvious problems.
Is any aspect of beekeeping going to be "for certain"? No, and it's very likely far worse than you imagined!
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