I'm new to bee keeping. My first packages are
due in a couple of weeks. I have been reading alot and
have a question about hive management practices.
 
        I have heard and read numberous accounts of
winter losses to 50-90% of hives, all hives being
treated in the same manner. Why do some make it and
others not? If the varroa mite is introducing viruses
into bees and the virus is causing the problem then it
would seen moving frames between hives is a bad idea.
It introduces both mites and bees with the virues onto
an otherwise healthy hive.
 
        Specifically, if one moves brood frames to a
weak hive why place the weak hives frames in your
strong hive? Are there suggested frame movement
practices that address this issue other than the
obvious don't do it?
 
        Has anyone surveyed beekeepers, looking at the
relationship between losses and frame movement
practices? I appreciate the the act of extracting honey
and replacing the frames introduces the potentially
contaminated frames but moving living/infected mites
and bees from hive to hive seems riskier.
 
        It would be interesting/expensive to research
sterile hive management practices as the relate to bee
health. Cleaning the hive tool after every hive use,
sterilizing "used" equipment that is placed on hives
are a couble of naive ideas. Irradiation (uugh) may
become a practical and normal practice if the economics
of replacing losses are great enough.
 
        What prompted this whole thought process is
reflecting back to the isolation treatment used by the
hospital when my newborn son (now 16) was moved from
one hospital to another. The hospital would not place
him in the nursery with the other newborns. He had a
"private" room as they did not want to introduce any
foriegn germs into the nursurey.
 
        Comments...?