Hi all

Interesting discussion. I don't sell bees so (as Bob likes to say) I don't have a horse in the race. When we teach beginner classes, we really hope folks will succeed. The next generation of beekeepers have to come from somewhere. 99% of the estimated 200,000 beekeepers in the US are small timers, so these people are not likely to gain a lot from commercial beekeepers and their particular practices. In fact, a lot of the very best beekeepers never attempt to make a living at it. It's a very precarious occupation, which benefits from being balanced with other activities. Anyway, this year I have horror stories about nucs and packages both. One friend bought something like 30 nucs and lost them all the first winter, mainly due to varroa and the viruses. Another brokered and helped their club install something like 100+ packages, and half of the queens crapped out in the first 6 weeks. Take your pick.

Pete
             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html