a Pete B snip followed by > my comments
What I object to is the doctrine of non-management, of willy nilly jettisoning all that we have learned since 1853. 

>Well even non management is management.  This distinction I would make is between managing and micro managing the bees. Micro management assumes you are in control of the majority of variables. Secondly we have a lot of new folks in commercial beekeeping and it is a large assumption that they are even familiar with the history of beekeeping going back to 1953 much less 1853.

>In the current period all problems with bees will be attributed to varroa and history and my own experience tells me that bee hives died long before varroa arrived.  Over the same time period it should be no surprise that bees NEVER died from poor management or lack of beekeeper skill.  

  
These people are dyed in the wool Luddites, so far as I can see. And they cloak it in some sort of holier than thou, close to nature mumbo jumbo.

>Are you suggesting John Kefuss (spelling may not be quite correct but you know the 'live and let die' fellow) or Danny Weaver are Luddites? Resume would suggest to me both know exactly what they are doing.

>I am not trying to suggest here that there are NOT a bunch of folks with 2 years of beekeeping experience and a hand full of hives that have some pretty wacko ideas!    

Gene in Central Texas... 

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