Dee Lusby writes:
>The following lecture/talk was just given by me at the 105th anniv
>convention of the Alabama State Beekeepers on 21 Sep 02. I am
>posting it here for much discussion and comment, as it relates
>highly to beekeeper induced stress within beehives and other
>problems.
Ms. Lusby,
I shall take you at your word when you say you want "much discussion
and comment." You have taken the opportunity to criticize the
beekeeping practices of the modern world and offer in its place what
you call biological beekeeping. As all beekeeping requires a thorough
knowledge of biology, the choice of term seems poor. Maybe you should
call it organic beekeeping, since you condemn the use of chemicals.
No one in the bee world is happy about the huge increase in chemicals
on bees. Everyone I have spoken with wishes we could get out from
under the problem. But most people who have skipped treatments for
mites have had disastrous results. Now, people who are selecting for
mite resistance and others living in tropical and subtropical areas
have seen the emergence of bees that do not require as frequent
treatment. In our region, mites come on with a vengeance in late
summer. We have used screen bottoms, essential oils and hygienic
stock. In our area, this methods did not reduce mite infestation !!!
Before the onset of the mites, the major problem facing the
beekeeping industry was sagging honey prices due to competition.
Beekeepers I knew had little problem with the health of their bees,
unless they were heavily into pollination in the desert. This
particular enterprise is extremely hard on bees and causes heavy
losses. But this is a man-created problem: putting too many bees in a
hostile environment for pay.
Beekeepers like myself who ran 400-1000 hives could produce plenty of
honey. Unfortunately, most of it ended up going to government
surplus. I eventually sold out and got out the bee business, mainly
for financial reasons. Now the price of honey is good again, but it
is a constant struggle to keep bees alive. The problem is NOT stress
caused by beekeeping practices. Our bees at the research lab are
seldom moved (which is hard on bees, but not fatal). They have plenty
of pollen, water, nectar and it rarely gets hot. In other words,
summer here is like paradise.
The problem is a parasitic mite, which we all know. You have claimed
that small cells and nutrition would take care of our problems. Now
you are championing flipping frames around. Are your bees sick and
suffering so that you would go to the trouble of trying this
completely novel and unproven technique to save them? Why are they
suffering? Because of beekeeper caused stress? And if they are not
suffering due to the great results of you biological beekeeping
program, then why would you need *still another* technique on top of
all the others? If they were not suffering before you turned the
combs around, then how can they now be better?
As far as supersedure goes, many beekeepers have noted this problem.
Most people attribute it to poor quality queens, possibly related to
pesticide use in and out of the hive. Queen supersedure is not well
understood, nor is swarming. Anyone who claims to fully comprehend
these phenomena is bluffing. Another likely cause of supersedure is
excessive fussing with the hives. Bees do not thrive on constant
intervention.
My best yard this year was 24 packages. We installed them, supered
them, and took honey off. Now we have to deal with mites. If those
bees were stressed out, I'll eat my hat. We weighed every hive today
with a spring scale hung from a huge tripod. Some were in 6 stories
again, after having the summer honey pulled off. They were so content
they never stung once the whole time we were there.
I would humbly suggest, as Aaron Morris has said, there ain't no
silver bullet. Beekeeping is hard work and it pains me to see people
advocating implausible schemes and calling into question what is
just plain common sense: if the bees have parasites, they have to be
gotten rid of or they will perish, at least in the temperate regions.
Oh, by the way, when the silver bullet arrives I will be the first to try it.
--
Peter Borst <[log in to unmask]>
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