Bob Harrison wrote:

> A member of the National Honey Board (Clint Walker) told us at the KHPA
> meeting this weekend that the research the board paid for( against many
> beekeepers opinion the tests were a waste of precious research dollars!) to
> test FGMO showed the FGMO did not provide any varroa control.
>
> I know the results will upset Dr. Pedro and others but it is what it is.
>
> The results should be published soon we were told!

Anyone who has been on this list for a long time remembers the FGMO
wars. There are a lot of similarities between it and small cell. FGMO
was the cause of the list shifting to a moderated list. It also was a
driving force to set up other beekeeping lists that supported FGMO and
other "alternative" methods of beekeeping.

There were "scientific" studies done by proponents of FGMO, but when
studies were done by independent scientists, they could not be
duplicated. (Ari was the researcher who first burst the FGMO bubble and
still posts on the BeeList. I value his posts.)

The response to the independent research was derision of scientists and
researchers and a call that beekeepers were the true researchers since
FGMO worked.

We lost a lot of researchers from this list because they just gave up in
the face of unrelenting attacks.

Most who are old timers on the list are commercial and hobby beekeepers
who share a desire to improve beekeeping, but value good research and
dislike anecdotal evidence. We have seen too many "proved" techniques
come and go. Plus, I personally have seen many beekeepers follow the
pipers and leave beekeeping.

A factor that causes me difficulty with small cell beekeeping is the
lack of its being picked up and promoted by the people I respect in the
beekeeping industry. I appreciate Bob's posts because he has the
failures included in his trials. He is not wedded to any specific
beekeeping practice other than the one that will allow his bees to
survive and prosper with minimal interference, the same thing promoted
by small cell adherents. He tried small cells. He has gone on to other
methods.

John Edwards and Chuck Norton have excellent posts on the problem of
pure research. Most of what we beekeepers do are trials, not research.
When I was in graduate school I conducted research and my research was
published in two scientific journals (my Master's thesis). Nothing I
have ever done as a beekeeper could be called research. Only Dennis has
come close in the small cell world.

Dee points out that we need to look at the whole picture, but what we
are looking at is the end result, a beekeeping practice that is
successful. So is Bob's. So is mine. So are a lot of people's, but that
says little about causative factors that led us there.

Joe W's bees are more in harmony with nature and more productive as a
result of being on small cell. Obviously, some of my hives are more in
harmony with nature than others since my hives are not uniform but are
variable. Truth is, the least productive of my hives is on small (5.0)
cell and has been so for years (even after re queening). But it is also
plastic foundation, so is that the real problem? Again, you cannot look
at the end product and pick one thing as the reason for it, if you do
not control all the variables. Which is why Bob's friend would throw out
the Norwegian study because of chalk brood. It is a variable that can
(and does) influence the outcome.

One reason researchers like to keep their experiments small is to keep
variables at a minimum and be able to manage the experiment. I have four
colonies. All are the same race of bee, but every one is distinctly
different. The variables between each colony are also major with cell
size, foundation, age of equipment, possible disease, contaminants,
nectar sources, etc.. So can I pick out one thing to show why I have
been successful for so many years? I cannot. There is a whole book of
things that help me with my bees.

So even thought there is much to commend small cell beekeeping, the
verdict is still out. No big deal. If you want to try it, go for it.

But I have no problem continuing successfully without it.

Bill Truesdell, zealot emeritus
Bath, Maine

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