> Any discussion of zero or limited treatment gets invaded by the
> perfection-nazis and degenerates to do-so, do-not kind of discussion.
>

There is another problem, and that is verification. One reason the
commercial operations are easy to critique is they are visible and the
failures cannot be hidden. You lose 2,000 colonies in Almonds and people
know. You lose all your 5 colonies in your backyard and you can still say
that your method of keeping bees is the best and few know otherwise.

Add that some "alternative" beekeepers (who knows what that means) have
websites or have books that do not reflect the reality of their apiaries,
but they are quoted as successful beekeepers with new approaches to
beekeeping.

When I teach  beginning beekeeper courses, the first thing I tell them is
the key to being a good beekeeper is to have good bees. I have long thought
that most of the success in "alternative" beekeeping is the continued
culling of the bee. It has nothing to do with the techniques but everything
to do with the bee.

So when you mentioned Russians, they seem to be in the mix of races that
they work with in defining their techniques and credit the technique. We see
this with AHB and Dee. What is the actual reason for her success? As noted,
it always gets back to the bee.

I share your concern in proceeding with this discussion as it can generate
false hope. All beekeeping is local and what may work in the warmth of
Florida may be a disaster in Maine or Alberta. Races of bees developed for a
reason: to survive in local conditions. Which is why I love Carneolans and
not Italians. They do great in Maine winters as they came from a colder
climate. It is all the bee. The super bee is a nice concept, but I doubt if
we are in the age of one size fits all.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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