>
>
> Peter, your question resonates with me.  I taught one of my long-time
all-day Beginners classes yesterday, and began the class with a discussion
of how our local association, as well as the motivations of those signing
up for my beginners classes has changed over the past 40 years.

I pointed out that we used to try to encourage more people to get involved
in beekeeping.  Now I try to talk them out of it.

But this is largely due to two factors:  varroa, and the density of bee
hives in many areas.  So I don't know how this applies to your varroa-free
landscape.

Varroa has made beginning beekeeping more costly and requiring more
investment in learning and management.  No longer can one purchase a hive
from Sears, install a package from the same source, and then neglect the
hive in perpetuity, while it happily issues a swarm or two each season and
survives year after year.

Nowadays, improperly managed hives generally die within the first year, and
often become varroa- or AFB bombs.  In addition, and many urban and
suburban areas, the density of colonies has reached or exceeded the
carrying capacity of the local flora.

What I now recommend is for those interested to look at their motivation,
and their willingness to commit to good husbandry and become a responsible
member of the beekeeping community.  A desire "to save the bees" is a
misguided motivation--better to plant flowers and support small farmers.  A
desire to make some honey, pollinate one's orchard, or to take up a hobby
that puts one more in touch with nature are better motivations.

I agree with Przemek that bringing up the total costs involved, as well as
the likelihood of colony failure in the first attempts is a good
disincentive.  Also the amount of time required for responsible care of a
colony these days.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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