Hello All,
It is very hard for most hobby beekeepers to understand the world of the
commercial beekeeper. People think you are crazy when they find out you keep
a single hive and really think you are playing with a short deck when they
find out you make a living from honeybees. I will give the hobby beekeepers
on the list a glimpse.

Robin asked:
What about those who take Hugo's advice that bee venom all has to be cleared
out by the kidneys , however immune the beekeeper becomes to swelling?   Is
renal failure an occupational risk for professional beekeepers - or is it in
fact unknown?

The oldest people in the world keep bees in Russia and many work bees
without protection (National Geographic).

We have got an active beekeeper over a hundred in Kansas. The oldest man in
the U.S. today (as of last year) was a beekeeper according to an artical in
the New York Times.

Richard Adee's father passed away last year in his 90's (from memory) and
was running around 400 hives at the time of his death.

My mentor was over 90 years of age when I was his apprentice at the age of
thirteen in Florida.

Dr. Miller,Langstroth and the Roots all were long lived.

Two different Gypsy fortune tellers which told my fortune for a jar of honey
at street fairs said I would live a long life (hey whats a jar of honey to
be told what you would like to hear!)

Renal failure? Bah humbug!

 What of employed staff?

Not a lot of renal failure risk as most quit after the first day if they
come back after lunch. If your own family could quit they would I am afraid.

robin said:
 We have increasing legislation in UK at not exposing workers to health
risks - prison sentences are on the horizon.

If Bob ends up in prison I doubt it will be from exposing workers to health
risks as I would NEVER ask an employee to do a beekeeping job I would not do
myself.

Stings are about the only serious health risk in beekeeping and as Richard
Taylor wrote in an ABJ monthly article:

Quote Richard Taylor:

"The sting of the honeybee will always limit the members of the craft of
beekeeping"

Robin asked:
 Is it really so impossible for professional beekeepers to avoid
stings - or is it that u are working so fast that protective clothes are an
impediment?

The hobby beekeeper chooses the time he works his bees. Perfect day when the
bees are perhaps bringing in nectar. If in a bad mood he simply closes the
hive and returns another day.

Bob loads several semi's in a single day in California , no nectar flow on,
cloudy day, bees in a bad mood , bees crawling in every place in the bee
suit, all hive entrances open, stands on top of the semi load mashing bees
trying to install the bee net.

The hobby beekeeper in our area has finished extracting his supers back when
the honey flow was on and the bees paid little attention to the honey
processing area.

Bob is still bringing in supers. Thousands of bees (yes thousands) are at
the honey processing area each morning to greet Bob and stay all day trying
to get in when the roll up door raises up. The building next to the honey
processing area is full of supers . Bob opens the door every few hours to
let a few thousand bees fly out and back to the hives. The scenario happens
every year so Bob thinks little about the situation. Bob's UPS man, mail man
and honey customers see the situation different and scary.

Bobs UPS man asked Bob earlier this year as a bee landed on his shoulder:

"This bee will not sting me will she?"

"Not if you do not mash her with you hand Bob said!

 As the UPS driver mashed the bee with his hand getting a sting. The driver
threw Bobs order out the door and gave Bob an obscene gesture with his
finger. Luckily the driver was not the regular driver which is  not afraid
of bees or Bob might have to pick up and ship UPS from the road entrance.

Stings are not a big deal to a professional beekeeper.

 My bee suit is called a bug baffler sold by Mid con agrimarketing which is
sold to protect against misquotes in hot weather. I do not wear protection
in the honey house regardless of the number of bees. At times the hired help
will refuse to help in the honey house until I clear out the bees. Bees land
and crawl around on me and I ignore the bees. No problem. The stings I get
come from mashing bees with my fingers picking up frames (10-20 in a day not
uncommon). I could wear gloves and avoid hand stings but prefer the stings
over the hot cumbersome gloves.

My mother had rheumatoid arthritis and my father walked with a cane from
arthritis. My doctor gave me a blood test for arthritis and the test came
back negative. Bee stings?

I consider myself a small full time beekeeper these days. In fact I do not
need to keep bees at all as I retired in June of 1998. I do what I do
because I enjoy beekeeping. I should be fishing instead of beekeeping but
still enjoy the challenge of beekeeping and helping my two *partners* work
through their problems . Both can not afford to keep year around beekeeping
help so Bob is the only help they can depend on when doing pollination.
Bob's wife is understanding and Bob can go and stay as long as needed in
California or Texas.

Bob

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