Greetings,

You can tell when winter arrives by the number of posts on BeeL.  In the
last week or two there have been some great posts discussing the spread
of Africanized bees.  Dee Lusby notes that it is possible to keep gentle
bees in an Africanized area.  I can't think of any reason she would
report this if it is not true.  The Lusbys have found a way to cope with
the situation through breeding and management.  We need to get as much
detail as possible and try to understand all the factors.  Unfortunately
it is not "winter" in Arizona and I am sure the Lusbys are busy.  I
think most that have been following Dee's posts have somewhat of an idea
as to their management system.  What I am really interested in is how
much of their "bee space" is shared with other beekeepers. If they
pretty much control the areas where they are keeping bees then it
appears they have found a way to control the problem through management
and isolation.  However, I don't know if they are affected by other
beekeepers actions.   I sure would like to find out.  

A fun exercise at a bee meeting is to bring a topographical map and have
all the beekeepers in attendance put an "X" on spots where they have
apiaries located.  Then take a compass and to scale draw a circle
representing a normal flight area ( 2 - 5 miles?) around each location.
In my neck of the woods most of the map will be inside a circle and many
circles will intersect.  This exercise does not take into account other
beekeepers or migratory colonies.  We are affected by our neighbors!

Aaron did a great job, while responding to other comments suggesting
otherwise, summarizing the need for pollination and how closing the
borders is not possible.  I agree and as far as 2006 is concerned not
much can or will change.  However I am sure, no make that very sure,
that there things that can be done now and in the future to control this
problem.  I doubt regulations will change until an incident occurs and
then, as Aaron mentioned, they will focus their attention on the
backyard beekeeper, for all the wrong reasons that politicians normally
use.

We can do a lot to change all this.  I believe Bob Harrison is correct
when he states that all the problems are not associated with migratory
movement.  We have to stop buying queens and packages from Africanized
areas and become more self reliant.  I highly commend Mike Palmer and
company for their efforts to do just that.  However if your neighbor
continues to buy bees from a questionable area you still run the risk of
the genes sneaking in.  Migratory operations will have to reassess the
way they are moving bees in and out of Africanized areas.  Again, this
won't happen in 2006.  But in can in the future.  

If in five years, if we are still buying bees from the South and
migratory operations are exactly the way they are today, we will have
lost the battle and AHB will be moving freely in most states north or
south.  Everyone has to take some responsibility for this and change the
way we keep bees.

Ron

Ron Bogansky 
Kutztown, PA




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