--- Bob Harrison <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > How can you judge the bees unfit if you rob their > honey? Hello Bob, I'm mostly referring to ferals I catch. I have found it is difficult if not impossible to properly assess them if you provide artificial feeding. So what I do is to place them in my poorest location where they have to work hard to survive, this has the effect of spreading out performance grades between the colonies (unfit will do real bad here, and the fittest will do much better or even excel). Then it is a matter of assessing the queen performance and colony performance, which is extremely easy as I have found that poor performers will be much lighter, or occasionally on the verge of starvation, these unfit I eliminate as I find. During my assessment of these colonies, I restrict them to a single deep and winter them in singles then assessment is completed by May. In my full size colonies, I rob honey that is above, it’s the bees responsibility to fill the broodboxes below with stores not mine. Baring a particularly dry season, if they cannot manage to collect enough stores for themselves as compared to the average for that season, then this may indicate that they are unfit and need eliminated as opposed to proped up and fed. I do extract from the broodnest when needed also, but have never fed, other than occasionally equalizing stores in the fall. > You might look at the need for feed when choosing a > breeder queen but not > feeding production hives needing feed seems silly. Production colonies are ready for the Locust and Tulip, I just haven’t seen the need to feed, the bees get plenty good spring feeding from the Maple bloom. Also, by not feeding these production colonies, I can accurately assess (ref. Brother Adam) fecundity, foraging zeal, spring development and wing power. It’s the style of beekeeping I choose, and it has aided in the ability to identify colonies that are fittest for my area. Selecting from only the fittest and not artificially propping up I believe has accelerated success for me in organic beekeeping. Joe Waggle ~ Derry, PA ‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries' My Site: http://www.biologicalbeekeeping.com Organic Bee Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Organicbeekeepers/ Feral Bee Project: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeralBeeProject/ __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL – Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---