Comments on: Honey Bees Still Struggling

By: William

William — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:14:10 +0000

I kept bees as a teenager and now as a semi-retired adult I have started again. Two big differences between then and now. Then there were lots of wild bee hives and when they swarmed you could catch them and place them in a hive. We did not use any antibiotics or pesticides to control hive parasites and year after year we had healthy colonies. When you kill the bad parasites you also kill off dozens of
good organisms which populate hives that colonies actually benefit from.
Modern beekeeping techniques rely heavily on an assortment of chemicals and queens are acquired from a small number of breeders, there is dwindling genetic diverity, thus creating a weaker bee population.
I am constantly amazed at man’s arrogance in thinking he can outsmart nature and do better. I strongly encourage beekeepers to return to older ways of bee management before we create another endangered species.
Besides it is much less work than we have now. There is nothing wrong with letting nature have her way and bees redevelop the ability to overcome natural assaults. Like the professors has shown, they are smarted than you think.
Simply stated, when you get a hive, feed them as close to natural as possible (pollen and honey) when they need it and leave them alone until they have a surplus of honey to take.

By: Evans Cedar Beehives

Evans Cedar Beehives — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 06:01:27 +0000

Go to Evans Cedar Beehives for GREAT Cedar Beehives!
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By: Heather Norton

Heather Norton — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:22:18 +0000

We have had a hive onsite in our museum for the past several years. The largest threat to our colonies has been swarming. We have lost several colonies over the years and these statistics are very disheartening to read.

By: Chef Dad

Chef Dad — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:42:01 +0000

My neighbors have bees here in Austin. I have been chased by them. I waited a few days for my anger to subside and went and talked to my neighbors. Long story short, they made a few changes in the way they handle bees, they tell us when they are opening the hives and we get the freshest honey imaginable. As we plant a backyard garden, we also have built-in pollinators.

By: Christine Lucas

Christine Lucas — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:41:54 +0000

We started keeping bees last May. The bees thrived in our Savannah backyard all Summer and Fall. During the Winter, however, we saw activity decline. It was so cold, so we couldn’t open the hive. Eventually we opened the hive to discover no dead bodies, but Wax Moths. They destroy colonies.