On 7/19/2018 2:14 PM, Gary wrote:
> notbob wrote:
>> On 7/19/2018 8:28 AM, wrote:
>>
>>> There has been an illness that affected bees for a couple of years
>>> now, serious and of much concern.
>> Yet there has also been an increase in honey. Something does not compute.
> Perhaps we are harvesting too much honey??? They do make it for
> their own food to sustain them over the winter.
Â* A responsible beekeeper won't do that ... I have met guys that will
take just about all the honey , then feed sugar syrup thru the winter to
sustain the bees until the spring flow starts . Their logic is that
honey goes for 8 bucks/pound , sugar is around fifty cents . My logic is
that my bees do better on honey than sugar , and I'm not in it to drain
every dollar I can out of my hives . The thing about Chinese honey is
true , they cut it with corn syrup , then vend it thru the surrounding
countries . Next time you go to KFC read the label on that honey product
packet ... it ain't honey . As far as diseases , I was not aware that
there are any new ones . The old ones are bad enough ... and one of the
reasons I'm happy to be living in a very remote (relatively) part of
Arkansas . There is no monocrop (as in soybeans on the same plot every
year) farming within 50 miles or more with all the chemical support that
makes that possible . This also means that there are no "migrant hives"
coming through the area leaving their diseases and problems . Almond
pollinators come to mind , hives from all over the USA coming together
in one place to mingle and share then go home . We do have one guy that
does almonds , but none of his hives is within 20 miles of our place ,
minimizing the possibility of sharing . Those people also medicate their
bees because of the exposure . Mine are a locally developed strain that
is resistant to mites , one of the biggest problems in beekeeping now .
I do not treat , no chemicals in my hives except a spritz of Bacillus
thurigensis Aizawai to prevent wax moth damage to the empty combs after
I pull the honey . Totally harmless to everything but moth larvae ...
--
Snag
Yes , I'm old
and crochety .
Get off my lawn !
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