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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Lewis Cauble <lewis AT hivebody.com>
  • Cc: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Property Owner wishing to host beehives
  • Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2016 20:07:18 -0400

Well done OCBA.  Thank you!

Lewis


On Mar 30, 2016, at 11:27 AM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:

Several OCBA members asked and encouraged us to respond to a recent post to the OCBA listserv when it became clear that this post was discouraging people interested in becoming beekeepers because they live in or near what the earlier post described as an area of Orange County that is “not conducive for bee health”.

The earlier post said that the Dairyland Road area of Orange County was deadly to bees, based on the poster's experience several years ago when they lost a number of colonies in the area. A "strange white pollen from GMO corn" was blamed for these colony loses and the poster recommended against placing colonies in this area.  There are of course possible alternative explanations for these loses but without more information and an independent confirmation of the cause of these loses, these type of assertions are simply one person’s speculation and hearsay.  One possible explanation relates to a recent blog post (https://beeinformed.org/2016/03/08/why-did-my-honey-bees-die/) on the Bee Informed Partnership’s website by Meghan Milbrath, an apiculturist and honey bee researcher at Michigan State.  In her blog post she shows a photo of “white crystals” stuck to the cell walls of colonies that have succumbed to effects of extreme infestations of varroa mites.  These white patches, which are actually dried varroa mite excrement, could easily be mistaken for “strange white pollen”.  Additionally, the winter of 2011 to 2012 was one of the warmest winters on record and most colonies in Orange County continued to raise brood through the winter, just as they did this past winter,  which also means that varroa mites continued to reproduce through the winter.  Lots of colonies where varroa mites were not actively or adequately monitored and controlled perished in 2012.  We offer this possible alternative explanation to say that one beekeeper’s broad generalization about an area of the county being lethal for honey bees, while offering very little in the terms of evidence or records or independent corroboration ought to be viewed skeptically and in our opinion, disregarded. 

Additionally and counter to the assertion that this area is not conducive to keeping honey bees, OCBA has many successful beekeepers on or not far from Dairyland Road. This includes our OCBA Vice President, who has a happy and successful history with his bees.

The OCBA listserv is open to beekeepers with all levels of experience. Consequently, some posts and conclusions may be offered by well-intentioned but less that thorough or scientifically rigorous contributors.  The referenced post is a good example of this and makes a sweeping generalization with very little offered in terms of context, supporting evidence or independent corroboration.  Anytime that a beekeeper suspects that a colony has been exposed to pesticides we should be calling on our State Apiary Inspectors to help us confirm this and to assist us in determining the appropriate next steps.

Of course, the first questions that the State Apiary Inspectors are going to ask are about your varroa mite monitoring results, the steps that you are taking to control varroa mites in your colonies and any other contextual information that you can offer about your beekeeping practices.  All beekeepers need to monitor their varroa mite levels regularly and keep good records.  It is a crucial piece of information in determining the cause of colony loses.

So if you'd like to expand your beekeeping operation in the Dairyland area or if you are considering becoming a beekeeper in the Dairyland area please do not be dissuaded by this previous post.  Take good care of your colonies, monitor and manage your varroa mite populations, follow the recommendations and the best practices offered to us by the researchers and professional apiculturists and engage our State Apiary Inspectors anytime you think you need their help.

Jointly submitted by:
David Eckert
John Rintoul
Randall Austin




On 3/21/2016 11:52 AM, Information wrote:
Hello OCBA-
 
Jo Vest has property on Dairyland, approx. 8 acres and wishes to help bees by hosting beehives.  She does not wish to keep bees or harvest honey. 
Contact information:  919-918-7666
 
Please contact directly if you are looking for a place to put hives. 
Thank you and have a blessed day!
 


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_________________________________________
ocba mailing list | North Carolina Beekeeping| http://www.theocba.org/
Manage Your Subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ocba/




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