nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio
List archive
- From: "Tim Inman" <Tim@historicinteriors.com>
- To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: [NAFEX] Colony Collapse
- Date: Sat, 4 Apr 2009 10:40:42 -0500
Here is a subject for us that we can actually do
something about. We need bees to pollinate our fruits and also, the honey
they yield is delicious.
I'm beginning my second year as a beekeeper.
Just installed 4 new hives yesterday and released the new queens this
morning. It is a wonderful hobby, and I think all of us orchard folks who
can ought to consider also being beekeepers. I've been amazed at how
gentle the honey bees are, and how much fun it is to work with them - and how
undemanding they are of my time.
That said, from my reading and discussions with
other beekeepers, my observation is that stress is a significant factor in bee
disease, especially CCD. Commercial keepers' bees now travel all over the
USA, non-stop, producing honey and pollinating crops - from coast to coast via
trucks. They are removed from their normal work/rest cycles because they
are put on specialized trucks and hauled to the next venue the instant their
pollinization chores are completed in one place. Seems logical to me that
the spread of diseases to every corner would be one end result. Also,
stressed weary critters - bees or beasts - get sick and die easiest. Dr
Keith Delaplane seems to agree that the causative factors for CCD are many, and
that stress contributes significantly.
So, what to do? Instead of relying on
commercial beekeepers (who are up against the money wall big time to keep their
operations going) I think we hobbyists or 'small time operators' should consider
keeping some hives of our own. Our little bees can do their thing for us,
and we can give them happy stress free places to grow and be healthy.
Since we aren't feeding bankers to keep our bee businesses going, or expecting
huge profits from honey sales, we can offer a gentler more normalized lifestyle
for our honey bees. Even busy bees need a little laid back slower pace
from time to time.
Plus, it is a ton of fun!
Tim Inman
Randolph, Iowa
|
-
[NAFEX] Colony Collapse,
Tim Inman, 04/04/2009
- [NAFEX] link to article on organic beekeeping standards, Stephen Sadler, 04/04/2009
- Re: [NAFEX] Colony Collapse, Stephen Sadler, 04/04/2009
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
-
[NAFEX] colony collapse,
Tim Inman, 04/04/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] colony collapse,
Stephen Sadler, 04/04/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] colony collapse,
William C. Garthright, 04/04/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] colony collapse,
Stephen Sadler, 04/04/2009
- Re: [NAFEX] colony collapse, Kevin Moore, 04/05/2009
- [NAFEX] Persistent herbicides in hay and manure, Hilborn . E, 04/06/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] colony collapse,
Stephen Sadler, 04/04/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] colony collapse,
William C. Garthright, 04/04/2009
-
Re: [NAFEX] colony collapse,
Stephen Sadler, 04/04/2009
Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.