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  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: friedjf AT verizon.net, beecd AT icloud.com, ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Hmmmm
  • Date: Tue, 09 Jun 2015 11:13:44 -0400

Re: "Would it be easier to detect the source of a problem if we were less intrusive?" That presumes that you understand the hive. To understand it you must first poke it, dismantle it, make mistakes with it, learn from it. That's the chore of the beginner (first five to fifteen years). After that, you are correct: you should only need to manipulate your hives to the extent that it meets your goals (keeping in mind that learning is a valid goal).

Also, humans keep bees to meet human needs, whether that be pollination, honey production or an engaging hobby. So a beekeeper-centric philosophy is expected, natural and honest. Honey bees are not native to the Americas and are not "natural", so keeping them does not support inherent environmental goals apart from human needs. Those purely altruistic environmental goals can be better met by supporting butterflies, native bees, clean water initiatives, etc.; using honey bees as a proxy for them is off target and can lead to unintended consequences.

Also, in the big picture, honey bees (for pollination) are a factor input into the agricultural production process just like water, soil, sunlight, seeds, labor, fertilizer and pesticides. Just as with any production process, the optimum mixture of inputs should be adjusted to maximize output. For example, we may use less fertilizer and more seeds depending on the price of fertilizer and seeds. The same applies to the use of honey bees. If we stress them out so that they are less effective per hive, we may need more hives or more of one of the other factor inputs. That's all part of the production equation, costs and benefits per input. As beekeepers, we are focused on one small part of the equation and treat that as if it is the most important, or only important, factor, but that is nothing but self-centeredness and lack of perspective.

All that said, I gave a presentation to the Chatham County beekeepers last month where I raised basically the same question you have asked. The presentation was on honey bee colonies as a superorganism. They operate as "The Collective" in the same manner that The Borg operated in Star Trek Next Generation. As beekeepers, we insert ourselves as part of The Collective. My question was, are we a contributing part of The Collective or are we like cancer, running around doing destructive things? That is a question for each individual beekeeper to answer. The way to become a valued part of The Collective is to learn as much as possible about how it works; that by necessity involves manipulation, which brings us back to the beginning.

Randall Austin

On 6/9/2015 10:38 AM, friedjf AT verizon.net wrote:
27844758.4082856.1433860699320.JavaMail.root AT vznit170116.mailsrvcs.net" type="cite">
 As an OCBA newbie but a long-term biologist, I'd like to propose a discussion.
 
I notice that some beekeepers seem beekeeper-centric, and I wonder if that is to the detriment of bees.
 
By this, I mean some beekeepers defend the position that any manipulation of bees/hives is okay if the beekeeper finds it warranted or suspects that it would help. Move hives hundreds of miles, open hives just to see what's happening, feed them sucrose, transfer frames from strong to weak hives, etc. None of these practices mimic nature, and they surely stress the bees/hive. I hear beekeepers on all sides of hive treatments and management issues so, I conclude that we often don't know what's best for the bees, and we're rolling the dice with our choices.
 
 
At a time when beehives are highly vulnerable to collapse and many other problems, shouldn't beekeepers minimize the variables that affect their hives to minimize stress? Would it be easier to detect the source of a problem if we were less intrusive? Are we being bee-centric enough?
John Friedrick 






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  • [ocba] Hmmmm, friedjf, 06/09/2015
    • Re: [ocba] Hmmmm, Randall Austin, 06/09/2015
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