Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER - TALKS & REPORTS => Topic started by: HockeymanVT on May 01, 2007, 01:54:06 pm
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As a soon-to-become small back yard bee keeper, I am wondering if small, widely dispersed colonies might do better than the large industrial colonies. I am willing to go to extraordinary steps to try to keep them safe. I wonder about medication vs no-medication, moving the colony inside my outbuilding to protect from extreme temperatures, supplemental feeding, ... Will bees become an endangered species? The only consolation if they are endangered, is that humans, who likely caused the problem, will follow closely behind!
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All depends on the cause.
That being said, and off to the land of conjecture, if it is the cocktail of insecticides, antibiotics, HFCS, etc., etc., that is the typical industrial apiary motif then, yes indeed - backyard beeks (& all others) who have more holistic oriented practices will save the day. If the cause is something more systemic (e.g. GMO pollen) then geography (proximity to GMO crops) would be the prevailing factor. No matter the cause, diversity could only be beneficial.
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As a soon-to-become small back yard bee keeper, I am wondering if small, widely dispersed colonies might do better than the large industrial colonies. I am willing to go to extraordinary steps to try to keep them safe. I wonder about medication vs no-medication, moving the colony inside my outbuilding to protect from extreme temperatures, supplemental feeding, ... Will bees become an endangered species? The only consolation if they are endangered, is that humans, who likely caused the problem, will follow closely behind!
You can Bee Natural with a few hives.
I don't begrudge commerical beekeepers who use chemicals. It's a buisness. I however as a hobbiest do not use them.
I would say you do not need to move your bees to protect themselves. The bees know what they are doing.
You may need to do supplemental feeding such as a pollen patty or sugar water depending on the circumstances.
I would say read here:
http://www.bushfarms.com/bees (http://www.bushfarms.com/bees)
Sincerely,
Brendhan