WHY DO WE.....

[Jay]

Propolis, be careful about labeling "throw away attitude" as uniquely American. That is like saying all French are aloof, or all Germans are stern. Remember, when you point a finger at someone else, there are three more pointing back at you!! :shock:

[fiveson]

I am the original poster of the question.

You are a pompous pontificator my friend. I am guessing you live somwhere that the US has saved. How dare you make such sweeping and inditing genralizations.

This is a discussion group and I was not asking the logic of letting my bees live as much as the logic behind not!

The fact that you are 'anonymous' tells me that you consider intellecyual discoure "throw away" - as you snipe from the comfort of you lurking and anonymous position.

Perhaps the real problem is not as much the "American" attotude - as it is the judgemental and self riteous persepectives and pronouncements that foster  hatred based nationalism. OBTW - I am Canadian.

Robert Fiveson

[fiveson]

I was so 'moved' by that insipid post I threw all spelling to the wind - apologies to the English language.

RF

[latebee]

propolis in MY opinion you are comparing apples to oranges. Collectively, we as beekeepers  are aiding a group of insects that are not even native to our country, helping them to prosper and flourish(THATS REAL AMERICAN ATTITUDE MISTER).IMO if you or a loved one was sick from infection and refused antibiotics,or if YOUR body was being destroyed by parasites,I might suppose you would look at the BIG picture and refuse ALL treatment,maybe that opinion seems a little foolish. I really think that your crusader mentality might better be turned to some real desecraters of our planet and not towards an entire group of caregivers who care for and respect one of God's real gifts to the universe-namely the honeybee. Enough said!

[Anonymous]

Let me guess.. um.... vegan??? martian?????

[latebee]

Martian----------------

[propolis]

This is what I was responding to:
>>I read somewhere (was it Finman?) someone wrote that if you do the math - the extra honey you get by not overwintering and leaving an extra super and just buying packages in Spring - works out better $ and easier. So I am wondering why do we bother to try? Cretainly it would make requeening easier. <<

How am I comparing apples to oranges?
The writer was apparently advocating going back to the old days of destroying bees, which I condemned. Sentimental? Pompous? Only if you are some kind of robot.

No, I'm not a vegan or a Martian, but a beekeeper at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, UK.

[fiveson]

Funny how close my name Robert is to Robot.

Any logic can be constructed to support a position.
You made some pretty harsh assumptions - and apparently have a need to be right.

Yes I am an unfeeling robot. I dont even own bees. I am an exterminator by trade. My baby brother was killed by a flock of bees and carried off never to be seen again.  I hate them.

Gee you busted me. Im so ashamed.

[golfpsycho]

Nobody is advocating the killing of bees.  The original question,  in regards finmans post, was incorrect.  Finman does many things, including use terrarium heaters, polystyrene brood boxes, and feed supplements to build up and keep his bees healthy and productive.  What Finman has done is pointed out that he takes the honey... all of it,  and feeds back syrup for winter stores.  Many of the people on this board are discussing leaving on 60, 80, and up to 100 lbs of honey for winter feed, which puts him at odds with some of the hobbyists.  Economically, it doesn't make sense to him to leave the crop in the field, when he can feed sugar much more cheaply.   If you look back through his posts, you can see he is an advocate of overwintering his bees, and points out that in the harsh conditions of northern canada, they do it regularly, as he does in Finland.

On another front, I would guess Brother Adam killed alot of queens, weeding out inferior stock in his drive to develop the buckfast bee.  Would you condemn his efforts as cruel and inhumane?  Or possibly label him as a proponent of a throwaway culture?

[buckbee]

Do we have a language problem here? I seem to be failing to make myself understood, despite my best efforts.

I was NOT responding to Finman - what he does or does not do is entirely irrelevant to my argument. I WAS responding to the original post in this thread, which quite clearly suggests that it would be more economical to destroy colonies at the end of the season than to overwinter them.

My response was an attempt to drag the thinking away from pure economics and to introduce the notion of 'compassion', which appears to be a new concept for some people here.

Of course Bro. Adam destroyed queens in his breeding program: any breeder of plants or animals has to cull out poor genetic inheritance, but that is entirely specious and in no way compares with the wholesale and routine destruction of colonies purely to avoid over-wintering.

I hope I have now made myself clear and there is no need to continue this ad nauseam.

BTW - I appear to have two identities on this forum - my apologies, I must have set one up on my other pc and forgotten about it.

[david warr]

 
In many developing countries, the protein from the larvae is the most important part of the harvest - I wonder if they have any tasty recipes!

I have dry roasted bee larvae in Africa .I used a frying pan and just a touch of oil
shaking the pan as they cooked. [Like a stir fry.] They are very nice to eat - rather like peanuts
david 8) [/quote]

[BEE C]

Hey,
I'm from Canada's warm south, but most beekeepers try to winter hives here that I know of.  Due to the fact that cyanide is no longer legal for snuffing hives in Canada, and you can't really be a beekeeper if you snuff em, eh? :D Even on the prairies or up north beekeepers that I've talked to are trying to develop good stock or methods for wintering.
I have to also say its good karma not to snuff these beautiful little creatures.  I'm also glad I'm not the only one out in my robe lying to the side of the entrance watching them.  I spent a good hour today laying on the ground near the entrance entranced by the cleaning, grooming, and other activity that goes on at the entrance landing board.   :lol:
The economics of wintering are such that it really doesn't make sense to kill off hives here at least.  I took most of the honey except for two frames for each hive, and spent eighty dollars for sugar and medicine.  I couldn't buy one package of bees for that, and I got 140 pounds from my two packages in the first year.  I can't remember who said it but its true that the forage area is a big factor in how much honey gets collected from packages or wintered hives.  And not using a darn queen excluder....

[gulfcoastgardens]

Aside from the basic error in logic for most beekeepers to kill thier bees, I bought one package of bees in spring 2005- by fall had two FULL hives, early spring three, summer four, and now six. All from that same package!!! (And buying a few queens & catching one that swarmed & hid below its sister hive.) I even had a decent honey harvest this spring. Granted, this is the long "growing season" of the south. But the point is, why would I want to buy 3/5/6 packages each year in order to grow? Bees are great... (The neighbors probably don't think so.)