Post by Jeremy Kosciuch on May 17, 2010 19:14:05 GMT -5
Whether they are yours or someone else's let's hear about it. I had a hive abscond last year and one get robbed, for example. My theories about CCD and the general difficulty bees are having is threefold. Mass production/pollination, leading to nutritional deficiencies, stress, and pesticide exposure in the environment leading to herbicide, fungicide, pesticide buildup within the bees sanctuary. This weakens them considerabl individually and as a collective super organism.
Add to that the incessant greed of man robbing everything from them and feeding them inferior sugars as well as tinkering with the basic natural size of their comb. "Bigger must be better" Wrong the bees know what they are doing, and I think we are not smart enough to get them to do it better or do it ourselves.
The third whammy I will throw all the diseases in with the Varroa destructor. This little parasite has a triple whammy itself. It feeds on the bees and their brood, not good. It carries viruses and other pathogens like deformed wing, paralysis, etc... Last and maybe worst, it's presence has led some real genius minds to tell us the best thing is to use this poison on them. Wrong!
Fact is they are in trouble, and it is our fault collectively, and also our fault we are so dependent on them. Nothing can approach the efficiency of a large hive working full tilt. Nothing is so numerous, or perennial, or easily moved. The problems moving them I think occur when it is done abusively, or to say too much too often.
Our answers can only be, get away from the chemicals we can, and if the bees have too many problems with varroa, even with natural sized comb, get better bees. They are making huge leaps in survivor bee breeding.
Add to that the incessant greed of man robbing everything from them and feeding them inferior sugars as well as tinkering with the basic natural size of their comb. "Bigger must be better" Wrong the bees know what they are doing, and I think we are not smart enough to get them to do it better or do it ourselves.
The third whammy I will throw all the diseases in with the Varroa destructor. This little parasite has a triple whammy itself. It feeds on the bees and their brood, not good. It carries viruses and other pathogens like deformed wing, paralysis, etc... Last and maybe worst, it's presence has led some real genius minds to tell us the best thing is to use this poison on them. Wrong!
Fact is they are in trouble, and it is our fault collectively, and also our fault we are so dependent on them. Nothing can approach the efficiency of a large hive working full tilt. Nothing is so numerous, or perennial, or easily moved. The problems moving them I think occur when it is done abusively, or to say too much too often.
Our answers can only be, get away from the chemicals we can, and if the bees have too many problems with varroa, even with natural sized comb, get better bees. They are making huge leaps in survivor bee breeding.