conflicting advice

[MuswellMetro]

November's Bad Beekers Know All News has just arrived and I thought sums up beekeeping. The Chairman on page 3 says in winter "do not be afraid to look under the crownboard .......". Over the page the advice from a Master Beekeeper is "the most important thing is to resist the temptation to open the hive ........"

Advice on page 32 on hive ventilation is in my viewl contrary to a previous article by Dan I am following my own leader, the late Bernard Mobus

 

[starflex]

November's Bad Beekers Know All News has just arrived and I thought sums up beekeeping. The Chairman on page 3 says in winter "do not be afraid to look under the crownboard .......". Over the page the advice from a Master Beekeeper is "the most important thing is to resist the temptation to open the hive ........"

Advice on page 32 on hive ventilation is in my viewl contrary to a previous article by Dan I am following my own leader, the late Bernard Mobus

There will always be many ways to do things. Read, ask, listen, discuss, but your bees are yours to look after, and you must make up your own mind.

This forum reflects all sorts opinion. Some I agree with, others I think are plain daft. The real tricky bit is sorting what works best for you.

 

[madasafish]

I reckon they have a list of conflicting advice and perm any 2 from 20 and wait to see who spots it..

If I were the BBKA Technical Director I would squirm with embarrassment but as they don't have one (I think) ....


I prefer matchsticks...and that insulation stuff is just rubbish.

 

[itma]

If some particular method doesn't directly kill the bees, you can be pretty sure that there will be someone that will be convinced that that is the one true way.
No matter how many other different ways also manage to avoid directly killing the bees ...

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

It's not a technical director they need.

It's a competent editor!

Dusty

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I reckon they have a list of conflicting advice and perm any 2 from 20 and wait to see who spots it..

If I were the BBKA Technical Director I would squirm with embarrassment but as they don't have one (I think) ....


I prefer matchsticks...and that insulation stuff is just rubbish.

madasafish: you're VERY NAUGHTY.

I used to think you were maDASAfish; some sort of curry, but then I got it

 

[user 6228]

The letter on page 32 intersperses science with some rather large leaps.e.g. He uses rare or marginal examples of survival as evidence of species adaptation to a condition. The letter needs to show more evidence of the understanding of probability of survival rather than its black or white comments. It uses anecdotal evidence and then immediately dismisses anecdotal evidence. It dismisses guidelines then asserts them. I have no argument with the general thrust but this exposition is likely to confuse or lead on without a firm basis.

 

[BeeJayBee]

The Chairman on page 3 says in winter "do not be afraid to look under the crownboard .......". Over the page the advice from a Master Beekeeper is "the most important thing is to resist the temptation to open the hive ........"s

I haven't read it yet, because the magazine hasn't arrived, but I'd say it's balanced. Ask two beekeepers a question, and all that.

I know very experienced beekeepers who leave a feeder board on all winter, with the holes open. I know others who insulate as much as possible. All of them reckon they're right.

 

[masterBK]

Bear in mind the chairman is also a masterbeekeeper (and NDB) with plenty of experience. In the absence of brood a brief look under the crownboard is not going to cause any real harm. Personally I always check a few colonies to ensure absence of brood before I treat them and the rest with oxalic in winter. If your bees need mollycoddling then time to replace them with something a little hardier.

 

[mbc]

If your bees need mollycoddling then time to replace them with something a little hardier.

Harsh but fair

 

[drstitson]

The two statements are not mutually exclusive - one mustn't be afraid to have a glance under the crownboard (eg for oxalic-ing) BUT must also resist temptation to open hive WITHOUT GOOD REASON.

 

[user 6228]

...If your bees need mollycoddling then time to replace them with something a little hardier.

a swiss army knife argument

 

[Stiffy]

a swiss army knife argument

Would you like to expand what you class as 'mollycoddling' as I am sure many of us would be interested?
S

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Chris B]

The article actually reads something like: don't be afraid to look under the crownboard IF there is risk of isolation starvation or the hive is light.

Either way I'm totally confused as I don't use crownboards.

 

[itma]

I continue to be amazed at how little disturbance there is to the colony by exposing a see-through crownboard. The flood of light has almost no effect.

However lifting the crownboard certainly does cause more excitement than light alone.

Particularly for the beginner, but likely for everyone that isn't an MBK and/or an NDB, seeing (through a no-hole crownboard) is a very much more successful way of determining the state of the colony than guessing (or inferring) from external observations alone.

You won't kill the colony by opening them up (if you have cause for concern) - but you certainly can kill a colony by ignoring it for the winter.
The risk/reward balance is greatly in favour of the clear crownboard, and inspecting, rearranging frames and adding (more) fondant if these look as though they are necessary.
The downside of a slowly-performed, ill-timed and unnecessary inspection is extra stores consumption and the possible (far from certain) loss of some brood. The cost of that would be a few pennyworth of fondant and a potentially slightly weaker colony in Spring.
Certainly minimise the intrusions (and for better or more experienced beekeepers that should be to almost nothing), but if you have cause for concern about the colony's survival - act regardless of what the calendar says.

 

[user 6228]

Would you like to expand what you class as 'mollycoddling' as I am sure many of us would be interested?
S

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

I was commenting that
"If your bees need mollycoddling then time to replace them with something a little hardier"
is an argument that can used for almost everything ... Vis a Swiss army knife.

However if you want my views
Mollycoddle : To be overprotective and indulgent toward.

To determine the threshold of "Mollycoddle" you first need to establish a norm as a fidicial, then a quantity or level of activity above that norm as excessive.

If the norm is a bee nest tree cavity in which they are never disturbed.
Then I doubt any known beekeeping activity or practice can be classed as mollycoddling.

If the norm is 1/2" wooden box on a windswept hill with a top entrance or top ventilation, regularly opened then almost anything could be described as mollycoddling.

As I said its a swiss army knife argument, a piece of rhetoric rather than logic as the norms and bounds are not clear.

The topic is conflicting advice... adding more rhetoric in here rather than logic does not help to reduce confusion.

 

[djg]

November's Bad Beekers Know All News has just arrived and I thought sums up beekeeping. The Chairman on page 3 says in winter "do not be afraid to look under the crownboard .......". Over the page the advice from a Master Beekeeper is "the most important thing is to resist the temptation to open the hive ........"

Advice on page 32 on hive ventilation is in my viewl contrary to a previous article by Dan I am following my own leader, the late Bernard Mobus

Yes, I was struck by the propinquity of conflicting advice in the October BBKA magazine, too. I'm in the "no-go unless urgent camp"

I am also mystified by the consistent viewing of my page on a professional Link site by the BBKA's secretary. First time this happened, I sent a polite e-mail inviting the person to Link, but no response. Second time, I got spooked and complained to a Trustee about this odd use of BBKA time and resources - consistently looking up BBKA members on professional Link sites, without responding when cordially invited to. Not even an acknowledgement of my complaint to Trustee so far...even after a reminder...

What on earth can they be up to, silently snooping on their own BBKA members ?

 

[beeno]

Bear in mind the chairman is also a masterbeekeeper (and NDB) with plenty of experience. In the absence of brood a brief look under the crownboard is not going to cause any real harm. Personally I always check a few colonies to ensure absence of brood before I treat them and the rest with oxalic in winter. If your bees need mollycoddling then time to replace them with something a little hardier.

I would just like to thank you for your contributions to the forum. You do a great job!

 

[user 6228]

It's not a technical director they need.

It's a competent editor!

Dusty

yes .. for the want of a few extra words the " open/ not open articles" would have given a good clear consistent message. But perhaps the intention is not to have consistency but demonstrate divergence?

 

[enrico]

Yes, I was struck by the propinquity of conflicting advice in the October BBKA magazine, too. I'm in the "no-go unless urgent camp"

I am also mystified by the consistent viewing of my page on a professional Link site by the BBKA's secretary. First time this happened, I sent a polite e-mail inviting the person to Link, but no response. Second time, I got spooked and complained to a Trustee about this odd use of BBKA time and resources - consistently looking up BBKA members on professional Link sites, without responding when cordially invited to. Not even an acknowledgement of my complaint to Trustee so far...even after a reminder...

What on earth can they be up to, silently snooping on their own BBKA members ?

Surely you put your page there to be viewed! Are you trying to say you only want it viewed by the people who give you a reason for doing so? That's me shot down when I'm surfing then!