Ouch. Feel sorry for.this guy

[Ian123]

Some of us are trying hard to overcome the "new beekeeping" management out there. I can't tell you how much this bothers me. These beekeepers think that with less than 5 years under their belts, and thousands of instagram followers, they actually have some kind if intelligent colony management going on. There's a seminar happening early April. A number of speakers on...Adaptive Bee Breeding. I asked just what that is. Breeding bees to adapt to changes in climate and farming practices. Isn't that what we've done for the last century and more? I know several of the presenters. Two have worked for me in the recent past. Surely they know how to raise queen cells. Anyone can do that. But, breeding? NOT! None are running a true breeding program. And yet the internet is flooded with their dogma. Instagram photos don't equate to intelligence. I would like to attend just to see how bad it really is but I'm not spending $40 to register.

Very much the same here and the recent post by Boston Bees on the warre hive being a prime example. Simple new rule call it out when you see it. Ian

 

[Erichalfbee]

There are already 1300+ comments - most of them USA it seems and a huge number from other beekeepers over there with massive losses and blaming the weather ...

Well ..... here’s the reply


Hi, I'm the one reading the comments. You can address me directly. 1. I treated OAV 3 times at 7 day intervals. Third treatment had virtually no mite drop on the boards so everything seemed OK by late October. Yes, it's late, but there were no mites dropping after 3 rounds. 2. I did splits in May like I had done the past 3 years. I could not have predicted there would be zero spring, summer, or fall flow last year. There was just NO nectar all year. Once I realized how dry the hives were, I had to feed. Combining might have helped. but even my largest, strongest hives did not make it through this winter. 3. NO. The burlap is for wicking moisture. There is 2" of foam on the sides and top surrounding the entire box. The Vivaldi board area stays warm under the insulation and creates a warm layer of air over the cluster. This system has gotten 85-100% of my colonies through the past 4 winters. 4. There is no robbing because they are the only bees alive in the area. Also, those frames are hardly touched since I put them there. I suspect they are completely full of stores because they also have 13 dead colonies in the bee yard to rob. 5. What would you suggest I feed 14 starving colonies? 2019 was a year of magical nectar foraging. There was a near continuous flow of nectar in the hives and I didn't need to feed at all. The area CAN support this many colonies. However, when it DOES NOT RAIN for 4 months during the only available time these bees have to find food, the flowers are not throwing off nectar. There were extreme circumstances I had no control over. This was not a dry couple of weeks. There was NO FLOW all season. The bees were struggling. All I could do was feed them syrup and sugar. There are some things that are just out of my control. A nightmarishly dry spring/summer/fall followed by a colder than normal winter was too much. There are a hundred comments on this video with other beekeepers in my region with similar losses. Did I make some mistakes? Sure, but this was a very bad year that would have been a struggle for even the most experienced beekeeper.

 

[pargyle]

Well ..... here’s the reply


Hi, I'm the one reading the comments. You can address me directly. 1. I treated OAV 3 times at 7 day intervals. Third treatment had virtually no mite drop on the boards so everything seemed OK by late October. Yes, it's late, but there were no mites dropping after 3 rounds. 2. I did splits in May like I had done the past 3 years. I could not have predicted there would be zero spring, summer, or fall flow last year. There was just NO nectar all year. Once I realized how dry the hives were, I had to feed. Combining might have helped. but even my largest, strongest hives did not make it through this winter. 3. NO. The burlap is for wicking moisture. There is 2" of foam on the sides and top surrounding the entire box. The Vivaldi board area stays warm under the insulation and creates a warm layer of air over the cluster. This system has gotten 85-100% of my colonies through the past 4 winters. 4. There is no robbing because they are the only bees alive in the area. Also, those frames are hardly touched since I put them there. I suspect they are completely full of stores because they also have 13 dead colonies in the bee yard to rob. 5. What would you suggest I feed 14 starving colonies? 2019 was a year of magical nectar foraging. There was a near continuous flow of nectar in the hives and I didn't need to feed at all. The area CAN support this many colonies. However, when it DOES NOT RAIN for 4 months during the only available time these bees have to find food, the flowers are not throwing off nectar. There were extreme circumstances I had no control over. This was not a dry couple of weeks. There was NO FLOW all season. The bees were struggling. All I could do was feed them syrup and sugar. There are some things that are just out of my control. A nightmarishly dry spring/summer/fall followed by a colder than normal winter was too much. There are a hundred comments on this video with other beekeepers in my region with similar losses. Did I make some mistakes? Sure, but this was a very bad year that would have been a struggle for even the most experienced beekeeper.

Well... there's a man in denial ....

 

[Hachi]

At the risk of repeating myself....... hang up your hive tool buttercup and take up whittling

 

[Kalikopa]

Ah the drama! When’s Pargyle T.V. Starting up? Help us all keep to the straight road.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ah the drama! When’s Pargyle T.V. Starting up? Help us all keep to the straight road.

Hi long time no see.
How’s the Top Bar doing?

 

[Kalikopa]

Hi long time no see.
How’s the Top Bar doing?

Hi the top bar is unused. The conversion hive worked well though, That used 2 National frames:1 topbar. They summered well but they were dead out Mid-January. Lot of learning done. Feeling positive after this ropey start. Many more hours at apiaries locally. Starting with 2 overwintered colonies, last year was new a queen. Using a National and the conversion hive. How’s things with you?

 

[Chiangmai member]

In defence of North American Beeks, I recommend watching A Canadian Beekeepers Blog on You Tube. Now there's a guy who knows how to over-winter bees and is not afraid to try out new ideas.

 

[sean-a]

In defence of North American Beeks, I recommend watching A Canadian Beekeepers Blog on You Tube. Now there's a guy who knows how to over-winter bees and is not afraid to try out new ideas.

Unfortunately he is now going behind a paywall

 

[GuyNir]

Unfortunately he is now going behind a paywall

Right. Shame...