Post by beenatural101 on Jun 8, 2010 16:42:37 GMT -6
"Well, that is beekeeping!" We all exclaim in dismay. "what is new about that?"
Nothing at all, Save all the problems we have been causing the honeybees. Well we got a pretty good track record for screwin up.
The reason I chose this word to discuss is more sinister, I am afraid. Found me a good definition which fits. Apiculture is not beekeeping come to find out.
Apiculture - the science and art of raising honey bees.
Same thing right? No!
First of all, one does not "keep bees". Oh sure I think they tried it all with queen excluders to prevent the girls from leaving swarming, stuff like that. I am sure somebody at one time or another has tried everything or anything. All that must have worked out really well, too, cause bees still leave yer ass if they take a mind to. All my pal Vern's bees left him a few years ago(didn't die, left in 3 swarms one day from the same hive, guess he shoulda been paying closer attention the week before), I helped him get more last year, and he lost one of those hives as well. Still got one though, hes happy with it I reckon. Honey bees are bugs, you can't really make em do anything other than what they do, and if possible, take advantage of it. Not to the detriment of the producer of this "liquid sunshine" of course. Some people do though, seems to be more profit in buying a package, letting them produce, take everything, let em die, and start over next year. Profit does not make it right though.
The benefits of the honey bee go way beyond honey for sure, but we won't stray over there, 'cause that ain't what this is about.
It is about this great definition I found, I see it mentions raising honeybees, well, if that's what you want to call it, they pretty much will do it themselves. I love bees, for one cause they do all the hard work, and I get to watch. But you can assist, keep em safe, give em shelter, watch like a hawk for any disease (thanks to the mite mainly, or keeping old comb in the hives, seems like them foulbrood spores are everywhere, and they just hit some threshold one day, and u got real problems) and try to keep em from getting poisoned. So That is raising bees I guess. Going through the neighborhood begging folks not to use sevin dust. A lil half pit of honey helps in this for sure.
Saw science in there, and there is a lot of that, no other creature I believe has been more thoroughly studied than apis mellifera. Sure is a lot o stuff written about bees out there. From ancient times, these stinging girls have had their way with the hearts of men. Science, careful observation and experimentation. Hmm, guess I am experimenting every time I touch a hive or anything to do with bees or bees themselves. I know I am doing a lot of observation for sure.
I see the art thing and that is the real purpose here. Any numbnuts can throw a swarm or package in a hive and let the bees be bees. But today, they will likely perish, we have a lot of problems with the bees. Sure, great strides have been accomplished in breeding resistant bees. Well, you want my opinion on that the resistant ones are the only ones left. But they are making better breeds by mixing the ones up that are left, so if we do not run out of bee gene pool we should be ok if we watch our bees carefully. Dont want to be encouraging weak bees. Just strange to think how 6, 5, 4 years ago there were no or very few honeybees in these parts, cause I looked. But who can take a pound of bees ( pretty sorry swarm I got my hands on), and just a few short years later have 3 very good hives with a total of maybe 50 pounds of bees between em? Not to mention the bees I gave away too. My guess is not many, and my old mentor Frank agrees, and hes been at this a lot longer than me for sure. Takes a bee natural!
To Art!!!!
Nothing at all, Save all the problems we have been causing the honeybees. Well we got a pretty good track record for screwin up.
The reason I chose this word to discuss is more sinister, I am afraid. Found me a good definition which fits. Apiculture is not beekeeping come to find out.
Apiculture - the science and art of raising honey bees.
Same thing right? No!
First of all, one does not "keep bees". Oh sure I think they tried it all with queen excluders to prevent the girls from leaving swarming, stuff like that. I am sure somebody at one time or another has tried everything or anything. All that must have worked out really well, too, cause bees still leave yer ass if they take a mind to. All my pal Vern's bees left him a few years ago(didn't die, left in 3 swarms one day from the same hive, guess he shoulda been paying closer attention the week before), I helped him get more last year, and he lost one of those hives as well. Still got one though, hes happy with it I reckon. Honey bees are bugs, you can't really make em do anything other than what they do, and if possible, take advantage of it. Not to the detriment of the producer of this "liquid sunshine" of course. Some people do though, seems to be more profit in buying a package, letting them produce, take everything, let em die, and start over next year. Profit does not make it right though.
The benefits of the honey bee go way beyond honey for sure, but we won't stray over there, 'cause that ain't what this is about.
It is about this great definition I found, I see it mentions raising honeybees, well, if that's what you want to call it, they pretty much will do it themselves. I love bees, for one cause they do all the hard work, and I get to watch. But you can assist, keep em safe, give em shelter, watch like a hawk for any disease (thanks to the mite mainly, or keeping old comb in the hives, seems like them foulbrood spores are everywhere, and they just hit some threshold one day, and u got real problems) and try to keep em from getting poisoned. So That is raising bees I guess. Going through the neighborhood begging folks not to use sevin dust. A lil half pit of honey helps in this for sure.
Saw science in there, and there is a lot of that, no other creature I believe has been more thoroughly studied than apis mellifera. Sure is a lot o stuff written about bees out there. From ancient times, these stinging girls have had their way with the hearts of men. Science, careful observation and experimentation. Hmm, guess I am experimenting every time I touch a hive or anything to do with bees or bees themselves. I know I am doing a lot of observation for sure.
I see the art thing and that is the real purpose here. Any numbnuts can throw a swarm or package in a hive and let the bees be bees. But today, they will likely perish, we have a lot of problems with the bees. Sure, great strides have been accomplished in breeding resistant bees. Well, you want my opinion on that the resistant ones are the only ones left. But they are making better breeds by mixing the ones up that are left, so if we do not run out of bee gene pool we should be ok if we watch our bees carefully. Dont want to be encouraging weak bees. Just strange to think how 6, 5, 4 years ago there were no or very few honeybees in these parts, cause I looked. But who can take a pound of bees ( pretty sorry swarm I got my hands on), and just a few short years later have 3 very good hives with a total of maybe 50 pounds of bees between em? Not to mention the bees I gave away too. My guess is not many, and my old mentor Frank agrees, and hes been at this a lot longer than me for sure. Takes a bee natural!
To Art!!!!