Beekeeping myths

[Jon]

Nellie, there is clearly enough material to write a book about all these things which bees do not actually do and there is probably room for a chapter on synchronized swimming.
I think I have seen all bar one of the myths in this thread aired in the last couple of days on the other bee forums. Pollen = queenright is repeated ad nauseum.
Re aggressive bees being more productive, there was one amazing thread where a guy described getting covered in bees after opening a hive to the point of not being able to see, and he went on to describe how his gloves and beesuit got completely coated in stings. He then asked rhetorically, is this not the sort of genetics we want!!! (they filled a couple of supers last summer)
Errr no, don't think so, not in my apiary. I'd rather keep a pit full of crocodiles in the back garden.

[Neils]

I know someone who can sort you out with a croc or two!

[Neils]

Only other thing that springs to mind is be careful of this ivory tower we seem to be inhabiting at the moment, not just in this thread, regarding other avenues of discussion.

[Jimbo]

Just spent an interesting day at our local association stand at the Green Fair organised by Transformation Scotland. As well as the usual questions from the general public about the bees dying out and all the usual theory's including the usual one like electricity pylons, mobile phones etc the one that had me stumped was the reason for the bees dying out due to all the nuclear power stations. Anybody got an answer to that theory?

[Neils]

They're attracted to all the pollentonium?

[gavin]

Ooo ... good try Nellie. I was going to suggest - early this morning - that the nuclear power industry is to blame because their existence has promoted green thinking, which then embraced the bee holocaust idea, and has lead to so many new beekeepers taking up the craft who are reluctant to properly treat Varroa ... hence all those winter losses.

But I thought better of it and went back to bed for a while. I'm a bit of a nuclear-sceptical greenie myself.

Cracking day in the tropical east of Scotland. The bees are at August strength and we had the weather to match too. Brown pollen was in the majority today - Prunus?

[Jon]

Well if you can't pin bee death Armageddon on Bayer and Monsanto, the next best bet is the nuclear industry. I am anti nuclear myself, although I see that George Monbiot in his Guardian column has been trying hard to promote it as a least worst option. Not convinced though.

[gavin]

George had a pop at an acquaintance of mine, so he's off my Christmas card list. Mind you, if she'd asked me I'd have suggested avoiding collaborations with industry over bee health. It was bound to be misconstrued. I'll straddle the nuclear fence. Priority one has to be reducing carbon output by any means, but sustainable means have to be the best and the nuclear industry has to be the epitome of unsustainability.

[Neils]

I'm undecided on Nuclear but I tend towards thinking that it's probably the least worst solution for our power requirements at the moment. Perhaps if you live in an area where you might get hit by both a force 9 earthquake and 20 foot tsunami it might be a slightly less desirable solution. As we all know powerlines kill bees in their droves /sarcasm, that's about the worst thing I can think of in terms of affecting bees.

There is a certain irony in the number of people desparate to "save the bees" who refuse to treat them for Varroa and end up killing them in their droves as a result. I'm pretty sure that neither Varroa nor bees care one jot about the motives of Bayer or Monsanto.

[Jon]

A Tsunami traveling up the Severn would probably get to be a 100 foot wave.