BBE-Tech: Honey Bee Conservation

I have recently had a very interesting discussion on a beekeeping user forum in which I have researched groups, colleges and associations that offer certification to beekeeping people as “Master Beekeeper”.

I have often seen people introduce themselves plainly “I am a Master Beekeeper and I …” then going on to finish their tidbit of advice or comment, etc…

The concern  I have had is that the process of certification and a direct application and intent of having such a certification is not universal.  Meaning, if someone is certified by beekeeping assn X, that certification has no real bearing or relevancy to people not in Assn X or supporters of that assn.

Most certification programs I have studied have only the intent that the certified is recognized within their group and only their group as someone who has met the standards and shares the values of the group that certified them.

In most cases, the intent is to have a pool of trusted  and similarly educated people to call upon for educational projects  and opportunities within and asked of the group.

Only one of the universities which offer a “Master Beekeeper” program actually intends their certification to be directly applicable to the business of beekeeping and their primary intent is for those wishing to start their own commercial beekeeping operation.

The other universities intend their certification/study programs to be geared toward self education and/or preparing to take the tests for other certification groups, such as Cornell University does for the EAS Master Beekeeper program.

I personally think it is a bit misleading to announce oneself as simply a “Master Beekeeper” and possibly implying that a “Master Beekeeper” by whatever means they obtained their title or certificate is somehow universally relevant or accepted.  A “Master Beekeeper” in one group is not necessarily the same as a “Master Beekeeper” in another.

I would like to be on record saying that  I am all for anyone educating themselves as much as possible in regard to honey bees and is committed to helping others.   I find that a highly commendable action to take.  However, whether some folks like to hear it or not,  I believe there are enough people out there who think a bit more highly of their possession of said “Master Beekeeper” certification or title than might be warranted.

I have been in discussions with said “Master Beekeepers” who let it be known that on the basis of them possessing said title or certification, anyone not in possession of such is not or should not ‘argue’ or question the opinions and positions of those who do.

Many of these people who behave like this would also like others to believe that a “Master Beekeeper” is one, anywhere and everywhere, regardless of whether the other people in the discussion have knowledge of or support for the certifying source.

Of course,  I do not believe that these types are the majority of those who are certified “Master Beekeepers” from where-ever their certifying source may be.  For the most part, people who have such certifications only do so in order that they may be called on reliably to perform educational services for the group or association they belong to.

However, I would give this advice…

Do not simply take someones ‘word’ that they are somehow a more knowledgeable beekeeper than you are simply because they are or say they are a “Master Beekeeper”.  There is no universal certification or one that is applied universally in relation to the business of beekeeping directly.

Your educated opinion based on experience, study and values is just as viable and valuable as anyone else’s.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

All too often, one can go to a meeting or a chat room or anywhere there are people who work with honey bees and find a ‘heated discussion’ about ‘proper’ treatment and management of honey bees.

They usually fall into two camps, the ‘natural’ folks and the husbandry folks.

Essentially, it has been argued, that if bees are ‘kept’ in an artificial hive  (that being man made) as opposed to a tree, then those bees are no longer in a ‘natural’ environment, and rules of animal husbandry apply.

So, if one takes any animal away from their ‘natural’ environment and force them to stay there, one would only hope that said person would be responsible enough for their actions would indeed provide the food and shelter, etc.. that is no longer ‘naturally’ available to the animal.

That is the essential difference between natural selection and husbandry.  The responsibility one takes for removing an animal from their natural environment and forcing it to live according to a persons intent.

In a ‘natural’ situation, the animal is living on it’s own terms and is able to find food and shelter, etc..   To meet it own needs freely, in other words.  it is free to travel to follow food sources and use its ‘natural’ instincts to deal with illness, pests and predators.  As such, natural selection, which is the adaptation and continued survival of those animals who do those things which allow them to survive and pass those genetically acquirable traits to future generations, is in ‘full effect’.

If those animals in their natural environment do not adapt, do not change behaviors and develop traits to pass on and continue survival, then they succumb to ‘natural selection’ and are removed from the gene pool.

Humans with their notion of animal husbandry and ownership will often remove animals from their natural environment and living conditions, and if that human is even somewhat responsible for their actions, then they interrupt ‘natural selection’ and provide those things that the animal can no longer find or do for themselves to allow it to survive.

Honey bees are interesting insects.  For all man’s efforts, bees have never really become domesticated.  Mostly becasue bees can fly and abscond if they don’t like their hive.

Honey bees are also terrific adapters.  They can turn any dry, defend-able place into a home.  On their own, bees have been found not just in trees but in the walls of human buildings, inside fuel tanks of abandoned tractors, the sides of abandoned campers, in a very dry ‘cave’-like area, and numerous other non-’typical’ places we would expect to find feral or wild bees.

Ther are people who instead of thinking of themselves as husbandry types, pursue a more natural environment for bees.  The ydon’t see themselves as owners of bees but more like collaborators with them.

They provide a livable hive for the bees and otherweise try to let the bees live as they would as if they were feral.  Taking the occasional peek inside to learn more and make sure all is going well.  Sometimes yes, even taking a bit of ‘extra’ honey.

These people don’t see themselves so much as owners of the bees, but more like neighbors perhaps.  Offering a helping hand as it’s needed, but intruding on them no more than necessary.

Of course, people being people, many seem as if they can’t be happy unless everyone else sees and does things the same way as they do and the camps form and the arguments start, etc….

Personally, I fall into the natural camp.   I like to refer to it as ‘natural facilitation.  I can’t in all honesty say the bees are living as they would were they feral entirely, but  I can work to provide them an environment that is hopefully the next best thing.  Also of course,  I feel I offer them the respect of one living being to another and not attempting to own another living being, instead, working together to receive mutual benefits.

Well now, the title to this is certainly a mouthful.  I have had a few visitors ask the question about the hows and why’s of management I employ.  Here is my reply, in print…

Working with bees from a conservation standpoint is to give the priority to the bees.  This of course means that everything we do is to benefit the bees, not necessarily meet some personal objective.

However, there is more to it than that. It is letting the bees make their own decisions when and where possible, in accordance with local and state laws.

By educating oneself with bee biology and bee behavior, one can in fact ‘communicate’ with the bees, if only to know when they are having trouble or are in need of and extra hand to stay alive and healthy.

By learning the indications of observable behaviors and evidence left by bees of stress and health issues, we can let the bees tell us when they need our assistance instead of simply making the decisions of what we want t , if we want to treat them or otherwise control them.

Management steps and methods used in my beeyards is incremental.  There is no black and white line drawn to say when or how often inspections will be done.  The bees determine that.  By careful and respectful observation from a distance, one can see signs of stress and problematic behavior.  if there are no signs of obvious distress at the earliest indicators, there likely is no need for a ‘full’ comb by comb inspection and no need then to disturb the production and environmental stability of the hive.

A closer observation will show further indications of things that are going on inside the hive.  Sounds that are being made, feces location, behavior and more will let us know if a further look inside the hive is warranted.

To work from the approach of a ‘natural’ conservationist, is to be ever vigilant, never hesitate to continue learning about bees biology and behaviors.

It’s letting the bees tell us what they need and when they need it.  Not us telling the bees what we are going to do and doing so whenever we choose to.

It’s largely about respect for another living creature.  Though it’s not popular among many groups of people, I and others like myself don’t place value limitations on living creatures.  We don’t play the ‘this living creature is less/more valuable than this other one.”

All living creatures deserve respect and the right to live their own lives.  If we intend to work together with these other creatures, it should be in a way that respects each of the parties involved and allowing them the space they need to make their own choices.

This is not a condemnation of others practices and approaches, merely an affirmation of our values  that guide our approach to working with honey bees.

Once again, I venture forth with my two cents, casting them to the wind.  You are free to agree or disagree, be entertained or perhaps even annoyed, the choice is yours entirely.

Since Langstroth introduced his hive over a hundred years ago, the additions to the ‘man made’ arsenal of beekeeping methods and treatment has accumulated quite a bit.

People have created medicines, food supplements, pesticides that are specific on which insects live and die, types of frames and foundation and the list goes on.

There are some people however, who do not place the same value on man-made ‘achievements’.  Seeing them not so much as ‘achievements’ but rather intrusions instead.

The notion of letting honey bees abide by natural selection is very appealing to these people.

The basic premise to this is that the synthetic or ‘man made’ chemicals and artifacts do not have the beneficial effect on honey bees most think they do.  Instead, the treatments and chemicals are disruptive and biologically weaken the bees, making them chemically dependent in regards to resistance and tolerance of insects and illnesses they might other naturally build immunities or adaptive behaviors around.

One of the biggest aspects dealt with is breeding.  Humans have been selectively breeding honey bees for a very long time.  combining bees with varied traits from different regions and having different tendencies, trying to achieve the ‘perfect bee’.  One that is docile, produces a lot of excess honey, less inclined to swarm and other traits that would make the bees more valuable to the beekeepers ability to manage them and expand their wallets.

People have been using selective breeding, the practice of mixing and matching for observed traits as well as artificial insemination to introduce said traits.

Naturalists and biological concerned people working with bees, wish to bring the selection to a more ‘natural’ albeit still human manipulated scope.  They wish to do this by seeking out ‘feral’ or ‘wild’ bees that have been and are surviving successfully without any human interaction at all and finding ways to deal with pests like mites and evade diseases through naturally built up immunities.

Taking queens and splitting such colonies and breeding further from those, the naturalists feel will give the bees the best chances in the future of surviving threats like CCD, foulbrood, Varroa mites and more.

By letting nature select from these feral or ‘wild’ bees, naturalists feel they are starting from a biologically clean slate.  Naturalists feel that by allowing the bees to determine their own comb and cell building, and ‘allowing’ only those colonies that forage successfully, store and manage stores successfully, adapt to illness and pests successfully, that the  resulting bees will be the strongest and healthiest bees to staaart their apiaries with.

Naturalists look at the survival skills and adaptive abilities as of higher importance than those traits which ‘traditional’ beekeepers favor, such as the mild and docile demeanor and ‘extra’ honey production.

Many so called ‘traditional’ beekeepers find themselves confused and frustrated, seeing the methods and actions taken by naturalist/biological people as ‘regression’ or ‘backward’ steps.   While they are free to think what they want, they should understand that no one is trying to force them to change their methods and techniques just as the naturalists don’t want those ‘traditionalists’ methods imposed upon them.

Right off the bat, let me say that if one is concerned about getting stung, no suit or outfit will protect you completely. You will get stung.

Second, let me say that if you are so afraid of honey bees that you feel it necessary to protect yourself from them as in a suit of armor, my advice is don’t work with bees.

Is there a good reason to wear ‘protective” clothing when working with bees? Yes there is.

If you are working with an unknown colony, a colony you know you are about to tick off completely by doing a removal or the like, or not sure of the genetic makeup, maybe a new queen or possible AHB traits. You might want to consider an outfit.

While, as I said earlier, no suit will guarantee you complete protection, it will help to minimize the number of and impact of bee stings should they react aggressively. This will allow you to keep working to get the task done as quickly as possible with as little irritation as possible. Making it easier for you to concentrate and maintain focus.

Do you need to buy the expensive $100 and higher ‘special’ bee suits? Not really. I guess if you have the money and you feel it will make you look more respectable as a beekeeper, knock yourself out.

I have saved a lot of money by picking up a pair of white cotton drill bib overalls, and get a good long sleeve heavy duty cloth windbreaker or cotton drill shirt.

Find yourself a hat and veil and you are set. Brand new, the shirt/bibs you can get new if you catch the right sales for about $50.

if you use gloves, especially in those bee removal or aggressive hives, you want to get some good leather or goatskin gloves.

I always have a lot of bandanas. I use them on a bee trip, like those I mentioned above, to cover the ‘exposable’ areas, such as where the shirt and gloves meet. You can use bandanas or velcro to cinch off the cuff of your pants over your high top work boots or shoes. also.

Mostly that is too keep them from crawling in to your sleeve or pants to surprise you into slapping at them and then they sting you. Not fun.

You can often find these clothes at second hand stores at even less cost, which makes it even easier on you becasue you won’t worry about them getting stained and dirty from propolis and whatever else gets on the clothes (and stuff WILL get on them.)

Working with bees is supposed to be fun and exciting and practical. It need not be expensive.

There is a small wave of new interest developing in “backyard beekeeping”. This of course is the activity of having honey bee hives on your inner city property.

I think it’s great that people want to help keep honey bees alive and active in these locations.

There are also quite a few people who distrust the government in all incarnations and don’t bother to register those hives if local ordinances require it.

I can’t say I disagree with them in terms of not automatically trusting government. I am one of those who does not either. However, at the same time, I am also the type of person who believes greatly in personal responsibility and not needing the government to watch over me, not all others who distrust government can say the same.

I do work with local officials to register my hives that are required to be registered because I intend to be a part of my community. I intend to be a ‘good neighbor’.

If I have 2 or three hives in my yard and I don’t keep a proper water supply for those hives, the chances are good that an unusually large number of honey bees will be drinking at the neighbors pool instead.

If it was just a feral colony in a tree, there might be some activity at that pool, but not near the numbers coming from my hives. Meaning, this is my responsibility.

If my goal is to bee a responsible person working with honey bees then I want to do what I can to let people know the positives about honey bees and show them that the general fear that has been ignorantly increased by media and fear stoked paranoids, is not justified, then I need to demonstrate with my own actions by being straight forward and open to let the whole community see what good things come of having honey bees in the area.

I have nothing to hide of the bees in my beeyard. the law that people might use to complain about them is the same law that protects me and the bees as long as I meet those stipulations. They can’t take the bees out if I have met the requirements and I will fight for that tooth and nail.

I make every effort to be on good terms with the inspectors and staff of the city offices I have interacted with not only for my sake but to be an ambassador of sorts for others who may be nervous about registering their beehives. Sometimes personalities conflict, that is not a reason to not behave as a professional or respectable citizen and do the tasks required of us or to be un-civil.

If you are thinking of keeping bees within a city limit and there is an ordinance that requires registration, I would seriously ask that you join me in doing that and putting the best foot forward to help all the others who may want to do the same in the future.

This is an opinion, meaning one bee technicians ideas and thoughts on a subject.  You are encouraged to have your own opinion.

As discussed briefly in the sugar syrup opinion post,  I do not feed inside the hive.  meaning,  I will not place sugar syrup or other artificial feed for honey bees within the hive.

I believe that feeding inside the hive is best done by bees and causes as much trouble as it is perceived to prevent, if not more.

Why, you ask?  If you saw my post on WWFD (What Would Feral Do?) you will be aware that  I observe and study natural behavior of honey bees.

It has been my own and some other beekeepers  I discuss these things with, observation that bees forage.  Foraging is the primary means to bring food into the hive.  Foraging is also the ‘ultimate’ behavior in most honey bees lives.  It is more than just bringing resources in.

All worker bees eat honey from inside the hive.  Drones, the queen and larvae are all fed honey and other stores from inside the hive by worker bees.

Bees are instinct based creatures who have shown an ability to learn on top of their inherited instincts.  Their everyday lives are shaped by these instinctive behaviors.  The tasks that bees in the hive carry out are all tightly associated with foraging behavior.  Essentially, bees need to forage.

What about if foraging bees do not find food due to weather conditions?  Bees can control the weather no more than we can.  If foraging sources are gone or too far way to retrieve, feral bees have options.

They can expand their foraging area to the point they can no longer find their way back home.  They can abscond the hive in search of a more fruitful location or they can starve.

Ideally, the bees have been foraging while the foraging was good and have stored enough to survive a short dearth.  That is strong survival behavior.

Since the bees in our hives have the advantage of having us around, they don’t necessarily have to starve or abscond.  We can assist the bees in terms of providing alternative stores.  Does that mean though, that we should spoon feed it to them as well?

I think that inserting food directly into the hive interrupts those natural, instinctive behaviors.  It also draws pests and incites robbing beyond the typical natural conditions inside the hive.

I believe that placing sugar syrup in an external location that is readily accessible  (about 50 to 100 feet of the hives) allows them to have food to forage for and supplement their own stores within the hive without further interrupting the natural behaviors of the bees within the hives.

Also, by having or planting pollen and nectar rich flowers and plants in the immediate vicinity of the hives allows the bees to encourage newly become foragers to take up the tasks in early spring to strengthen the growing population inside the hive.

“What about Winter?” I might ask myself.  A strong colony will have enough stores to survive a ‘typical’ Winter.  By encouraging foraging behavior, leaving enough stores in the Fall and providing additional food in the vicinity if needed, there should be plenty of resources for them.

The argument of “So you will let bees die because you don’t believe in placing needed food inside the hive.” is an emotional and judgmental argument that doesn’t take into consideration having the respect for living creatures to live or die on their own strengths and abilities as living creatures have done for millions of years.  We cannot do it for them, we can and should, only help them to do it themselves. In my opinion anyway.

Encouraging and promoting strong survival behaviors is one of the best things we can do to help honey bees become stronger over the year.  Strong colonies are able to withstand pests better, fight off predators and provide for the colony better as well.  Strong colonies are the first line of defense and the best chance of survival honey bees have.

Strong colonies are made with less dependence on us and more self sufficiency on them.

So no, I do not feed inside the hive.   I will give aid and succor by providing food in external locations during a dearth or at times of high need and none is otherwise, naturally available.   I will make sure that water is always available to them and easily found.   I will make sure they have more than enough food stores before I even think of removing any for my purposes.

That is my opinion.

Yes, it’s an opinion.  Take it for what it is and let’s get down to business

One of those ideas that abounds is the notion that honey bees “prefer” to move ‘up’ or in a vertical direction.

The first anecdote the infamous “they” will use as a basis for this is the ‘natural’ beehive, which is the historical notion of the honey bee hive in a tree.

In this situation they say, bees ‘prefer’ to live in a hive that allows them primarily vertical movement.

The truth of the matter to the tree example is that you have to bee able to observe natural bee behavior.  Honey bees build comb to fill an area.  If the area is not very vertically expansive, the comb will be short.  If there is a lot of vertical space inside the tree, the comb can grow to be very long so as to fill the cavity.  Therin is the key idea “to fill the cavity”.

No “natural” beehive anywhere, tree or otherwise has only one extremely long vertical comb.  If bees ‘preferred” vertical movement they would ideally keep to extending the one primary com band expanding it vertically, limiting the number of horizontally placed comb unless it were necessary.  That’s what the term ‘prefer’ indicates.

Instead, bees have more than one horizontally placed comb, and many of them are very long or tall in a vertical manner.  This is because , as was mentioned earlier, the ‘natural’ bee behavior is to fill the space both vertically and horizontally.

We also need to discuss the ‘natural’ layout of a bee comb.  These bee traditionalists would tell us that bees only move upward to eat, especially over a winter.  This is also not entirely accurate.

Honey bees fill a comb in a natural hive with brood in the center t ot the bottom of the comb surrounded by a ring of pollen  in the cells and the surrounding edges of the comb are then filled with nectar to be made honey and capped  on the very same comb.In this natural environment as the comb extends vertically, the brood is shifted to the bottom of the comb and the excess honey is shifted to the top of the comb and to the horizontal ends if more space is needed.

Interestingly enough, there have been enough opportunists for naturalists and bee studiers to see that honey bees do not always seek out the vertical standing tree as a home.  There are indeed plenty of the ‘fallen log’ and horizontally extended hollow tree branch examples that with no involvement of people at all, honey bees have naturally chosen to live in a horizontal environment.  That is to say, instead of the environment allowing extended vertical expansion, it requires extended horizontal expansion.

In these log and branch hives, bees have created several short and horizontal combs which follow the same basic brood/pollen/honey patterns as in the vertical hives.  The exception being that they place ‘extra’ honey stores in comb on the horizontal end combs.

Living in the horizontal log and branch hives, the honey bees follow the same behaviors as in other environments and work to fill the space.

In both vertical and horizontal environments, bees have been found to not always successfully find extra food stores that are immediately near them.  If the temperatures do not allow the cluster to expand much, if at all to seek out extra stores, any movement, vertical or horizontal is limited and bees have been found starved after a very cold winter with Plenty of honey immediately to the sides or immediately above them.

What honey bees  behavior does seem to indicate in terms of ‘preferring’ in regard to movement is that bees ‘prefer’ to move in one direction.  If the space available for movement is open vertically to them, they will not reach the end and move downward. Seeing as how bees are usually observed starting their winter at the ‘bottom’ of the comb in the brood area, there usually is nowhere for them to go but up.

If the space open to them is horizontal, they will start once again with the ‘brood’ area and move to the closest honey stores found and continue moving in that direction, not turning back if there are stores in the other direction.

Based on this observation of bee behavior in movement in both horizontal and vertical hives, it is obvious that ‘preferred’ movement is in terms of once moving, they ‘prefer’ to keep moving in the same direction and not turning back.

Direct, personal observation of bee behavior is the best way to learn about bees.  It’s nice to hear other opinions and advice from beekeepers who have been doing it themselves but, one beekeepers situation  is not necessarily anothers, meaning that each beekeepers experience, needs, equipment and motivation is relative to their geography, objectives and personal philosophy as well as their own educated decisions.

The good news is that you don’t have to adopt anything that you don’t want to.  you are free to make your own decisions just as anyone else is. Please do not try to dissuade other beekeepers from using other equipment or using other methods on the basis of false  and ignorant information though.  That does as much harm to the world of beekeepers as any disease or predator in the hive.

Holy Honey, it’s another post letting you know what’s on the mind of this one bee technician.  You know the rules, now let’s play the game…

Top Bar Hives.  It’s  a phrase that just loves to be debated.  There are those who are adamantly opposed to the idea and of course there are those who think it’s better than peanut butter and jelly.

Of course, for those of us somewhere in the middle, what does it really come down to?

I want to start off with the argument that  I have seen more and more frequently in user forums and chatrooms, which is that top bar hives are part of a “fanatical” movement embraced by tree hugging leftists and hippies who only care about being one with the universe and may actually be doing more harm than good in their misguided activities.

Yes,  I have actually seen that posted, you just can’t make this stuff up anymore. i have talked with quite a few people who have taken to using top  bar hives in the last ear or so, some even longer.  I have taken up top bar hives myself, in the interest of full disclosure.

However,  I don’t see the majority of these people as part of a movement per se.   I see these as people who have bad backs or work injuries or maybe just aren’t very big people .  Top bar hives make a much easier task of working with bees in a hive, plain and simple.   No heavy boxes to lift off and put back on every time you inspect them.

I see many of these people also as people who don’t want to spend a lot or don’t have a lot of money to spend on beekeeping equipment but still want to work with honey bees.  There’s nothing wrong with finding alternative ways to accomplish the same thing without spending as much money, especiialy in these economic times.

So, while we are protecting our backs and saving some money, what else is beneficial about top bar hives? Well, through observation, bees are able to build comb and cells according to their own design, they get to do it their way.  Since  we are not bees and cannot make wax ourselves,  I think  I like to let the pros make the decision of what size cells and comb they want to use.  After all, they have been doing it for a very long time. But hey, that’s just me.

Many people are very concerned that bees will swarm from a top bar hive moreso than from the traditional style hives.  The jury is really still out on that and management techniques play a very large part in that.  However, it might be noted that swarming is a natural reproductive activity for honey bees ,so again, I say why try to tell them how to be bees?

others say that top bar hives are no good for commercial use or for deliberate effort of producing honey or pollination as they are more difficult to transport and the notion that honey bees in a top bar hive produce less honey over time.  both interesting points and having quite a bit of validity to them.  However,  Still missing the point.

Many many,  I daresay most, people who are adopting top bar hives are doing so not becasue they have a goal to be a major honey producer or shuttle around bees for pollination contracts.

If there were any ‘movement’ associated with top bar beekeeping, it’s not to be ‘organic’ or to be the new ‘in thing’ for beekeepers all over.  it’s more for the folks who favor self sufficiency, low cost and a different interaction with honey bees than traditional beekeeping provides.

Most top bar beekeepers  I talk to don’t want to take over the beekeeping world and really don’t care how many other beekeepers are using them.  They are just using a hive that feels right for them and are glad to have alternatives.

Yes, there is the occasional zealot who wants to change the world  and convert everyone to their team, but they are really in the minority  while unfortunately making more noise than the others, thus demanding a lot of attention.

I find top bar beekeeping to be fun and less physically demanding and allows more natural behavior for the bees.  By the way, for those who insist that bees ‘natural’ behavior of moving vertically instead of horizontally, I think the history of finding bees in fallen logs and in porch roofs and under floors often enough shows that bees will move in whatever direction they need to move to survive.

Enjoy your bees.

Yes, the opinion continues on here and you can take it s you like. No ones arms are twisted here.

In many beekeeping forums and websites, the discussion of how to work with bees,  to use chemical treatments or no treatments or to feed  or not to feed or whatever might fall in between, to me is largely dependent on one personal philosophical approach and how they got their bees.

Focusing more on how the bees were attained for this post,  I am of the thinking that the more one has financially invested in their bees, meaning how much they pay for their bees will determine in large part how willing they are to take ‘experimental’ risks with those bees.

For example, if one beekeeper buys a package of bees, costing approx $75, they don’t relish the notion of those bees dying on them that same winter from disease or mites or whatever else they feel might be preventable with the use of treatments.

Those purchasing beekeepers are more likely to want to protect their investment, especially in these turbulent financial times and be willing to shell out more money to try to keep said bees alive.

However, that too has a limit.  if the cost of treatments greatly exceeds the purchase price of bees, meaning if it’s cheaper to replace bees than it is to treat them, a beekeeper who is less emotionally involved with their bees might very well decide that not treating is better for their financial circumstances than paying for treatments.

On the contrary, if a beekeeper has caught swarms and trapped bees without cost or inexpensively, their financial motivation may be less less geared toward spending any money on keeping so called “free bees’ alive with treatmens at all.

I also think that those people who do pay for bees and those people who prefer to not pay for bees have very specific motivations for using the approaches s they do.

A beekeeper who purchases bees may not want to wait or take a longer time to accumulate a certain number of bee colonies to accomplish what ever it is they intend to accomplish, like pollination or honey production as a primary motivation.  Their interest in keeping bees alive and protecting their investment is twofold in initial expense and having something to work with make gains down the road.

Comparatively, perhaps more beekeepers who are inclined to catch bees instead of purchasing them may not have such targeted interests and may have a more relaxed approach and find their enthusiasm is motivated in the acts of catching and observing bees being bees with no ‘push’ to result in selling a  product or service primarily.

This isn’t to try to indicate that one type of beekeepr is “wrong” or “right” or that one is better or worse than another, more to further illustrate how many different philosophical, motivational, and environmental affects there are on beekeeping decisions.

If you are going to buy bees, try to learn as much as you can about the breeder and the methods they use in terms of how it relates to your ideals before you make a purchase.

If you are going to try to catch bees, you want to make sure you know how to identify signs of disease and pest infestation before you bring a colony back to the yard where your healthy bees are.