Guilfordbeekeepers.org

I've been doing a lot of research since I got into this topic and I find a lot of conflicting and anecdotal information. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems the most critical thing a keeper can do about mites is to keep a VERY close eye on the colony so that a non toxic treatment can be started as...

Here is a new forum for VSH breeders. You have to be registered - whatever that means - to post, but anyone can read the discussions.
http://vshbreeders.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=1

1) People are not bees. To speak of improving the genetics of humans is to travel the path of eugenics which leads to the darkest places in human history. 2) Medication is not adaptation. Medication is outside intervention in the normal process of evolution. The strong survive and the weak fail. Art...

Medication = weaker bees, stronger pests. This is not just a beekeeping problem, we have seen the same dynamic in agriculture and human medicine. It seems to me that medication is a dead end serving only short term goals and delaying the evolution of stronger bees while at the same time hastening th...

Wow! That's less than 3/16ths of an inch!
Thanks Wally

What's the smallest opening a forager bee could crawl through? I'm thinking about making an external feeder, but I don't want to feed the whole neighborhood.
Thanks

Debbie Roos, the Chatham County extension agent has just sent out this announcement: Big Win for Bees: Judge Pulls Pesticide NEW YORK (December 29, 2009) - A pesticide that could be dangerously toxic to America's honey bees must be pulled from store shelves as a result of a suit filed by the Natural...

HAHAHA I will be looking for some bees this spring, but I've got a feeling that I won't need any mites. I have found a website or two that I have found useful in my research - Glenn Apiaries has a lot of good information on genetics and sources for resistant queens, but their instrumentally insemina...

Wally, I see your point although I wonder if a queen can develop resistance traits over the 2+ years she is laying eggs. From my reading it appears that hygienic behavior and disease resistance are genetic traits rather than learned responses. I realize that experience trumps theory, however. Norma,...

I did not say let nature take it's course. I said beekeepers should adopt a strategy of hybridization if there is to be a long term solution to the honeybee population decline. How long do you think medicinal/chemical treatments are going to be effective before beekeepers inadvertently breed a resis...

I would have never figured you for a geek, Wally! Looks great.

Bill Rawleigh
6356 Cloud Rd.
Julian
336.273.6800
thegardenhive.com

top bar hives

Instead of treating, why not introduce resistant queens or develop your own line from colonies that do well without treatment? It seems to me that developing a better bee through selective breeding is the only long term solution to the mite problem. After all, selective breeding seems to work for ve...

This just in from Debbie Roos - extension agent in Chatham County - concerning workshops on techniques for developing resistant bees. Debbie is very interested in bees, especially in their role as pollinators. Check it out http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/api ... dBred.html

There is a guy at the Greensboro farmers market - near A&T - that sells beeswax. I suppose he's still there, I haven't been in a long while.

Yep - as a matter of fact I just finished my web page yesterday. Check out http://thegardenhive.com/ . A hive picked up at the shop is $255. Yes, it costs me $110 to pack and ship - UPS & etc. are ROUGH!

Wally - you don't need to extract them because top bar hives are not intended for high volume commercial use. You just cut off the comb, take it to the kitchen and either put it up as comb honey or mash the comb, strain it and put it up as filtered honey. Extra bonus - lots of pure beeswax as the be...

My hives have an internal 1 qt. feeder. As for treating, don't get me going! I believe we should all be working towards developing bees that have resistance to mites, etc. Colonies that have problems ought to be requeened from USDA hybrid stock. Selective breeding is the only way out of our present ...

TOP BAR HIVES with stand, hive tool, veil and feeder $365 assembled, packed and shipped. Cypress construction with poplar top bars. Features glass observation window with solid brass hardware and Varroa screen. All non-toxic construction. No heavy lifting. SAVE BIG! Pick up your fully assembled hive...