My son and I attended a Bee Conference in Cranberry Pa this weekend. It was run by Penn State Extension and the Pa Bee Keepers ass. I was shocked by how many people were there, and how far they had traveled to get to the conference. People from Ohio, New Jersey, West Va, and New York were there to talk about bees. Bee keepers are a different group it turns out. One guy who spoke said that if you lines up 5 Bee Keepers in a Panel discussion you would get 15 different opinions because they can't even agree with themselves.
When asking a question we found that the main answer was " It Depends " well what the heck does it depend on. I felt like Harry Truman when he said " Give me a one handed economist " because they would always say, Well on the one hand Blab, Blab, Blab, but on the other Hand,,,,,,,,,,,,, You couldn't get a straight answer. I understand that it depends on the weather, and the nectar flow, and the strength of the hive, and several other factors I am sure, but give me what to do under " Normal Conditions " . We did learn a lot about bee keeping equipment and about what to do to increase your chance of success. Keeping the Bees dry in the winter seemed to be key to hive survival. The bees can regulate the internal temperature of the hive in winter pretty well, but they can't handle the humidity that builds up in the hive. When they freeze to death it is because of the condensation that builds up and drips on them, turns out that Bees and water don't mix well. I had been seriously considering a Top Bar hive before I went to this seminar. Now I am leaning more toward the standard Hives. In nature bees tend to move up and down, not sideways. In the winter bees can starve to death when there is a frame of honey only 1 frame over in the hive from where their cluster is located, but they can't, or won't move sideways to get to it. That idea of working with the bees natural tendencies seems to strike a cord with me. Last week I attended a class on a Kinder Gentler way to keep Bees. That guys whole talk was about not doing what was easiest for the Bee Keeper, not doing what produced more honey, but doing what was Good for the Bees. With a rate of 40% to 60% loss of Bee colonies each year we really need to do something different in how we keep Bees. Most of the classes I attended this weekend were for the New Bees. That is what they call people who are just starting out.
One of the main causes of decline in the number of Bees is caused by humans and the destruction of Naturel Habitat and diversity of flowering plants in the environment. It seems that if you ask a stupid person what is causeing the loss of bees they will proceed to tell you exactly what is causing it, if you ask an Intelligent person they will tell you that they really don't have a clue. There are so many factors involved. My son will be getting a Hive started this spring, I am not sure if he will get Italian, or Russian Bees. The Italian Bees are cheaper, easier to acquire, very readily available locally, and maybe a little less aggressive. [ Bee Keepers with tell you that you are the aggressor, the Bees are only Defending their home ] The Russian Bees seem to have a larger cluster in winter and therefore a better chance to make the winter in Northern Pa. They are Both found here in Pa, so it may not make much difference, you pays your money, you takes your chances. I have not made the decision to start a Hive just yet, for the time being I will have to live vicariously through my sons activities.
Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.