[pyrnet] CHAT: OT:Bees & "Killer Bees" in Virginia

[PyrLove214@aol.com]

I was sent this on one of my other lists but feel it is important to all who 
live close to the land.  So if this topic does not interest you please delete 
now.
Pam
Tx Great Pyrenees Rescue

Today's paper carried a confirmation that the bees that killed a goat in
Augusta County, VA and attacked several humans before the hive was destroyed
are Africanized or "killer" bees.

It had previously been hoped by many that by the time they got this far
east, the bees would have crossbreed with domestic bees enough times that
they would have mellowed, but this has not happened. Apparently the
devastating attack on bees by mites over the past decade has opened the road
for them to come through directly.

The article also mentions that swarms have been found this year in West
Virginia and Illinois.

In a sidebar article, it was pointed out that the population of natural bees
in Virginia has dropped 90% over the five to ten past years, and the number
of hives kept by beekeepers has dropped by 60 to 70% as well. They have
given up on the war against the mites.

If this trend does not change, we will soon see changes in our basic diet.
You can say good-bye to things like watermelon and cucumbers, except for the
very rich who will be able to afford cucumbers pollinated by humans with
brushes. Of course, there will be no more honey and the quality of many
other crops will go down.

I have read the work of some bee researchers who are hoping to be able to
use the new bees in hives to replace those we have lost. This has been done
in other countries, using top bar hives which are less intrusive to the
bees. But, with twenty years of bad press, including several "killer bee"
movies, I suspect the villagers will march on any farm trying this and burn
it down.

However, the bee problems have actually created an opportunity for those
willing to take advantage of it. The price of packaged bees has gone up at
least five fold over the past twenty years, and the loss of native bees
means that more farms will need to rent hives to insure their crops.
Someone, or many someone's, can produce "disposable" colonies that are put
out for the season strictly as pollinators, and, if there is any sign of
mites at the seasons end, the whole thing is burned.

What would be needed is a "bee factory" in a protected area that could supply
a constant flow of healthy queens and package bees. As needed, they would be
placed in top bar hives and shipped to the fields where needed. Unlike the
common square wood hives we are used to  (Langstroth) that cost over $100
each, TBH's are homemade from scrap material. They are designed for use in
depressed third world areas. You can use wood salvaged from old pallets or
even 55 gallon drums laid on their sides. For a person who is used to
scavenging, $10 would be a lot to pay for the materials used in one.

For more information on TBH's, go to http://www.gsu.edu/~biojdsx/main.htm to
find several plans and a lot of information and links to sites around the
world.

Pat Barrett
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/blueridgecrafts/