From: deelusbybeekeeper <deelusbybeekeeper@excelonline.com>
Date: Mon Dec 18, 2000 9:00am
Subject: Re: girls on small cells, regressing bees

Hi to all

This is mainly directed to Dave Cushman...

> > Question:
> >
> > John, why are you watering down the honey instead of just liquifying it?
> On liquid honey bees will take it up and stimulte brood rearing and also
> > comb building.
>
> If you are raising bees in small colonies or nucs, dilute honey is mere
> readily converted to broodfood it save the bees having to collect the water
> which wastes time and wears out bees that are already short in numbers.

Reply:

We are now talking biological management here and diluting with water by man
does not appear in Nature and is a crutch for rearing bees, that perpetuates
needing to be catered to, rather than survive on their own. Bees that can't
use moisture condensation from inside the hive during winter, or go get
their own, are not good bees to want to have. Watering honey is a bad habit
and causes more disease and problems than it helps.

Further, Inbreeding does not occur in Nature as routine without something
forcing it to happen.At very most a queen might be inseminated if she is
real special, but normally a good breeder can work around it if he really
cares about what he is doing. Never tell beekeepers to inbreed and then
think they can become good biological beekeepers without problems in their
bees. Either you want to do it without crutches naturally to gain strong
outbred lines or you don't.Inbreeding in animals results in dead lines and
end of evolution for species and we seem to have enough of that started
within the bee industry now.

Sincerely,

Dee A. Lusby