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From: Barry Birkey <barry@birkey.com>
Date: Sun, 08 Jul 2001 17:57:19 -0500
To: BioBee List <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: it don't come easy
Hi all -
Thought I'd share some exchange
of email I had with Dee the other day (with
her permission) in hopes that others will get a bit more understanding
to
the ups and downs that go along with the process of regressing
your bees
down. It's full of new experiences and a lot of questions, at
least for me.
This year I have had a real problem with queens. It seems every
time I turn
around a couple of hives are queenless.
Regards,
Barry
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To: Dee
From: Barry
Checked on the hives yesterday
and didn't like what I found. The one good
"Italian" hive I split, because they were setting up
queen cells, now has
both splits queenless and dropping in numbers. All kinds of open
queen cells
throughout each hive, but no queens or eggs. I went ahead and
joined the two
back up and put a frame with eggs in from another hive. I was
really hoping
to keep from having to do this as I wanted to see how the 2 "Italian"
hives
manage on their own. The other "Italian" hive was queenless
too, with no new
brood, so I also gave this hive a new frame of brood.
Two other hivesI have are coming
alone good, lots of new brood laid up, and
if they keep to this pace they will be okay for going into winter.
Another
two hives are still just in one medium filling half the frames.
Not good. I
joined these two hives together. Latest count now is 3 new hives
and 2 of my
existing hives. I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED THIS MUCH BEE PROBLEMS
EVER! If I end
up with no bees come spring, that will be quite frustrating.
Glad you all
are doing well with your bees.
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To: Barry
From: Dee
Aaah! Barry,
Please don't be so sad. The
bees will come round. They are adjusting with
the mite situation in your area blowing through in a wave like
it has
everyplace else. The new hives (2) have adjusted and you properly
combined
the other two for strength, so be happy.
The two italian you have that
are requeen will do okay with the new brood
frames you put in to help them. Please don't fret so much. You
are doing all
you can do. Just be patient and let the bees adjust. They will
right
themselves if you let them.
That's what we did and let
them acclimatize locally. You can do no better.
You will have some bees left alive come spring, but might not
be those
italian anymore, that don't belong up north anyway.
Relax. You are no different
than anyone else who has problems. Just don't
give up because knowing you, you will always think about it and
what you
might have done if you hadn't. Just stay the course on what you
are doing.
Dee
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To: Dee
From: Barry
Hi Dee -
I find it hard to believe that
the bees are still adjusting to the area. The
difference is like night and day between the bees down sizing
this year and
the two hives I down sized last year. Last year I was down sizing
pretty
much all summer and the bees still kept growing in size after
all that. This
year, the two hives I down sized took place very early using
the 4.9 combs
from last year, and the new bees were already small, and I've
had nothing
but a bunch of bees that can't figure out which way is up or
down. I hate to
think how many queens all the hives have gone through. A lot
of drones are
getting produced this year, that's for sure.
I wish I was as optimistic
as you are. I just can't put my finger on the
reasoning for all the problems.
-Barry
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To: Barry
From: Dee
BB-
Whether you believe it or not
the bees are still adjusting in your area.
Both the ones from here and your whole area from varroa collapse.
It is not
something you can snap your fingers and just fix. The bees will
hang and
adjust and feel out what they need. You are doing fine and they
will
rebound, but they will not be the same bees you had before. You
got the two
new hives adjusted and coming now it would seem. Let them come.
The others
are still trying to find what they need. Let the subcastes fight
it out and
not select queens for them. But in the end I think you will find
they will
go to the darker side up north where you are.
Your Italians couldn't keep
their queens for ever and they now are
adjusting after surviving last year and finally getting new queens
to go
forward too. You must remember that not all years are good, but
you have a
year compounded with adjusting to varroa now.
Just when things are darkest
is when things turn around. We didn't give up
when we bottom out from 1,000 to 104 hives. Figured we couldn't
do any worse
so must be able to do better and then just work it back up.
Don't know yet if you have
hit the wall. Maybe you will loose both italians
and maybe you won't, but they are not italian anymore for you
have added
eggs and larva from another colony. This is your critical choice
in
beekeeping coming up. Just like in war. You, will either do what
you have
to, to go on and win, or you will fold! and walk away!
You must learn to follow down
and then learn to pick yourself up in life. In
doing so you will bring your bees through and yourself and be
better
prepared for what ever. Trials and tribulations are hard both
for the bees
and humans working together.
This is what is hard for the
industry now. They have never had to hit the
wall normally encountered in war and go on! Some choke and look
for an easy
way out. There is none and you must learn to walk the path.
Barry!!! So far you are doing
the work and also talking the talk. You are
almost through the bottom, but only when you reach it and make
the turn back
up will you know and have the feeling of satisfaction you made
it through.
Your biggest enemy will be
your mind and others telling you you are foolish
for hanging in there. But if you do hang in and win, Oh the satisfaction
of doing so. Believe me Ed and I know.
Look at the worse case. You
loose them all. You get more and go on. Or you
end up with one or two and work them up. But never loose the
faith or the
devil wins and defeat takes over and that is something you can
never shake
in life having walked away and lost for it will walk with you
forever. This
is the important thing our industry needs to learn. But who to
teach them.
Relax and just follow the bees.
I know you can do it Barry. Right now your
mind is your biggest enemy for coming through, not the bees.
Dee
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To: Dee
From: Barry
Dee -
> Look at the worse case. You loose them all. You get more
and go on.
This is the part that bothers
me. If I loose them all, then all the time and
work it took the bees to acclimatize to my area is all for not.
I get more
and I'm starting all over again and what's to say these new bees
will do any
better? Something doesn't make sense here. I have no problem
doing the work,
but when you do the work and the bees keep dying off! I figure
if I have to
get more next year, how do I go on? What more is there to do
that I haven't
done this year? Why won't it just be a repeat of this summer?
-BB
-------
To: Barry
From: Dee
BB-
Right now you basically have
a mating problem for lack of quality drones
acclimatized to your area. But remember Barry, you lost 4 swarms
that will
survive in the wild near you. They will be the ones like other
survivors in
your area now to mate your colonies. It takes two to tango. Even
on mating
yards in isolation it takes two mating yards to make success.
You have two
mated and increasing hives now. The swarms that escaped will
be coming on
with drones to help yours now coming on. It all takes time to
get the pieces
into place in the puzzle. Have faith and patience.
It will come. You cannot repopulate
an area all at once. It takes steps.
Maybe the swarms you lost were for your future benefit! :>)
There is a
reason for everything from above. Watch and learn!
Dee
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