Just Shaking My head

[Michael Palmer]

In the December issue of BC, there is an article on forming a personal relationship with your bees. Mumbo-Jumbo!!

Author wants us to closely observe a single comb covered with bees for 15-30 minutes or more.

"Those that are interested in forming a strong personal relationship with the bees may even choose to make a date with them".

"When dating it is common to bring gifts.
While the bees may appreciate a gift of flowers..."

"When I approach a hive with a jar and ask the colony, a super organism, to give up part of its body by letting me take several bees for venom therapy, I will offer part of my body in return by pulling out a few hairs from the back of my neck and leaving the hairs by the hive."

"Talking to your bees, along with prayer, gift giving, song, and dance..."

[Hawkster]

why stop at a few hairs? a finger maybe ?

[Lauren]

good grief.

And what pray, tell does the super organism need hair for???? Maybe they can fashion little guitars of wax and use them for strings... you know, so they can join in while your singing to them.

[D Coates]

I read that article yesterday waiting for a punchline. It was at the end when I realized he was serious. I had asked for and gotten a bee book 2 Christmas' ago on organic beekeeping with some of the same stuff and sold it on EBay ASAP. Turns out it's the same author.

Different strokes for different folks but it's hogwash to me.

[honeyman46408]

Michael
I get this a lot "your bees know your" and my reply is yeh and they dont like me

And my prayer is that they dont sting me to much!!

[ccar2000]

I guess that just giving them a roof over their head and little smoke now and then is not enough?

[PCM]

Let's be truthful now !

It sounds as tho you folks don't sing and talk too your bees !

I definitely talk to mine when they are in a stinging mood, sometimes very loudly.

PCM

[BeeaBee]

I would prefer to have no relationship with my bees. Best if they just totally ignored me when I was at the hive. Like I wasn't even there. No hard feelings.

[bigbearomaha]

Ross Conrad, ain't he a pip?

I'm all for being one with the world and having respect for our fellow inhabitants of this world.

dating bees though? I think Ross needs to start sharing some of whatever it is he is toking on.

[Michael Palmer]

why stop at a few hairs? a finger maybe ?

Yeah, which one?

[NDnewbeek]

I, for one, am not interested in having any sort of personal relationship with my bees (nor do I think that such a relationship is even possible - but that is the scientist talking).

I AM interested in having a more positive FINANCIAL relationship with them though! Right now, it all flows one way - to the bees!

[Roland]

Maybe his smoker is full of Sweet Mary Jane?

To be honest, We learned different things about bees when we put a hive on the back porch, next to the back door. We also had one next to the man door to the garage, that made a handy tool rest. It seems they get acclimated to human activity, but I can not say we ever get to know each other.

Roland

[deknow]

well, if you figure a stinger surrendered during apitheray is a "modified ovipositor", the beekeeper might as well return the favor in kind

deknow

[mac]

An old beekeeper years ago told me to leave a T-shirt ya wore for a while out in the bee yard and they would get used to your sent. Never tried it but” ya never can tell with bees.” Winnie the Pooh.

[Michael Palmer]

well, if you figure a stinger surrendered during apitheray is a "modified ovipositor", the beekeeper might as well return the favor in kind

deknow

By giving them my modified ovipositor??

[Yuleluder]

15-30 min for a single covered frame, huh. For a person with 100 hives that comes to 25-50 hours for a single frame in each hive. Have fun with that.

[deknow]

By giving them my modified ovipositor??

...it only seems fair

[Hawkster]

and I thought i was over the edge with a finger ! I am keeping mine!

[valleyman]

Maybe I missed the jest of the matter from the original post. But my input is going to be that what is BC thinking putting such a stupid, yeah, I said stupid article in their magazine. I got to that article early on, didn't finish it, and laid the mag. down and haven't picked it back up. Probably will not.
I said some time ago that BC was my favorite of the two main publications. I recant that stament as that one article ruined the entire issue for me. Just my thoughts.

[bigbearomaha]

outside of that one article, the rest of the magazine held a lot of interesting articles and research in it for me. I even found that one article to be entertaining, if nothing else.

Then again, there is very little I read or see from what others write about beekeeping that I see as "universal truth". I just take each article and post with a grain of salt and make my own decisions as to if it's relevant or credible.

The primary reasons I subscribed to Bee Culture was to have access to the market price reports and the scientific studies they include. Everything else is just opinion and I take it that way.