On 4/8/2018 7:42 PM, graham wrote:
> On 2018-04-08 4:18 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
>> On 4/8/2018 2:20 PM, graham wrote:
>>> On 2018-04-08 9:56 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
>>>> On 4/8/2018 9:40 AM, Gary wrote:
>>>>> Terry Coombs wrote:
>>>>>> Â* ÂÂ* Have you considered replacing the sugar with honey ? Honey
>>>>>> has many
>>>>>> benefits besides being sweet , and local honey can help if you have
>>>>>> pollen allergies . The wife has a spoonful in her tea every
>>>>>> morning ,
>>>>>> has cut back a lot on allergy meds . Our honey is very local ,
>>>>>> the hives
>>>>>> are out in our garden .
>>>>> This interests me. So local honey helps with her allergies, you
>>>>> say. I can see that as her body would be getting used to the
>>>>> local pollen by eating that local honey. But the local honey does
>>>>> not set off her allergies? Or just maybe at first but now she's
>>>>> building a tolerance to it?
>>>>
>>>> Â*Â*Â*Â* I have no idea what the mechanism is , just that since she
>>>> started using our honey
>>>> Â*Â*in her tea she's taking less allergy medication during the usual
>>>> times - like right now .
>>>>>
>>>>> You say the bee hives are in your garden. Your own hives or are
>>>>> you allowing a local bee keeper to put them there in exchange for
>>>>> honey as rent?Â* Just wondering.
>>>>>
>>>>> Bees get a bad rap for the stinging but I've learned (from life
>>>>> experience) that they are all friendly enough and they only sting
>>>>> when they feel threatened. Even wasps that are a natural enemy of
>>>>> the cute honey bees.
>>>>
>>>> Â*Â* These are our bees , we got them in June of 2015 . We bought
>>>> from a local breeder that has developed a line of varroa-resistant
>>>> bees , I use no chemicals in my hives .
>>>
>>> Don't you use a bit of sulpha drug to keep AFB at bay?
>>
>> Â*Â* Nothing , not a drop or speck of any chemical is introduced into
>> the hives by me . I have no control over what they may bring in on
>> nectar and pollen , and neither does any other beekeeper . I'm lucky
>> to be in an area that has very few honey bees - and AFAIK all the
>> beekeepers near me have bees from the same breeder . Until I brought
>> them into The Holler there hadn't been a bee seen here for years .
>> This is good , because the best vector for bee diseases is ..... wait
>> for it ..... bees . What often happens is a hive will collapse under
>> a disease or parasite (varroa mites , small hive beetles , wax moths)
>> load . Bees from other hives will rob out any honey left in the dead
>> hive and carry the problems home along with the honey . The only
>> hives my bees get to rob are each other ... but that's a whole other
>> subject .
>>
> Do you have to get your hives inspected every year? We had to when we
> kept bees and the main reason for the inspection was AFB.

Â* No regular inspections here . I think the only time you have to have
them inspected is when you're going out of state . I think many diseases
and pests can also be traced back to having the hives trucked around for
pollination . Almonds are a biggie , trucks come from all across the USA
to California to pollinate - and share problems - then go either home or
on to another crop to pollinate . We have one or maybe 2 guys that ship
hives out to pollinate , I don't know where they send them . Luckily for
me those guys have bee yards that are way too far away to affect my bees
here .

--
Snag
Ain't no dollar sign on
peace of mind - Zac Brown