There seems to be a large number of people in the bee
keeping world that can’t get to grips with the fact that Honey bees can and do live
quite contentedly without the assistance of Human beings and have done so for some
300,000 years managing the ups and downs of disease and ice ages. Insects really
don’t need us to manipulate their life processes, they just require suitable
habitat and living conditions and Honey bees are no exception to this, but
already I hear the cries of outraged bee fiddlers everywhere accusing me of bad
management, spreading disease and worse.
Let’s start by taking a quick look at some of the mainstream
bee keeping practices;
* Clipping the Queens wings to
prevent them from being able to fly when the colony attempts to divide and
swarm.
* Opening the hive on a regular basis, normally every 7/8
days in the season, removing the frames of comb to check for signs of diseases
and for any Queen cells that are made prior to swarming.
* Should Queen Cells be found it is fairly common practice
to destroy all but one or two or in some cases all of them. (The bees will make
perhaps 10 – 15 but will normally only allow one or two to hatch, the others
are insurance).
* Regularly destroy Drone cells and larvae to reduce the
number of varroa mites; there is a special tool for this – a Drone comb.
* Use Plastic pre formed honey comb.
* Using various insecticide treatments in the hive to kill
varroa mites.
* Regularly removing old Brood comb and replacing, usually
with a frame of new wax foundation.
* Transporting hives with bees from one location to another
for forage.
* Feeding the bees with artificial pollen substitutes often
made from soya flour.
Granted not all mainstream keepers use or practice all of
these methods but weekly removal and inspection of colony frames much of the
year, varroa mite control and swarm prevention are considered to be necessary
for colony survival and preventing the escape of colonies into the wild.
My perspective on this that puts me in the naughty corner is
that I simply don’t think it is right or necessary to treat bees using any of
these products or methods. I’m happy for my bees to swarm, in fact it’s a
marvel of nature and although it takes time I enjoy swarm collection and hiving
them. I never have any health issues with my bees, and yes, I would know and
I’m certainly not of a mind to use insecticides in my hives whether they are
synthetic or so called natural.
Contrary to the popular view Honey bee colonies don’t die or
fail when left alone or I should say that they don’t fail anymore than would be
naturally expected. The only disease that is considered to be serious in France
is American Foul Brood which isn’t very common and is mainly spread by bee keepers
using infected equipment or selling infected stock.
Much is made of replacing old comb with new wax foundation,
but if left to themselves they manage the comb by removing any that is no longer fit for purpose and
replacing or restoring as required, something they have always done. Many keepers talk of hives becoming too full
of honey or too full of brood but again the bees will manage this if they are
of local stock although maybe not to our maximum profit.
For the time being how a person wishes to keep and manage
their bees is still a matter of choice here in France ,
(and the UK ),
but as always there is a vociferous body of people that would impose their
views and methods on everyone else.
This short video, made 14.04.2015 shows one of my hives that
has been completely free of interference for 8 years. The brood frames have
never been touched, looked at or fiddled with. The hive has been allowed to
swarm and produce their own new Queen each year and as can be seen they are
healthy and industrious with the “air conditioning on”, (the bees upside down
fanning at the entrance). If you watch
carefully you will also see one or two bees exiting the hive with debris in their
mouths that they are cleaning out.
Chris