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Backward beekeepers

 
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I watched/listened about this group of beekeepers located around LA. From what I've heard they have bees that require no varoa treatments at all. The swarms are there so easy to catch since there are bees everywhere so they don't treat the weak colonies, they just replace them.

Anybody had any experience with the bees from that area?
 
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Location: College Station, TX
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I don't use any varroa treatments for my bees either but I bought survivor bees from a well known local apiary that doesn't treat their hives. If you buy treated bees you have to treat. If you buy untreated survivor bees... well, it's your choice... I prefer not to treat and it has worked well for me.
 
pollinator
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lol these bees are found all over .
They are called .............................................. wild bees . Despite claims from many conventional beekeepers verroa , american foul brood and all the other deseases have not killed off the wild bees in either the UK europe or the USA. Despite the best efforts of the pesticide industry. The wild bees have survived by being bees
Thats why if you can ,setting up bait hives to catch bees is the best and cheapest plan to get some bees . Dont buy in to the package rip off- where you buy bees by weight , they dont know the queens and are NOT adapted to your area. Guess what ? they are more likley to die , bugger off or reject the queen meaning you have to buy more next year . Read the Work of Professor Sealy on this subject .
David
 
David Dodge
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Dont buy in to the package rip off- where you buy bees by weight , they dont know the queens and are NOT adapted to your area.


I buy bees that are raised 20 miles from my home. I'm pretty sure they are locally adapted.

I'm all about finding feral hives - I mean, who doesn't like free? But the last wild swarm I got didn't overwinter whereas the ripoff package hive brought in 120 lbs of honey. Unless you bait a rural area with no mainstream agriculture there's no telling what kind of bees you're getting. Some work out and some don't.

setting up bait hives to catch bees is the best and cheapest plan to get some bees


You're right that it's the cheapest way to get bees but it's not necessarily the best, especially if you live in an area with Africanized bees like I do.

To the point of the OP, the bees that Backward Beekeepers talk about are not special, they may be wild or they may have escaped from Uncle Joe's hive, but if they are surviving on their own with no inputs from Bayer or Monsanto and you find them or buy them they can do the same in your apiary.
 
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Yes, of course, and I accept that blame. In fact, i covet that blame. As does this tiny ad:
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