Bob Nall

Cristo: True, you can buy bees from anyone that sells them, my point is the majority of store bough bees are italian and that's actually the main issue.

Timothy:  From what I have been told and found, bees take a minimum of 5 years to adapt genetics to their local conditions.  So yes, even italian bees can truly adapt, given they survive long enough.

Many struggle with colony collapse, mites, sugar feeding, etc but the majority of these issues are due to the fact you bought non-local bees.  Most bees bought by commercial and residential beekeeper are Italian honey bees.  In mediterranean climates nectar is available 10 months out of the year, where you reside is likely quite different.  In addition, the rainfall in mediterranean climates is is likely far different than your climate.  What this means is you are now in a uphill battle trying to keep your bees alive.  But no one is keeping your local wild bees alive with chemicals and sugar water, why?  Simply because the bees in your climate are adapted to that climate.  Even mites, in my climate the Ozarks, we get a drought almost every summer, this kills off most of the bees food sources.  The queen stops her brooding cycle for a bit during this time, which in turn starves the varroa mites and disrupts their reproduction cycle, essentially weakening the mites so that they are not a threat.  Feeding sugar water is no longer necessary because the bees understand they have to overwinter for 5 months in the Ozarks instead of 2 in Italy.  So if you want the most success (failures are part of learning and you will still get lessons) try to start your colonies with local bees or at least a local queen.  Try swarm traps, or if you have a friend with some native bees try an artificial swarm.  Happy Beekeeping!

That has to be very disheartening to loose both colonies.  I just recently attended a class and workshop with Dr Leo, he does recommend adding a wool filled canvas pillow similar to what you did with the T shirts when night time temps are below 60f.  A few observations, t shirts and wool do not react the same when wet, a t shirt with restrict all airflow when wet, so that may be all it was, compounding the moisture issues and restricting ventilation.  But I tend to wonder if one hive had a water entrance what was too much for the bees to cope with.  I am considering a roof overhang for my hives this winter as I noticed the hive I purchased from Dr Leo has some moisture and mold issues already.  I commend you on your approach to natural beekeeping as I have the same approach.  I hope you try again, as I know I will need encouragement if my colonies had died off as well.  Best of luck!

Some good points all over the board here.  One question for those of you that grow azolla, what is your method?  I was told just add some chicken poop to the water and give it partial sun.  Mine has dies on three separate tries.  Not sure what I am doing wrong.

I love this topic of purity.  I myself believe this is a process we are supposed to go through on our time here.  But as most of us eventually realize, we were taught to go about things all wrong.  We were told to value certain things and disregard others and in that process we became attached to things that aren't truly pure or even real for that matter.  The process of purifying can seem daunting and most of us seek out some type of mentor, whether this person is an author, a content creator, or an authority, we tend to seek out advice to help us on our path.  What some of us have noticed along the way is that everyone is at a different point in that process.  There is only one teacher for us all out there and one teacher that cannot be argued with, nature.  Nature is spirit.  Through observation of nature and natural systems and natural laws we can understand what is truly beneficial or detrimental to us.  This creates a clear path to become more pure and this touches on every aspect of your life.  Whether we are discussing food, medicine, relationships, toxicity, attachment, growth, etc. One cannot go wrong by observing nature and reflecting our own lives upon this template, from there we can see our misdirections.