'Bout a 100 - Sideline Beekeeping: FACING THE CHALLENGES OF SIDELINE BEEKEEPING

摘要

What challenges face larger hobby and sideline beekeeper these days? It's not hard to develop a list, and here are the key issues I see - my list - based on visits I have had with beekeepers around the country. You might want to jot down your own challenges and see how much we agree or disagree. 1. Queens: Failure to Introduce, Failure to stay in the hive, and Failure to live more than a few months. And problems with abrupt termination of egg laying right in the middle of the flow, with no effort tosupercede! How can I use virgin queens shipped to me from a distance? 2. Bee forage: What and where is it being produced? Is there enough to support my colonies? Or should I plan to feed colonies. And if so, when should I feed my bees? Should I be feeding in the summer when everything is in bloom? And if so, what with - pollen, sugar syrup or both? And is that high-fructose corn syrup really bad for my bees? 3. Honey: It seems I either have too much or not enough. What do you do about both situations?Should I develop a backup source for honey to meet my market needs? 4. Winter losses: How to eliminate them, or at least get them to an acceptable level, such as under ten percent, rather than the whopping 90% loss I had this past Winter/ Spring. 5. Fear of contamination of the hive and bee products with chemicals used in apiary work and from the environment. Do the so-called naturally occurring miticide treatments leave residues too? And do they interact with other pesticides in the environment, fromherbicides to orchard fungicides to impact on foraging, stored pollen and nectar reserves and bee behavior? 6. Laws, rules and regulations restricting free trade of honey. 7. Neighbors: The Good, The Bad and The Ignorant. 8. Time: How can I manage itbetter? Is there a way I can work a 40-hour week (that is often over 50 hours) and still run 25 or 250 colonies? What do I give up to do it? 9. Beekeeping is getting so expensive. And the fuel prices are killing me! 10. Allergies to bee venom in the family - what do I do when my kid is allergic to bee venom?