Social Apiculture: An Example

Is the BBKA too close to Bayer? from Gord Campbell on Vimeo


A few weeks ago I wrote an entry about what I've called, Social Apiculture. I said, "beekeeping can no longer be an activity strictly focused on hive management techniques and our bees' immediate foraging environment but demands we also stay alert to the larger global environment and the impacts of the political economy." After reading this entry a week later, it seemed a bit arrogant, as if I was proposing something new and original when there are countless beekeepers around the globe who are already practicing this. For this reason, I am sharing this video from a beekeeper, Phil Chandler, who has had a great influence on the way I am seeing the world of apiculture.

Catching Up With the Blog

I started the semester last week and that fact has taken my attention away from keeping up with my blog.  The following are a few notes I have been meaning to write about:

I did some mite testing a week and a half ago and the count just skyrocketed over previous weeks. I recognized that this was not a good situation to go into fall and winter with so I did treat, very reluctantly, with Apiguard, a Thymol-based miticide. I hate being put on the pesticide treadmill and the bees did not like it as well. There is not really much written about the bees initial reaction to thymol use, but, between the 90 degree temperature and the Apiguard, both hives got an extreme case of bearding that scared me a bit. 

The temperatures plummetted this week, so the bees are much less active right now. I am observing them closely.