Vermont beekeeper knows...

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Andrew Munkres on pesticides: • Is Vermont next?
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This is the second part of the interview with Mr. Andrew Munkres, the current President of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, discussing his thoughts on what is causing the decline in honey bee populations.
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Mike Palmer 50 Years Beekeeping 2: • 50 Years of the Sustai...
Mike Palmer 50 Years Beekeeping 3: • Sustainable Apiary Bes...
New York Ban on Pesticides: • New York BAN harmful P...
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#beekeeping #honeybees #varroa

[@jimallen1176]

S.C. beekeepers know. I'm in the heart of agriculture farming & the beekeepers have seen our bees dying off for years. As soon as the farmers start spraying, the bees take a hit. I've had my bees tested several times in the past few years. I'm waiting on the results for this spring. I expect to see the same thing as previous reports, insecticides.

[@CrazyIvan865]

Probiotics. There's a couple at Walmart you can use. They aren't EXACTLY all the essential probiotics that are essential to the bees for survival and combating chemical exposure. But studies have shown several strains of Lactobacillus to be effective in absorbing/combating around 15% of most pesticides. The women's health 40 billion 16 strain probiotic, or the Genesis Today brand 15 strain probiotic capsule. Add to a spray bottle of dechlorinated water, well water, or spring water (chlorinated water is antimicrobial and causes dysbiosis of the gut. Even in humans) with about a half cup or so of honey. Shake well and let ferment at least 48 hours. Then spray the insides of the hive, nurse bees, and capped honey, try to avoid uncapped honey or capped brood. A woman I know did this when she almost lost her hive to chalk brood. It worked. Bees immune systems are mostly comprised of the beneficial gut bacteria, and the beneficial bacteria within the hive. Never feel a sterile sugar, water or Pollen Patty source. They feed disease, while lacking the beneficial bacterias to fight diseases. There's been studies in this. Nosema, chalk brood, even ABF. Probably the only thing that probiotics won't help with, is EFB. Varroa is the big bad propagandized boogie man that gets blamed for everything, because someone sells the treatment for it. But the Unije Island Hives, prove that in a natural setting, varroa is a non-issue. The closer you can get to a natural environment, the better. Wanna know where to put the hives? Where the mosquitos eat you alive. It's shaded, moderately warm stable temperatures, humid above 50% (brood dessicateds below 50%), has a water source nearby, doesn't Fer direct sunlight while the trees are foliated... Look at Thomas Seeley's studies. A natural hive has 1 entrance of about 1.25" diameter, has a 40-60L volume, no ventilation, is well insulated, and the bees control the temperature and humidity within the hive. Bees are a forest dwelling species. You'll almost never see them make a home in direct sunlight. Bees don't have feed in winter and summer Dearth, and instead have brood breaks, even in spring and early fall when they swarm. This reduces mites. Screened bottom boards allow CO² to fall out. Studies have shown bees work harder (spending more energy, aka consuming more honey) to maintain Hive CO² levels, even under forced ventilation. CO² levels are maintained vetween 1.1% and 1.3%, or, 11,000-13,000ppm. This may seem like the drunken ramblings of a madman. But try it on one hive. I'm confident you'll see results. As far as small hive beetles. Remover the landing board, keep the area under the hive free of vegetation, and spread dried meal worms under the hive about every 4-5 days. Even if you don't have chickens, this encourages birds, such as Robin's, to go there for food. They'll get the hive beetle larva that pupate in the soil. But the hives need to be about 18" off the ground. Also inspect every 3 weeks. The organic compounds coming off nectar sources act as medicines. Look up the medicinal properties of your spice cupboard, orvarious wild flowers. Those compounds fill the hive with a fumigant cloud of organic compounds. Track mite counts at every inspection but don't treat if not necessary. They're called "miticides" because if they were listed as "insecticides" or "pesticides" nobody would be pumping them into a hive. And the fumes from "miticides" in conjunction with smoke, can interfered with the bees ability to detect unhealthy brood oders. Treating the hive as a Warré or Pile Hive, where all boxes are the same, and new boxes are placed on bottom, with upper, backfilled boxes taken off can help, as most Insecticides are fat/libido (aka wax comb) solvable and absorb into the comb. One place I do agree with Bob Binnie "the comb acts as the liver of the hive" fresh comb, more or less, equates to healthy brood. Don't take my word for anything. Research. You'll find that I don't lie, and modern science is proving these things. Some things that were posited by Huber, Dtierzone, Langstroth, Layens, and others around 200 years ago, are being confirmed by science today. Hell, the more you research gut bacterial health and gut disbiosis, the more that science proves Hippocrates to be correct about all disease beginning in the gut. Don't believe what you're told. Research it. Everything from Master beekeepers, USDA inspectors, blogs and articles. Hell, even Randy Oliver sold out and went from "we need to be encouraging natural selection for the bees, and instead of excellerating natural selection in the mites through treatments" to "here's why you should treat" "mite bombs" and "overall efficacy of mite treatments equals around 70%, not resistance seen here". Dig deep. The more you operate within accordance with nature, the less problems you'll see. The more you fight nature, the more problems you have and the more profits are to be made from those that sponsor the USDA, the education programs (like University of Guelph) etc. If you aren't fighting nature, someone isn't getting paid.

[@lenturtle7954]

Well said

[@gene-sloca]

Very informative video, thank you for doing this video for us.

[@InsideTheHiveTV]

So nice of you

[@beebob1279]

You are spot on. I also believe that not allowing hives to swarm begins to concentrate the viruses and mite loads. I let my hives swarm and they do better the year I let them do so.

[@CrazyIvan865]

I believe a few things I wish I had the ability to test out. But yes. And lack of genetic diversity. If I had the space, and could afford an apiary, the first thing I would do would be to get a Caucasian queen, as they're one of the highest propolis producers. Propolis is basically the bees nursery sanitizer. Also, simulate swarms by taking the old queen with nurse bees and a frame of honey, but no brood. This simulates a swarm, gives a brood break, and rears a new queen, while the old queen/split, has no brood. Another thing is genetic diversity. Most seem to focus on just Carniolan or just Italian. Or this breed or trait or that. If your focus is on honey, you'll get honey, but sick bees due to lack of Propolis. If you buy from a breeder, where the bees have been fed through winter and dearth, supplied with queens any time they were queenless, and been conditioned to produce brood and bees over all else... well you're likely to have a winter die out, because they have been conditioned to not put up honey stores and not cut the queen back on laying for a smaller winter cluster. Not to mention the diseases that follow antibiotic and miticide over treatments. One of the groups I'm in, a woman almost lost her hive about 2-3 weeks from installation due to chalkbrood. Luckily, I had read some scientific studies on which probiotic bacterial strains are most effective against chalk brood, and was ablento help her with a ramshackle makeshift probiotic treatment that worked, and here, about a year later, she has a colony so strong she had to split it. When I say she almost lost the colony, her frame (singular) that had the most brood was down to maybot 30 or 40 cells that hadn't been ejected. If you focus on varroa resistance with tunnel vision, they might lose other areas of focus, such as honey stores, propolis, comb building, etc. It's a balancing act. I honestly feel the LEAST amount of interference, and allowing natural selection to follow in due course, is the best method. The bees have been around for 50-100 Million years, and humans only 235,000 but the most liberal estimates. 212-424 times what humans have. To think that they need our help, and that there are NOT diseases that we will never know of, because the bees evolved and adapted to the point where the diseases could not persist further... I feel is as equally foolish as it is preposterous. I feel varroa gets blamed for everything out of sheer brainwashing and propaganda, but those who sell the treatments. It is of no surprise to me, that the Varroa have made it to Australia and New Zealand, and that it is an imprisonment offense to attempt to import Apis Cerena Japonica, which requires no treatment for Varroa. The companies that sell the products, write the laws which necessitate those products. Mind you, Monsanto was bought out by Bayer+Bayer, which was bought out by Bill Gates in 2018.

[@chuckcampbell3927]

@@CrazyIvan865 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 Your comment is very intriguing and makes one stop and really think. What you said in the first paragraph is so true; "if I had the ability to test and prove" I am having some difficulties with my Italian colonies and I am thinking seriously about taking a step toward carniolins and Caucasian simply based on what you said about propolis production. We need to be careful with how much we try to treat our bees with chemicals. Look at how much antibiotic resistance we have encountered in the human body. A natural and homeopathic course is not out of the question with the right combination. Swarming is a natural process of the honey bees life and yet we try to stifle it and prohibit it from happening even when it's for their own good. Enjoyed your comment very interesting indeed.

[@lee22822]

I believe the all natural new industry of spraying for ticks and Mosquitoes are having a huge part of the decline. My personal experience.. removed a swarm trap that was vacant for 2 years due to company coming to spray the yard for mosquitoes and ticks, as I was there removing the swarm trap the company showed up and completed their job. Later that night, the home owner called in a panic that there were hundreds of bees where the swarm trap was? I seen this twice now due to moving my swarm traps because people spraying their yards with these companies spraying all kinds of all natural remedy’s including apple cider vinegar and such…. Just a thought, when is a eco environment flooded with contamination like this naturally….. NEVER! I truly believe humanity is one of the most ignorant life forms on the planet but what do I know… I’m only a homo..sapien also

[@kentcostello5286]

I been saying that for years. I wish we can find a better way to help them / honneybees

[@bradgoliphant]

What’s funny is why it took us so long to figure this out. Pesticides in a hive? How can it not have effect on bees? They are insects.

[@bradgoliphant]

I know this to be true. Treatment is not for me.

[@FrederickDunn]

I hope that works out for you, Brad :)

[@bradgoliphant]

@@FrederickDunn it did for my first 14 years in beekeeping. I just feel these treatments hurt bees. That’s all.