# War and beekeeping



## ursa_minor (Feb 13, 2020)

Those were interesting GregB, I subscribed to each, at least they might garner a little revenue from youtube to help in their future beekeeping efforts.

I noticed on the last video that some of the hives had possibly reeds or sticks making up the walls? Or am I mistaken.


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## Wil-7 (Sep 4, 2021)

So sad.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

ursa_minor said:


> Those were interesting GregB, I subscribed to each, at least they might garner a little revenue from youtube to help in their future beekeeping efforts.
> 
> *I noticed on the last video that some of the hives had possibly reeds or sticks making up the walls? Or am I mistaken.*


Yes.
Reeds.


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## Manu73 (12 mo ago)

Curious









Bees defuse Russian grenade trap in northern Ukraine: report


Bees living in a hive in northern Ukraine have neutralised a deadly grenade trap set by Russian troops, potentially saving lives, according to local media reports.



www.polskieradio.pl


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## Wil-7 (Sep 4, 2021)

No way!


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Manu73 said:


> Curious
> .............


Makes sense.
The a$$holes thought of themselves being smart and original - trying to kill a beekeeper (who else?).
The a$$holes underestimated how the bees will propolize everything, including the grenades.


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## William Bagwell (Sep 4, 2019)

GregB said:


> underestimated how the bees will propolize everything, including the grenades.


Obviously what bees do, but the pictures do not match. Hive appears to be dead and the grenades are clean. Recreation perhaps?


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

William Bagwell said:


> Obviously what bees do, but the pictures do not match. *Hive appears to be dead and the grenades are clean.* Recreation perhaps?


But of course the hive is alive.
Look again.


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## William Bagwell (Sep 4, 2019)

GregB said:


> But of course the hive is alive.
> Look again.


Ah, the Twitter photos can be enlarged. Also obvious some of the photos were made after the booby trap was partially disassembled.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Another yard just moved away from the war zone (near Kherson).
At 1:06 you can see a hive damaged by shrapnel.

(624) Восстановление пасеки после частичного уничтожения! Порядок работ - YouTube


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Another case - the hives never opened the season 2022.
What you see is the very first visit (video posted on Nov. 2).
The long hives are still configured for the last winter.

(746) СЕЗОН БЕЗ ПЧЕЛОВОДА !!! Что с пчелами ? - YouTube


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## ursa_minor (Feb 13, 2020)

I noticed how he used an empty frame as a shim, I never thought of that. It is also a good example of one of the benefits of a cloth cover as the bees could not build comb that would attach to the roof. Nice video.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

A sad one.
One of beekeepers I took ideas from - broodless treatment is one.
He is one of the queen insulation management advocates.
(749) Моя пасека осенью после руzкой весны. - YouTube

Added - looks like this fellow spent some time in Georgia (not GA, US).
Unsure of his whereabout now, need to review his channel

Very cool footage from Georgia (home of Gray Caucasian bees); check out the log hives.
(749) Школа "Творческого пчеловодства в Грузии. - YouTube


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Another blogger from Ukraine put up an episode - bees without the keeper for 6 months.

Short resume - three colonies reviewed - no honey (potential starvation death).
Then the fourth colony in the row - packed full.

This to me is an indication of something similar to what I see also.
Some bees are not a good fit locally - if left alone, they cannot provide for themselves.

But others are a good fit - if on the same stand and using the same forage they manage well.
This issue gets regularly masked by the general love to bee feeding and carrying on the locally unfit bees (that should be selected out).

(752) Пасека в ноябре 6 месяцев пчелы без пчеловода #1 - YouTube


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Continuation of the same story - 6 months/no beekeeper around.

It is November in Ukraine.
Can you reshuffle the frames and the bees this late?
If you really need to - sure.
Especially after being away for a half-year - may have to.

(772) Пасека в ноябре 6 месяцев пчелы без пчеловода #2 - YouTube

I went ahead and asked him how many survivors - without treatments/feeding?
Hope for a response.


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## ursa_minor (Feb 13, 2020)

GregB said:


> I went ahead and asked him how many survivors - without treatments/feeding?
> Hope for a response.


I was thinking the same thing, how are the mites doing in those hives. I hope he answers you


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

GregB said:


> ..............
> I went ahead and asked him how many survivors - without treatments/feeding?
> Hope for a response.


He responded - lost 5.
Though he did not clarify of how many.
Overall, looks OK to me.


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

Ukraine Has a Secret Resistance Operating Behind Russian Lines


Modern-day Ukrainian partisans are quietly working to undermine the occupation.




foreignpolicy.com





_Igor, a 46-year-old from recently liberated Kherson oblast, was part of Mykhailo’s partisan network until his work filming Russian movements led to a brief detention with the enemy—and ultimately a lucky escape. “I started filming the Russians and the movement of weapons on my phone. Finally they realized someone from my village was filming, so they closed the checkpoints and started to examine our phones. I deleted my pictures, but I didn’t delete the trash. When they checked, they found the photos and tried to take me away. A lot of people surrounded them, and some of my relatives gave them money and cigarettes,” he said.

For Igor, it took time to find a trusted network to send his videos to, but then as family members learned about his activities, they offered to help, including his beekeeping father.

“At the start, I didn’t know who to send coordinates to, so I sent them to the administration office of Mykolaiv oblast, but then I found a relative who fought in 2014, so he had a much better network. When they started to bomb Mykolaiv from Kherson, my father felt terrible and wanted to help too. He worked with bees, so he would send us coded messages about places we kept the bees and whether it was busy now, things like this. Locations only we knew. There was a time when we needed to get a view of areas next to the river—even the satellites couldn’t view this. We pretended to go fishing and were able to report back on the location,” he said._


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## William Bagwell (Sep 4, 2019)

> I deleted my pictures, but I didn’t delete the trash.


On a desk top holding down "Shift" when you delete bypasses trash. No idea if there is a similar trick for phones...


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Continuation of the "Six months without a beekeeper" - a trend becomes obvious - only ~25% of the apiary collected enough stores for the winter. 

The remaining ~75% of the colonies are about bone-dry - at the same very time, the same location, the same stands.
Even after surviving the mites for 6 months, 3/4 of the apiary are doomed.

What about the localization?

(799) Пасека в ноябре 6 месяцев пчелы без пчеловода #3 Подготовка УС к зимовке - YouTube
(799) Пасека в ноябре 6 месяцев пчелы без пчеловода #4 Нет меда на зиму Естественный отбор - YouTube


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

GregB said:


> What about the localization?


I'm curious- have they typically provided supplemental feed?


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

Litsinger said:


> I'm curious- have they typically provided supplemental feed?


Answered my own question - should have read your thread first:



GregB said:


> Obviously, these bees did well under the close care - which typically amounted to taking the honey away and replacing it by sugar syrup. Pretty typical commercialized management - which in turn produced locally unfit bees.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Litsinger said:


> I'm curious- have they typically provided supplemental feed?





Litsinger said:


> Answered my own question - should have read your thread first:





> GregB said:





> Obviously, these bees did well under the close care - which typically amounted to taking the honey away and replacing it by sugar syrup. Pretty typical commercialized management - which in turn produced locally unfit bees.



I have been thinking about this some more...

This post-harvest feeding (I can only theorize here) - must be throwing off the natural bee cycle.
Where they already should be shutting down for the season (with a hive full of stores) - they first have been robbed of those stores - then they dumped on gallons and gallons of out-of-season feed - which then requires rather unusual feed processing and storing again.

Overtime, we have bees that are *out-of-tune* with the *local natural seasons* anymore and yet they survive and reproduce and predominate the area eventually (due to artificial propping-up)

These "war beekeeping" are truly eye opening to me - unsure if people see the same or not - but to me these videos are screaming.
75% of the bees doomed BEFORE we are even talking the mites yet.
So the mites are not the #1 killer in the materials documented - lack of stored honey is clearly the #1 issue.

(Mites are a different topic and I am unsure yet how to even comment on it - lots of bees are alive at the season end, *untreated* - almost too many).


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

I learned a lot from this Ukrainian beekeeper's channel.
This is what he has left now.
(1031) Пасеки НЕТ, но "Творческое пчеловодство" продолжается! - YouTube


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## Amibusiness (Oct 3, 2016)

Greg, I disagree with your arm chair assessment, though I am sure your arm chair is closer to them than mine, since you understand them 
The mites may very well have something to do with not being able to harvest enough winter stores: if they are struggling with high viral loads they may not have the work force energy to forage enough, so even if they are not dieing en masse in the fall due to viruses it may ultimately be the viruses that kill them. Unless, of course, there is a beekeeper to supplement their feed right in the hive, which takes less foraging energy.... In which case the beekeeper may also choose to minimize the viral loads as well.... Obviously that is not what is happening in these situations, so I get that part of your point but I differ on your assessment of cause and effect of winter stores.... I hope that is clear. If not, I'll try again


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## Meady Beekeeper (11 d ago)

Amibusiness said:


> Greg, I disagree with your arm chair assessment, though I am sure your arm chair is closer to them than mine, since you understand them
> The mites may very well have something to do with not being able to harvest enough winter stores: if they are struggling with high viral loads they may not have the work force energy to forage enough, so even if they are not dieing en masse in the fall due to viruses it may ultimately be the viruses that kill them. Unless, of course, there is a beekeeper to supplement their feed right in the hive, which takes less foraging energy.... In which case the beekeeper may also choose to minimize the viral loads as well.... Obviously that is not what is happening in these situations, so I get that part of your point but I differ on your assessment of cause and effect of winter stores.... I hope that is clear. If not, I'll try again


I’m new. I’m interested in finding out which viruses are overwhelming the colony and how does one measure viral load?


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