# BEE THEFTS STILL OCCURING IN CALI



## lemmje (Feb 23, 2015)

Because of your post I read more about bee rustlers and came across a pretty good article on the Weather Channel's website:

http://stories.weather.com/stolenbees


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## RobWok (May 18, 2011)

from the link: Some commercial beekeepers actually blame hobbyists for the loss of bees and say that colony collapse disorder is really a case of “piss-poor beekeeping.” Joe Romance, for example, refers to them as “the Birkenstock crowd.”

Really. Some commercial beekeepers have no idea how to keep bees. c'mon. Packing them in so the combined temps cook other hives, putting them in an orchard with a mono crop of pollen and pesticide, then moving them to 2 more mono crops all the while feeding them pesticide laced corn syrup, and the hobbiest doesn't know how to keep bees? I don't lose half my bees every year, usually I only have a 20% loss and I'm not crying in my milk about why it happened. I can pinpoint every loss I've ever had. Either Indian summer days or warm days here in Virginia in January causes the queen to start laying. Or, Italians that just got too big for stores. One time it was an obvious pesticide spray. That's it. Commercial beekeepers. That's like commercial chicken producers and cattle feed lots. You can do well in large numbers with lots of antibiotics, but it's not sustainable.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

RobWok said:


> from the link: Some commercial beekeepers actually blame hobbyists for the loss of bees and say that colony collapse disorder is really a case of “piss-poor beekeeping.” Joe Romance, for example, refers to them as “the Birkenstock crowd.”
> 
> Really. Some commercial beekeepers have no idea how to keep bees. c'mon. Packing them in so the combined temps cook other hives, putting them in an orchard with a mono crop of pollen and pesticide, then moving them to 2 more mono crops all the while feeding them pesticide laced corn syrup, and the hobbiest doesn't know how to keep bees? I don't lose half my bees every year, usually I only have a 20% loss and I'm not crying in my milk about why it happened. I can pinpoint every loss I've ever had. Either Indian summer days or warm days here in Virginia in January causes the queen to start laying. Or, Italians that just got too big for stores. One time it was an obvious pesticide spray. That's it. Commercial beekeepers. That's like commercial chicken producers and cattle feed lots. You can do well in large numbers with lots of antibiotics, but it's not sustainable.


Wow! And on the commercial forum no less, I especially like the line about "the pesticide laced corn syrup". I don't know where to begin.....so I won't.


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## RobWok (May 18, 2011)

Sorry, didn't notice it was the comercial forum and I was making general statement of potentially a small group. That's unfair. I know this is your livelihood. 
I was just was a little incensed by the news comment that colonly collapse is the fault of the hobbiest. That's probably not the general perception of commercial keepers. 
Corn syrup by it's nature of crop production in the US would have pesticides. Not indicating that it's intentionally laced. There's been a lot of focus on colony collapse, and almost all the stories I've seen were from the large number impacts of the commerical beekeeper, not the guy in his backyard that lost 5 of his 8 hives. The fault probably lies with the news report, not the commercial guys. The hobbiest that's serious, spends his/her time working on genetics and habitat, not survival by mass numbers. I'm sure the commercial guys would be very grateful for the hobbiest that developed a true VSH or other type of bee that was mite resistant, or creating an ideal solution for mite control that was cost effective and labor reducing.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

RobWok said:


> Sorry, didn't notice it was the comercial forum and I was making general statement of potentially a small group. That's unfair. I know this is your livelihood.
> I was just was a little incensed by the news comment that colonly collapse is the fault of the hobbiest. That's probably not the general perception of commercial keepers.
> Corn syrup by it's nature of crop production in the US would have pesticides.


Well one might think so but, thankfully, that doesn't square with anything I have read on the subject. 
http://scientificbeekeeping.com/testing-of-bee-feed-syrups-for-neonicotinoid-residues/
In any case, I appreciate the conciliatory tone. We have all types in the commercial arena. I count many of them as friends but certainly there a few "loose cannons" here and there and many who aren't afraid to speak their minds.


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## RobWok (May 18, 2011)

Well I feel stupid now Jim. Thanks for the link on the analysis. I hadn't found that before. It looks like they focussed on the big 2, and BT shouldn't really apply as it goes after the corn earworm, shouldn't affect honeybee, plus I doubt a bacteria could survive the syrup making process.

So, I stand corrected. (we've got our own loose cannons in the hobby world - apparently I'm in that camp - I'm just not dogmatic)


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

Commercial bee keepers are making a living from 'BEES'. Hobbyist buy their new bees to replace the dead ones from last year, most every year from COMMERCIAL BEEKEEPERS. Does anyone see any irony here?


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

Vance G said:


> Hobbyist buy their new bees to replace the dead ones from last year, most every year from COMMERCIAL BEEKEEPERS. Does anyone see any irony here?


No irony here , got another call for more packages...... now "Honey for all, aka Phil" won't quit calling for more, thought last week was it for the year ..... does anybody know it's almost the middle of May. lol Yep, the sky is falling.


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## MTN-Bees (Jan 27, 2014)

Vance-:applause:


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## RobWok (May 18, 2011)

No offense, but I hope that changes. Here in VA, we're trying really hard to get more club members to get into queen rearing and making their own nucs. I'll be doing about 15 this year, and several of the other clubs are doing it. I think Colonial beekeepers was doing over 100 nucs. I have a long waiting list and turn people away. I just don't have the time to maintain 100 hives to make 200 nucs. People compare packages made with queens that are feral caught and bred by local drones to those mass produced Italians from Georgia, and find the Georgia bees don't make it through winters as well. We also have a no medication policy, and the bees still do better than the packages brought up commercially - especially with dead queens on arrival. YouTube is taking a lot of the mystery out of it.


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

RobWok said:


> Really. Some commercial beekeepers have no idea how to keep bees. c'mon. Packing them in so the combined temps cook other hives, putting them in an orchard with a mono crop of pollen and pesticide, then moving them to 2 more mono crops all the while feeding them pesticide laced corn syrup, and the hobbiest doesn't know how to keep bees?


don't get defensive, in the US for bad beeks, its known as ELAP.


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## liljake83 (Jul 2, 2013)

Back to the thefts just heard of over a hundred mini mating nucs getting stolen off of hwy 99 up here in northern california I hope somebody finds these crooks and carries out some vigilanti justice


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## Flyer Jim (Apr 22, 2004)

local news link
http://www.news10.net/story/news/local/california/2015/05/05/chico-queen-bee-theft/26937173/


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## high rate of speed (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks for that link Jim.


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## RAK (May 2, 2010)

Keith Jarrett said:


> No irony here , got another call for more packages...... now "Honey for all, aka Phil" won't quit calling for more, thought last week was it for the year ..... does anybody know it's almost the middle of May. lol Yep, the sky is falling.


You better enjoy the cash while its still coming lol. Money is great to have when you feed all summer.


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

RAK said:


> when you feed all summer.


Who's doing that, RAK?


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

RobWok said:


> That's like commercial >> cattle feed lots. You can do well in large numbers with lots of antibiotics, but it's not sustainable.


Did I miss that memo??


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## high rate of speed (Jan 4, 2008)

Just amazing how a commercial site, can go from bee thefts to feed lots.


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## high rate of speed (Jan 4, 2008)

How many backyard pot farms can we distribute one hive to here in California to keep them safe.lol


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