# New-ish beekeeper saying hello



## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

Hi there! I'm not currenty keeping bees but am interested in getting back into it and finding a supplier of downsized bees a la Dee Lusby and the biological beekeeping movement etc. etc. I thought I'd start hanging out here and learning all I can about what people are going through vis-a-vis sudden colony collapse disorder, mites, keeping downsized bees organically, Africanized bees (not a problem here in Jamaica Plain, MA but something that interests me personally). 

Why, you may well ask, am I *not* keeping bees currently? Well, I lost my last hive due to (I believe) primarily neglect. They got caught up in a splitup, got left at the boyfriend's house and not fed or attended to much at all, and then to cap it off, we dropped the hive while moving it off the truck when I moved back to Boston.

Yes, those were some very angry bees. Poor things! Didn't make it through that season. But now that I'm settled back in Boston I would love to start keeping them again... or at least to start talking to people about what's going on in the aforementioned topics. 

Nice to meet you all!
cheerio,
Lisa/SoylentQueen


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## J-Bees (Jul 12, 2008)

welcome aboard:

I don't say to much as I don't know to much but I lost a few hives due to frezzing them to death........ wind blew them over and I was no where near them nor even thinking anything like that would happen. So now I have 7 hives and they all look good at this time of the year I feel good I got to keep going with them.

good luck :}:}


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## SteelHorse (Mar 22, 2009)

You could try either the Middlesex County http://www.middlesexbeekeepers.org/, 
Essex County http://www.essexcountybeekeepers.org/index.shtml, or 
Norfolk County Beekeeper associations
http://norfolkbees.org/


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## indypartridge (Nov 18, 2004)

Hello and Welcome!

Given your interests, in addition to this site I recommend visiting Michael Bush's site:
www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

Interesting username - nice twist on a movie title.


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## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

Glad you're doing well with the remaining hives! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi, and hope your hives keep going strong.


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## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually graduated from the Essex beekeeping program a few years ago, and I have some familiarity with Norfolk as well (I was living on Cape Cod for a few years, so this is a return to Boston as opposed to a fresh start). 

They're good, smart, experienced beekeepers, but as of a few years ago not too much experience with biological and/or organic beekeeping and/or the Dee Lusby approach, so that's why I'm here. Beesource has forums concerning my interests, and I plan to post to them to see if I can get hooked up with another supplier of downsized bees. Hopefully somebody is still out there doing some supplying, as all my equipment is on small-size cells. 

cheerio!
Lisa


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## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

Hi! Thanks, glad you like the user name. I will check out the site you mention, and thanks for your suggestion.
cheers,
Lisa


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## PCM (Sep 18, 2007)

You may find someone in your area with " down sized bees", this is not one of the more popular forms of beekeeping.

You may have do do as I and others have done, get package of " regular size bees" or " regular size bee nucs" then place them on small size cell frames.

As they are mostly called small cell bees, it is how do you say "one group of beekeepers". However 99 % of it is the same info as regular beekeeping.

Welcome
Bee-Bob
6 hives Russians


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## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

Thanks for your note. I'd prefer not to downsize, since all my comb is already 4.9mm. I'll keep trying to find a supplier. I'm not expecting to find a downsized beekeeper in the area--just trying to find a supplier, anywhere within shipping distance. The biological beekeeping group will likely help, as they did when I originally started keeping downsized bees. I just wanted to say hello in this general forum and introduce myself in case other downsized beekeepers are here. 
cheers,
Lisa


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