I have been a beekeeper for years. I agree that the bees are NOT in their natural habitat. However, I keep a significantly better control of the environment than the bees do in this habitat. It is better for the surrounding area, and I have talked my neighbors out of pesticide use because my bees will help pollinate their gardens and trees.
One extra note from the ko-fi article: I have never, ever heard of the practice of trimming queen wings. That is vicious, and I would never do that. Let the bees be bees. If they leave, I wasn’t doing a good enough job of supporting them. I am not a commercial beekeeper, though. Merely someone who likes being around them all year.
Edit: it looks like both articles really focus on commercial beekeeping. I don’t know where I will land on this. The honey I get is not food for the bees during the winter. Bees overproduce honey if the conditions are right. I only harvest honey that contains no brood (baby bees) and is separated from the laying queen. The food for the hive stays near the brood core, which is where bees stay during the winter.
I haven’t lost a hive yet during the overwintering process. I also have not substituted with any sugar feed. The only thing that I have supplied the bees is a 100% pollen “patty” from local pollen and water during the hottest part of the year.
I have never heard of a beekeeper gassing a hive with cyanide instead of “spending money” overwintering them (as stated in the fastcompany article). There is no cost to overwintering bees. You just wrap the hive in what equates to a blanket during the coldest parts of the year. The bees do a great job of keeping themselves warm.
Plus, why would a beek “gas” the hives when they could simply take the covers off and let the bees freeze to death? I presume cyanide is expensive. That entire argument is counter to itself.
Once again, I am NOT a commercial beek, but that seems unnecessarily complicated.
The short version:
https://ko-fi.com/post/Unveiling-the-Bitter-Side-of-Honey-M4M5N7135
https://www.fastcompany.com/90457908/eating-honey-is-more-complicated-than-you-might-think
If you know anything about apiculture, then you know that it’s part of animal farming/raising (zootechny) in the same vein as pastoralism.
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The fact that you think your pleasureful experience is what matters is part of the problem. It’s not about you.
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I have been a beekeeper for years. I agree that the bees are NOT in their natural habitat. However, I keep a significantly better control of the environment than the bees do in this habitat. It is better for the surrounding area, and I have talked my neighbors out of pesticide use because my bees will help pollinate their gardens and trees.
One extra note from the ko-fi article: I have never, ever heard of the practice of trimming queen wings. That is vicious, and I would never do that. Let the bees be bees. If they leave, I wasn’t doing a good enough job of supporting them. I am not a commercial beekeeper, though. Merely someone who likes being around them all year.
Edit: it looks like both articles really focus on commercial beekeeping. I don’t know where I will land on this. The honey I get is not food for the bees during the winter. Bees overproduce honey if the conditions are right. I only harvest honey that contains no brood (baby bees) and is separated from the laying queen. The food for the hive stays near the brood core, which is where bees stay during the winter.
I haven’t lost a hive yet during the overwintering process. I also have not substituted with any sugar feed. The only thing that I have supplied the bees is a 100% pollen “patty” from local pollen and water during the hottest part of the year.
I have never heard of a beekeeper gassing a hive with cyanide instead of “spending money” overwintering them (as stated in the fastcompany article). There is no cost to overwintering bees. You just wrap the hive in what equates to a blanket during the coldest parts of the year. The bees do a great job of keeping themselves warm.
Plus, why would a beek “gas” the hives when they could simply take the covers off and let the bees freeze to death? I presume cyanide is expensive. That entire argument is counter to itself.
Once again, I am NOT a commercial beek, but that seems unnecessarily complicated.