The Whole Bee Concept:
Maintaining Genetic Diversity and Locally Adapted Bees
Even if we start with feral stock we still need to select from the stock we have. We also need to do what we can to maintain a broad gene pool.
The danger of breeding for specific traits
The history of selective breeding is full of both successes and failures. Many a great breed became great when the overall health and usefulness was the criteria for selection. And many of those wonderful breeds were ruined when some specific trait became the "trait de jour". I hardly think it necessary to give a lot of examples of this since they are abundant in every domestic species. Dogs, cattle, horses, etc. have all suffered from this mentality of breeders. Let's pick one that seemed practical at the time. Hereford cattle were bred for many years to be "compact". The thinking was that long legs were a waste of energy since you can't sell bone, just meat. So if cattle had short legs with more meat on them and less bone, the animal would be a higher proportion of meat and lower proportion of bone and therefore be more profitable. So for a century or more they were bred to be "compact". The breeding for compactness was a great success if you measure it by just that trait. The problem was when they succeeded the once hardy and self-sufficient cattle breed was suddenly beset by calving difficulties. Someone, shortly after, started correlating leg length and calving difficulties and discovered that short legged cattle had more problems and long legged cattle had less. So now they discovered, after throwing away all of the long legged genetics, that they had backed themselves into a genetic corner. What they should have been breeding for was overall health (including ease of calving).
The appeal of selecting for very specific traits is that it seems so scientific. The problem is that it is not so scientific. Reality is that the genetic combinations that produce health, longevity, productivity etc. are not just one gene or one simple trait, they are a combination of many genes and many traits. The problem of breeding for specific traits is that you are not only missing the "forest for the trees" but you are missing the "forest for the" cells in the leaves on the trees. In other words you need to back up and get some perspective.
http://bushfarms.com/beeswholebee.htm
I saw this frenzy going on and turned the cover over to block the entrance. They were doing this same thing before I blocked it. They would pile up until they would fall in clumps. I slowed it down to try to see it better.
I have fallen behind on posting. I work 40 hours a week and then try to keep up with bees, so I've fallen behind on my posts most everywhere including here. I'm feeling my age. For the first time I find myself thinking that 8 frame medium boxes full of honey are too heavy. And the 8 and 9 frame "queen castle" mating nucs are also getting too heavy. You would think this constant increase in the pull of gravity would have people concerned...
Last year I had an apprentice, which helped a lot on getting bee work done. We raised a lot of batches of queens, but did not have very good returns. Some of that is probably weather, some is probably predators (dragonflies etc.). Some of it, I think is that the dividers on my mating nucs are deteriorating and queens are getting killed by the neighbors. The corners at the top are getting chewed out. I hope to get enough help, between apprentices and Bee Camp, to build some separate 3 medium frame mating nucs. We will see. It's that or ...
https://bushfarms.com/beescamp.htm
Bee Camp dates: 22-26 May 2025 (arriving 21 May leaving 27 May)
(Work week will be 17-21 May 2025 arriving May 16))
Location: Nehawka, Nebraska 68413(45 miles south of Omaha Eppley Airport)
Cost: $1,000 ($100 non-refundable deposit. $900 on arrival) or if you do work week, just the $100 deposit.
Accommodations: meals and camping in a tipi provided. I highly recommend staying in the camp. If you don't you will miss a lot of the camaraderie, but Hotel or Glamping (glamour camping) are available in the area at the cost of the camper and the camper is responsible for arrangements.
Weather permitting we will be doing bee things for at least 4 hours a day, usually more like 12 and other activities the rest of the day.
I guess this is a clear sign I don't post here enough. You can still see my last post on last year's camp. Last year was another great year. A lot of fun, a lot of camaraderie and a lot of new friends. Here's my...
New member looking to meet local natural beekeepers: anyone in/near Central Massachusetts?
I just got started with a langstroth hive this summer, planning to build a top bar hive and swarm traps for the spring. I am a decent carpenter; would be fun to collaborate and build some hives together with others in the area.
