Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor – December 2024
Getting the most out of a hive
I really enjoy the American Bee Journal. Thanks for the great magazine.
I want to encourage the writers that are veteran honey producers to share their way of getting the most out of their hives. I’m sure you have a wealth of knowledge the rest of us could use.
Robert Miller
Scottsville, Kentucky
Vegans, Honey, and Agriculture
I apologize for my lateness in writing about the column Rusty Burlew wrote in the July 2024 issue. Like other beekeepers, I get behind on my magazines in the summer. Rusty is one of my favorite columnists and this article did not disappoint. I was a vegan for 10 years, but never gave up honey. I actually became a vegan for health reasons not animal rights. I actually even became a beekeeper while a vegan. I am now a vegetarian. Rusty’s article made me take a whole different look at the harm agriculture does to our animals/insects. I do have some vegan friends who will argue against honey. Now I am prepared to have talking points and some data to back it all up.
Regina Rhoa
Collegeville, PA
Clarifications for book review
I appreciate the comprehensive review published in the October issue for my book, “Dead Bees Don’t Make Honey: 10 Tips for Healthy Productive Bees.” The review is well written with many compliments and constructive criticisms. There are several statements that I would like to clarify, as I would not want misunderstandings to deter beekeepers from reading a book Dr. Thomas Seeley describes in the Foreword as “… remarkable … candid, fact-based, and sensible.”
1. “Theresa’s claimed 98% success rate doesn’t count the losses due to laying workers …” My survival rate is 99% as mentioned on page 1 and in Appendix 2. In all my time as a beekeeper with 20-25 colonies, I have had only one dead colony, zero absconds, and zero combines of two queenright colonies because one was too small or weak to survive alone. I do not include as losses the seven times I have had a queenless colony (see Appendix 4), as all seven were restored to queenright status, including the single instance of a queenless colony with laying workers. Beekeepers can review pages 449-450 of ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture, 42nd Edition, which describes the method I used to restore the laying workers colony to queenright status.
2. “Theresa has only managed to catch a small percentage of the swarms her colonies throw.” On page 60 and in Appendix 3, I provide data that shows that I catch the majority of swarms. I caught 58% of all swarms cast …
