We do, too often, forget the other bees...

[CpnObvious]

http://www.wired.com/2015/04/youre-worrying-wrong-bees/

[efmesch]

I won't argue with the main premise of the article, but I can't agree to the calling of the honey bee a "domesticated" animal.
Saying that, is like calling a lion in a zoo's cage, a domesticated animal.

We beekeepers have not changed the basic behavior of bees.  We've learned what they need in their wild state so that we can give them these needs so as to take advantage of them.  We give them sheets of foundation to get them to build cells the size we want, where we want.  We provide them with the correct sized bee spaces to keep passages clear.  We feed them syrup and pollen supplements to keep them alive and reproductive in times of need.  But bees are not tame. 

We may raise bees domestically, but they are not domesticated like cows, sheep, dogs, etc.

[Bakersdozen]

Thanks, cpn.  That's a great little video about the tickle bee.  And the author of the article is correct, we do forget about all the native bees and give all the credit to the honey bee.  There are no significant studies or money, that I know of, because native pollinators aren't an industry.  "We don’t even know what is a lethal dose of pesticide for many solitary bees."

[LazyBkpr]

So... in the course of keeping bees for perhaps thousands of years, we have done nothing to them that would give them the domesticated moniker?
   That is sort of how I feel about cats.. they LIVE in our house but do as they please...
   If every beekeeper was to "do in" their bees, how long would the remaining bees survive in the wild? I think the cats would have a better chance if tossed out of the house...
   We have been working with bees to limit swarming, to reduce the propolis they produce, to make them gentler, etc, etc..   I think bees are VERY MUCH domesticated.. I also think anyone who does not care for their bees as if they are domesticated should not be a beekeeper..  Putting bees in a box does not a beekeeper make. They must be cared for, like any domestic animal..  but with some time and effort, perhaps we can return the ability to live without care to them...
   My reasoning comes in after dealing with so many "Natural" beekeepers.. the ones that believe bees are not domesticated, so they hive them, and walk away, expecting to get honey every year..
  "If my bees died then all is as nature intended."
   "We were taught sugar is bad for bees so we do not feed them!"
   "We do not treat for mites, because it is bad for our bees. they cannot build resistance to mites if we treat."
   Living near the Maharishi international university I get a plethora of naturalists "trying" to keep bees....   I have to explain a dozen times a summer, that the bees we keep ARE domesticated and MUST be cared for, at least for now.
  Sorry.. back to the regularly scheduled thread...

[efmesch]

You haven't convinced me, but, not wanting to hijack the thread, I'll resist debating the issue.

[riverbee]

i'm with ef, bees aren't 'domesticated'. and they aren't cats.

as far as the rest of the article and video, my only comment is, only we as beekeepers know or want to know more, understand, and appreciate ALL BEES, native and non native species.

[Newbee]

I dunno, I found a group of Carpenter Bee's trying to make a home in the roof of my front porch today! 

I'll admit, I felt guiltier than I did in previous years, but I still took care of those suckers. I don't care what niche they fill, they can fill it somewhere else from now on. 

- K

[LazyBkpr]

 
   Rusty says it better than I can.


   http://www.honeybeesuite.com/let-the-bees-be-bees-really/


   Then come to my neck of the woods and have a gander at the natural beekeepers who all claim honey bees are not domesticated.    They need bees every year, and STILL argue that all is as it should be...

   Heres the latest...
   Can you build me frames with no glue? The glue contaminates the hive and the honey, and is very bad for the bees."
   "Why not use a top bar hive? they are more natural than a Langstroth, no glue or frames."
   "Because the top bar is horizontal and is less like a natural cavity. A Langstroth I can assemble and leave it alone for a year or more at a time, just adding more boxes."

   I certainly dont claim yall are in this category, I do actually have oodles of respect, so I'll agree to disagree and not come back to this one.

[riverbee]

wouldn't disagree with what 'rusty says' scott, but there is nothing in that description about 'domesticated' bees?
randy oliver has basically said over and over some of the same comments and statements she made.

lot's of self proclaimed 'natural beekeeper's' in the city near me (less than 5 years of being a beek, in all honesty sooner or later this may change for them).........i think 'description's' and 'issues' are being confused: 

"Then come to my neck of the woods and have a gander at the natural beekeepers who all claim honey bees are not domesticated.    They need bees every year, and STILL argue that all is as it should be...

   Heres the latest...
   Can you build me frames with no glue? The glue contaminates the hive and the honey, and is very bad for the bees."
   "Why not use a top bar hive? they are more natural than a Langstroth, no glue or frames."
   "Because the top bar is horizontal and is less like a natural cavity. A Langstroth I can assemble and leave it alone for a year or more at a time, just adding more boxes.""

what does this have to do with 'domestication'?  maybe i am missing something here? langstroth put bees in a box?  invented the box and frames?
we changed that concept? yes? the rest of what you said, folks asking for frames with no glue? that's just their 'view' of how bees ought to be kept i guess. to each their own.  all is not as should be, mites and diseases changed that for all of us, and for those that want to keep bees 'naturally', they will have an uphill battle, in my HO.

and ps newbee, carpenter bees can be a PITA.......