Natural Beekeeping - Beautiful Skep Bees bringing in crocus pollen in March

[beautifulswarm]

Thank you very much for this observation - I think it is varroa, not DWV. However, as this colony is able to retain the warmth of the hive at all times, I hope they have a chance to keep the varroa under control. There are no larvae being chucked out and the colony has grown phenomenally in recent weeks. I expect a very early swarm from them, which also helps the varroa situation.

[chuckarama451]

Starting at about 1:15 or so, when you're showing the top hole, notice the bee you've got walking around with deformed wings. Looks like you've got some Varroa chewing on your baby bees or some Deformed Wing Virus.

The Hive is beautiful though and I think it's ridiculous that laws prohibit experimentation and alternate hives, just to satisfy some lazy bee inspectors. I guess all those walls, trees, and other places european bees (non-native) like to naturally make their homes are illegal too.

[beautifulswarm]

Response to the first comment: Traditionally there have always been barbarous people as well as people who would not countenance sulphuring bees.

I imagine that skep beekeeping is illegal in the USA because of control freakery inspection rules and regulations. Not much point in those if most of the bees in the country are done in by insane agricultural amd apicultural methods.

[CmyBirds2]

Illegal...hard to believe. I wonder what their reasoning behind that is.

[beesonthenet]

Very joyful, natural and traditional, although traditionally half of the colonies were exterminated with sulphur to harvest the honey.

Check out - Bees-on-the-Net

And before you US beekeepers take a course in basketry, keeping bees this way is illegal in the States.