Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Tip:
Don't forget to use GoogleEarth and look around from that perspective. Even the
free service, which generally shows somewhat dated photos will show you more
than you can imagine.
This bee yard meets most of the requirements of a good location. It is screened; shaded
and in the sun; easily accessed and surrounded by room for driving; on level ground;
away from seasonal water; and near ample nectar sources.
Extreme Urban Beekeeping
After two decades of decline during the struggle to cope with varroa mites and the prob-
lems that they brought with them, the beekeeping industry climbed out of its chemic-
al fog and adopted long-known but little practiced integrated pest management (IPM)
techniques. First among these was producing and using honey bees resistant to and tol-
erant of varroa mites. (You can read more about bees resistant to varroa mites on page
110.) This kinder, gentler touch led to a rapid increase in the number of practicing bee-
keepers.
During beekeeping's darkest hours it was easy for urban areas—big and small cities
and their suburban neighbors—to succumb to the pressures of those who were afraid
or ignorant of the benefits of having honey bees nearby. Because there were fewer bee-
keepers there were fewer voices to counter those claims. So during the two decades
varroa mites were destroying beekeeping they were ably assisted by misguided muni-
cipalities and many places became, simply, beekeeperless. There are no managed bees
where there are no beekeepers. Varroa killed all of the bees, and governments killed the
beekeepers.
But this has changed. Amid a growing awareness of habitat loss for all pollinators,
coupled with the media-induced attention to honey bees brought on by the disaster of
Colony Collapse Disorder, the entire world woke up to the fact that the future of food
was being threatened by the loss of honey bees and their keepers. The environment-
