Letters to the Editor
john mcdonald
Published Letters: 10
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clarification of bee remarks
[Read the article: Who killed the honeybees?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A few things need to be cleared up; Plastic foundation is no different from bees wax foundation except that it is rugged and does not warp and develope unusable areas over time. Some people had difficulty with bees accepting it. I solved the last problem by painting a border at the top with hot wax and spraying the whole thing with sugar water...my new bees are drawing it out with no problems. As far as small cell foundation goes you simply get smaller bees..some claim that the small cells discourage varroa mites since they prefer the larger drone cells in which to lay their eggs. Bees perished on all kinds of foundation.
As far as the use of remote medication goes I feel justified in developing that idea and passing it on to the Hawaiian Dept of Agriculture because the islands are being ravaged by mites...not only in commercial hives but more importantly in feral colonies which are the actual workhorses in the states agricultural areas. I was informed that a similar technique would be employed there.
I must admit that I've always had sympathy for the organic movement and it's farmers. I must recognize however that any medications used thoughtfully in bee colonies are no different from what most of us practice on our own bodies. Very few people will turn down a pill that saves their lives, so why do we punish our bees by subjecting them to a different standard.
The additives you get in food even from the best markets add more to your body load of antibiotics than treated bees would add. Keep in mind that bees fly everywhere and walk on everything...I've seen them clustered around parking places beside trout streams where people have urinated so again I think we are being unrealistic about perceived standards of purity. John McDonald
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how bT toxins function
[Read the article: Who killed the honeybees?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Bacillus Thuringiensis as it was employed by generations of gardeners was a suspension of the bacteria. When ingested by a member of the Lepidopteran family, notably cabbage worms, the bacterium was activated by the pH of the gut and then became active. When the fragments of DNA which code for these insect toxins are transferred to the corn genome they are already in their active form and don't require going through the transcription and translation process well known to biologists. Whenever an insect eats corn cells it receives a dose of toxin direct. The toxin consists of two proteins...one a receptor protein which attaches to the gut of the insect and a second one a protease which eats a hole in the gut at the popint of attachment allowing the contents of the gut to flood out into the body cavity. Whatever micro organism lives in the bees gut kills it. Does this account for the bewildering variety of pathogens found in dead bee? I would like to see a determination of whether the receptor protein actually binds there in the bee gut since there are many varieties of bT which affect a variety of insects including water insects in our favorite streams.
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weeds
[Read the article: Weeds]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Maude Grieves "Herbal", published last in 1933, the official guide for the medical profession before the discovery of antibiotics, lists 14 pages of medical uses for this magnificent plant, the most for any medically used botanical.In it's latin name taraxicum officinale, taraxacum means "killer of poison", and officinale signifies it is an accepted member of the pharmacopia. Ban chemical lawns and kick the "weed nazi's" out of office. Read my article"In Praise of Weeds and Other Untidiness"
John McDonald
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is this a trend?
[Read the article: Hives among us]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Having kept bees off and on for 60 years I know the pleasures of the craft, I keep a chair by my hives for watching the bees and for quiet meditation.
Young beekeepers I know have been collecting feral swarms in the hopes of finding gene lines resistant to present diseases.
I have posited elsewhere that the current die off might be the result of honeybees harvesting GM crop pollen...wouldn't it be ironic if city bees thrived because they are subjected only to auto fumes, but not industrial farming.
Some cities allow the possession of three hens now we have bees and honey,you can garden your backyard or vacant lot....get a milk goat and can some veggies, and make some jelly....and... and...
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organic ??
[Read the article: Hives among us]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]rcfessenden brings up another issue related to beekeeping..namely ...what is organic? Bees frequent some pretty unsavory places which might offend the sensibilities of effete tastes, such as road kills and urine puddles but at least these are natural and harmless.
Two of the best market farmers I know refuse to call themselves "organic" in spite of being near to organic ideals. Being organic is like joining a church with lofty but opaque goals. One of those farmers, an Amish bishop, said to me one day, "What does the word organic mean?", "where did it come from?" I was at a loss to explain without citing Rodale...but, where did Rodale get it?
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Why do we live with fear?
[Read the article: Hives among us]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I vowed I would not write more but this is such a good train of ideas I couldn't resist.
Serious bee venom allergies are rare...one per thousand...so most people who get stung experience the normal reaction..swelling etc. I frequently work my bees with no shirt and in shorts and no smoke...not true in September however.
Folks visiting my isolated farm[13 acres] from urban areas, who might be interested in the simple life, flail constantly at bugs, real and imagined, sweat, demand water with ice cubes, all the while telling me how I should run the place. They fear our bears, coyotes, insects , the darkness.
Smells...ripening goldenrod honey, horses coats, the cow stable on a cold winter day, the smell of a box full of baby chicks, sweet corn just when it's cooked right. I'm glad we have no zoning laws to protect me from all this and no weed police to make me clean up my weedy yard and fence rows.
Thanks Larry for your remarks.