100-Pound Beehive Taken Down From Cape Tree

WZVN ^ | ep 27, 2010 | Meaghan Smith

[SeeSharp]

I think maybe commercial apiaries are causing too much competition for the wild colonies which leads to hive collapse.

Wild European honey bee colonies are going extinct because of the Varroa Destructor mite, introduced into North America in the 1980's. Pretty soon commercial bee hives will be the only European bees left. No one knows why commercial hives are dying off, but the Varroa is one of the suspects.

[chimera]

Commercial beekeepers are usually very happy to gather in a hive like this. I'm told they'll use it to start any number of other hives in the apiary. If those are successful, they'll have that many more they can rent out to farmers who need the bees for pollination.

I lived on a farm for awhile and one spring we had a huge swarm of honeybees on a fence near the house. We called a beekeeper who was very glad to take the swarm and start a new hive. It was amazing to watch. He just calmed the bees with some smoke from a smudge pot and then did everything barehanded, no gloves, no protective netting. He didn't get stung. He told us at that time of year the bees were full of honey and just weren't interested in people.