Club member Carla Strozzieri arranged to have Sam Comfort, top bar andwarre' hive beekeeper, speak to the club at a recent meeting. Sam operates
Anarchy Apiaries in New York's Hudson Valley. He looked like an anarchist -
scruffy beard, ragged shorts, straw cowboy hat, no shoes, and a guitar(for
singing songs about insects)- and what he had to say about bees was
revolutionary to many beekeepers.
Sam thinks that today's "problem" with bees stems from "industrializing"
them, rather than respecting the way bees live in the wild. He believes that
bees weren't meant to be trucked cross-country to pollinate mono-crops such
as corn, or almonds. Such crops provide poor nutrition due to lack of
diversity. Mites and other pests are symptoms of compromised colonies.
What to do? Go back to nature starting with smaller cell-sized foundation
which will eventually produce smaller bees. Sam claims that smaller bees
are more resistant to diseases and pests, forage earlier in the day and
later in the evening, among other benefits. His goal is "yippie, hippie
stuff." Sam believes "bigger is better" is the philosophy that got bees and
crops in trouble; he'd like to see more people with no more than five or six
beehives in their backyards. Then he could relax with his guitar and go
fishing.
To learn more about top bar hives and Sam's brand of "less-invasive"
beekeeping visit: http://anarchyapiaries.org/
mentors is Dee Lusby of Arizona whose writing appears in the POV section of
beesource.com. To learn more about the warre' hives that Sam discussed,
visit warre.biobees.com. Also, check out "The Complete Idiot's Guide to
Beekeeping" by Dean Stiglitz and Laurie Herboldsheimer. The couple are
owners and operators of Golden Rule Honey, LLC and run treatment-free
beekeeping conferences such as this one, http://www.beeuntoothers.com/,
where Sam also spoke and sang sans shoes.
*Thanks to Elizabeth Knight for contributing this article
**A permanent link to Sam's website: Anarchy Apiaries will be in the "Helpful Links" section on the left hand column.
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