I am a pretty new beekeeper in Los Angeles. I previously had a very healthy hive in 2012 but it did not survive the winter, and I have not yet restarted beekeeping. I am hoping to start up again in 2014.
I try to be a full organic/natural beekeeper, and am very interested in natural methods. I am also, personally, very interested in Medieval and pre-15th C beekeeping.
-Chris
Welcome to the forum Chris. :bee:
Hi Chris and welcome to the forum.!
I started my first package in the spring of 2012 and they didn't survive the first winter either. I decided from that point on, I wasn't going to buy any more bees, I wanted local, feral stock. The three hives I have now, have wintered through some of the coldest temps. we've seen in years. (10 degrees). They appear to be strong and hardy, with very few losses. I also decided I was going treatment free. I agree with the philosophy that if we keep propping up weak bees with antibiotics and treatments, then we'll always have weak bees. The downside is, you will loose some weaker colonies. Anyway, enough of my rambling. There is tons of info here. Dig in, use the search function often and ENJOY! David
Welcome to the forum, Chris. Have you joined your local bee club. I have watched several videos from backward beekeeping, they are in LA. Good luck to you and your new bees.
Joe
I have spoken with Backwards Beekeepers, and got my original bees from them. However, I have not had much luck actually making it to their meetings.
Thanks for the welcome!
Welcome!