Commercial beekeepers have created bees that are 30% heavier than bees are meant to be. The change to large-cell foundation has forced the little bees to grow bigger, presumably so they can create more honey. But the final result has been bees that are more susceptible to diseases.
o Fat bees can't easily forage in cold weather or in hot weather.
o Fat bees can't dig out the bug pests that invade a hive.
o Fat bees can't fly as far from the hive to gather pollen, propolis, or nectar.
o Fat bees are not as healthy as the bees sized by Mother Nature, so they need to be medicated regularly by the beekeepers.
Why would anyone want to propagate fat bees, when Mother N's been telling the bees all along (for more than a hundred million years) how to stay healthy and happy?
Let's hear it for Mother Nature! And the next time you buy honey – find out about who produced it and how.
BEEattitude for Day # 120:
Blessed are they who let us live as we were intended to live, for they shall have their gardens pollinated and shall eat healthy honey.
One thing Fran is grateful for right now:
April Myers, the managing editor of The Pen Woman magazine.
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