Michael Bush will present the ecology of the bee colony and the impact of beekeepers’ treatments on this ecology, such as mites, insects, microbes, fungi, and bacteria.
Some of these we know are essential: pollen fermentation. Some are very important: gut bacteria on immunity. Some require further study to know the exact effects, but they live in complex interdependent communities. They likely fill niches that would otherwise be occupied by pathogens.
Treatments of the colony have effects on this ecology of mites, insects, microbes, fungi, and bacteria. Artificial food provided to the colony also has an effect on this ecology.
In this talk we have only looked at the ecology within the colony, while the 8,000 acres (3240 hectares) around the colony has its effect as well.
“What Michael reminds us of, is that beekeeping is a dynamic art. And that like most things of beauty and meaning, they are part of a system, a dance of relationships that requires as much or more intuitive insight as hard science to understand.” –Scott Klein
Publication
He is the author of The Practical Beekeeper and The Practical Beekeeper: Beekeeping Naturally, which has been published in five languages. He has an extensive web site on beekeeping at www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm.
“His writing, like his talks, has more content, detail, and depth than one would think possible with such few words… his website and PowerPoint presentations are the gold standard for diverse and common sense beekeeping practices.”–Dean Stiglitz
