The Memphis Area Beekeepers Association held its Forty-Fifth Annual Short Course in Beekeeping today. One hundred thirty-nine people attended the one-day overview into beekeeping. Such programs are being conducted in local beekeeping associations across the country at this time of the year. New beekeepers are planning their hives in advance of colonies of honey bees becoming available in the spring. Interest in beekeeping is widespread. Paul Mallory is shown here as he began his portion of the program by asking, “Why would you want to keep honey bees?” Paul has been keeping bees for 66 years. He began his career as a queen breeder and producer of packaged bees in 1944. Paul was engaged in one of the early efforts to lessen the effect of the spread of Africanized Honey Bee genes as the aggressive bees moved across South America toward the United States. As part of a team committed to breeding European Honey Bees and exporting them to the affected region of Mexico, Paul bred nice, gentle queens. However, exporting honey bees to Mexico presented a problem. To get the bees through customs at the Mexican border, Paul passed the queens to nuns who carried the queens in their habits.
Paul Mallory served as president of the Memphis Area Beekeepers Association and the Tennessee Beekeepers Association. I am proud to have followed in his footsteps in both organizations, myself. Today, I followed Paul on the program. I gave a brief introduction into Integrated Pest Management strategies for beekeeping. I suggested the new beekeepers consider the trend of moving toward more chemical-free beekeeping. It was a pleasure for me when I made the nomination of Paul which resulted in his receiving an award from the Tennessee Beekeepers Association for a lifetime of service to honey bees and beekeepers. Paul’s charming manner is so disarming. I can’t think of anyone else who could entice nuns to smuggle bees in their habits.
--Richard
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ReplyDeleteThis will just be our second year at beekeeping and we have read as many books and magazines as we have time for and it seems we have read so many things about trying to not use chemicals. There seems to be more of a trend for that and I think that is sure the way to go. I loved the story about the nuns hiding the queens in their habits - priceless!
ReplyDeleteDee,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I feel like moving toward chemical-free beekeeping is the best long-term solution for honey bee health. I think that you can move gradually into a workable arrangement for your bees by choosing from an extensive list of possible Integrated Pest Management techniques. Pick the items that you want to pursue and change your plan from time to time seeking your best arrangement. Some of the methods of fighting pests can be described as being mechanical, biological, or cultural. Jump over to my February 22, 2010 posting to see some mechanical controls. I’ll next write about the other controls. I hope that this offers you some useful ideas. Best wishes to you.
Paul Mallory is a charming man, and he has been keeping bees for 66 years. He is a favorite presenter in our beekeeping short courses. He always starts with a joke, and then he shares his enthusiasm with the new beekeepers.
--Richard