Subject: Parasites & Feverfew

From: [email-masked] (Charla McGuire)
Date: Sun, 05 May 1996 08:16:00 -0500

Hi All,

I don't have any hives yet, but I'm planning on being ready to start
beekeeping by next spring. In the meantime, I'm reading everything I can
get my hands on pertaining to the care & feeding of bees. Recently I was
reading an article in "Countryside" magazine (Mar/Apr issue) and ran
across an article on beekeeping that was written by a man named Frank
Fedorchuk of Pearblossom, Ca. He recommended planting feverfew
(Chrysanthemum Pyrethrum) about a foot in front of the hive. He said that
for bee hobbyists, it is helpful in controlling mites. Has anyone ever
heard of this or tried it? He said that the bees land on the plant after
leaving the hive and that the natural pyrethrum produced by feverfew
knocks off and kills any mites the bee is carrying, but that the amount
produced by the plant is not harmful to bees. This sounds reasonable, but
I thought I'd check it out with some of you more experienced people before
filing it in the bee info folder.

He also had a nifty recommendation for transporting hives, if anyone is
interested. He suggests placing an old inner tube under the hive,
partially filled, to cushion the ride so that the bees aren't as badly
shaken by bumps in the road. He uses a bicycle tube for small hives, and a
small car inner tube for large ones. If you all knew about this already, I
appologize for repeating... EVERYTHING is new to me!

Regards,
Charla