Amazed but not surprised that a major bee supply dealer is threatened by the newest book by Wicwas Press. Bee Equipment Essentials by Minnesota beekeeper Ed Simon has been rejected by a certain Minnesota bee supply company located in Hackensack. The reason is that they are in the bee supply business, and this would reduce their sales.
My thought is that when beekeepers know how complicated some items are to make, many will buy them rather than build them. Ed Simon has done a great job with some wonderful color photos, detailed drawings and enough text to make and assemble the dozens of items he describes in his book.
Plus, some of these items are not sold anywhere. Like the Hive Popper–a device used to get all the supers out of the frame before extracting (in photo). Add the variety of nucleus designs and feeding systems, it broadens the base a bit. Maybe quite a bit. Maybe the fact that this is a ‘banned’ book will increase sales. You can find it on www.wicwas.com, and it will soon be listed on amazon.com.