Terminology sometimes, especially when used incorrectly, can become polarizing to discussion. This takes away from the point of the discussion and keeps the talk going on about peripheral and even invented issues simply for the sake of politics.
The term "Natural Beekeeping" has become one of those polarizing terms. The moment someone brings up the words "Natural Beekeeping" someone will be almost guaranteed to reply that it is impossible, it is nonsense, that it is irresponsible, etc.. purely on the basis that they automatically associate the words "Natural Beekeeping" with the idea of keeping bees in a hive and doing nothing more with the bees except to take honey from them during the year.
Those who know better are frustrated to explain that it means nothing of the sort but the discussion rarely gets that far because it has often become confused and contentious by that time.
I have recently begun talking to people about "Bee Wise" beekeeping in which beekeepers work as facilitators of the hive and focus on using the behaviors that bees are already doing to include their beekeeping practices in with them. Work with the bees instead of interrupting them to do things in other words.
For those who realize this, I have just described what most people mean when they say "Natural Beekeeping". Part of the problem is that beekeepers often use terminology incorrectly and they use different terms to describe similar things.
Some people hide behind the term "Natural" because they have a political agenda, like the PETA people who really are agents of chaos making every effort to get bees be "free" or "wild" in that a beekeeper is allowing them to do as they will and makes no effort to minimize swarming out into the area unchecked, etc..
They are not helping the people who are trying to be responsible beekeepers who simply want to use more facilitative methods instead of dictative methods.
First off, we all have to have the same understanding of the term "Natural". For most of us, we understand this to mean things the bees do in a "non managed" state. Bees doing things according to their "natural" instinct.
"Facilitative" practices are those that, using knowledge of natural bee biology and behavior, work by slipping the practice or hive manipulation into what the bees are already doing on their own or as close to that as possible.
"Dictative" practices are those in which the beekeeper determines what he or she wants to have happen in or with the hive and sets it in place, anticipating bees to accommodate the change rather than the change accommodating the bees.
Here is an example of "Bee Wise" beekeeping. Naturally, honey bee colonies will swarm in Spring. A conventional beekeeper might use an intrusive practice like checker-boarding to inhibit or impede the swarming instinct.
A "Bee Wise" beekeeper might instead place a number of bait hives set in various places surrounding their bee yard approximately 75 to 150 feet away in a radius.
Both beekeepers are taking responsible action to keep bees from swarming out into the neighborhood and possibly becoming a nuisance to other residents and property owners. The "Bee Wise" beekeeper is taking a non-intrusive approach which takes into account the natural process of swarming and lets the bees do what they "need" to do yet more than likely, or hopefully so if calculated correctly, will still end up in one of his or her hives regardless.
A practice that is partway between facilitative and dictative is the method of creating artificial swarms. This takes advantage of what the bees naturally do by creating an artificial swarm by shaking bees from frames in a hive onto a sheet or board in front of an empty hive. The new "swarm" will then most likely follow the sheet or board into the new hive and start up in there as if they have swarmed and selected it naturally.
Of course, in all three attempts, there is no guarantee to completely avoid or prevent swarming. Each method has been observed to not work if the bees are determined to swarm. However, each approach shows the effort of each beekeeper to make a responsible effort to prevent bees from swarming in a way that is consistent with their preferred approach to beekeeping.
The beekeeper that says they want to allow the bees to be free and go where they want to without even trying to prevent that either lives in the woods or other largely untenanted land or they are being irresponsible and not good ambassadors of urban beekeeping.
"Bee Wise" beekeeping is the approach I take and I can say it has worked very well for me all around.
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