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That’s like saying ‘we’ve been polluting the river for so long, that really it’s so polluted we might as well keep polluting it’ Turn off the imports, stop the pollution. Then start working to repopulate your area with Amm. Hopefully Chainbridge will get a queen rearing programme for reselling...

I’m not missing the point - I am telling you that where there is a wild population still in place and there isn’t the constant movement of imported bees the fiddling about of beekeepers will not stop or reduce Apis melliferas ability to adapt to local conditions or disrupt its already adapted...

We can see this play out in real time in Ireland. An area that traditionally had a stable population of Amm. Obviously still differences between colonies and between apiaries but generally easily managed bees. Then some smart arse decides to import a Buckfast queen or more commonly a beginner...

I don’t agree with you. Neither does this study https://peerj.com/articles/17354/?fbclid=IwY2xjawEVmrVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUwKCpsT2kLYkQ4kZ-q-TL4Wg4IG0Bj2sTldOisulSjO3JY7a81toncpLw_aem_jR7V_zbY455PUx0qdUB5LQ Where you have a stable population of the subspecies native to a given area and those...

Im sorry I don’t think you can be considered bigoted for saying that non-native subspecies of honeybee are invasive and shouldn’t be moved around - are you bigoted against Himalayan Balsam?

It doesn’t account for every defensive colony but the majority for sure. I don’t understand why you keep defending the movement of non-native bees. In another thread you were giving out to someone for suggesting they’d introduce some Himalayan balsam into their area. Telling them how...

I didn’t imply that. I said Tim’s Dad and my mate ran a 2000 colony commercial operation. They used langstroths. That influenced his decision (and I don’t want to quote Tim here just someone that knows him) to opt for a different approach.

I’ve seen another beekeeper in Ireland selling pollen ‘enriched’ honey but I think they add pollen harvested separately back into their honey. I think there would be a bit of marketing needed but there’s definitely potential there to sell something unusual.

My friend and neighbour here in Sligo ran a commercial beekeeping operation in Australia with Tim‘s Dad. They kept 2000 colonies between just the two of them. They ran 1000 colonies at their home apiaries and 1000 were moved on a truck not for pollination but chasing nectar flows. If they hit...

Not exactly what you are looking for but if you are interested I could get you added to a whattsap group moderated by the Galway Honey Bee Research community based out of NUIG. This is largely a discussion group for monitoring wild and feral colonies around Ireland (and some in the UK). A number...

Never a mistake! Hopefully more follow your lead 😎 I have struggled when requeening hybridised colonies with pure Amm but many factors at play from size of colony to weather conditions etc. If it’s a big colony you could make up a Nuc - introduce the native queen to that and then combine with...

You could try these different organisations. They could put you in touch with nucleus/starter colony suppliers locally of Apis Mellifera Mellifera or the honey bee native to France http://www.abeillenoire44.fr/ http://abeillenoireouessant.bzh/ (Bretagne)...

Ireland is by and large pure or nearly pure Apis Mellifera Mellifera (except in some areas that have become hybridised). As a country we one of the last strongholds for the subspecies in Europe. We are also the centre for some of the most important honeybee research on the planet. This is being...

Nonsense. Maybe in the UK because you have so much hybridisation but here in Ireland you can catch swarms from wild colonies amd have quite calm bees from the get go. Some colonies may have a tendency to swarm some will not. Plenty of wild colonies here that don’t swarm every year. Selection in...

Not really - you just need everyone keeping a pure subspecies native to the country you live in and no imports. There will be some genetic flow between your kept beeps and the wild living ones but everyone’s bees will be healthier for that and if at any time you run short of bees or you lose...

If you can get a few of your local beekeepers on board you could set up an Amm queen rearing group. Helps to have a few of you working on the same page and makes it all that bit more fun!

The link works?

What was your experience with the Amm from NI?

North Staffordshire sounds a lot like north Sligo 😂 we might stay a little warmer in Winter? The reality is your local bees are like that because of imports. Stop the inflow of genetics or repopulate with enough Amm to form a stable population and stop imports and you’ll be onto a winner