BBKA News - Fiction Section

[Storm™]

Oh didn't you know. Yes he's very sure about it's use. I believe the last post said "use 4 doses it will do no harm at all". I'm sure he'll post in a few, and confirm.

 

[Andy Duff]

Thanks, shame the article is err... not worth the effort.

PYH

All it needs is a new last line-
I woke up and it was all a dream, the end

 

[BeeMoustashe]

All subjects from Ancient History to Genetics need theories and ideas. These may be pure bunkum but others may have some truth, others may be golden. I'm not defending this article but I still believe it's important to publish it and let readers gain from it or poo-poo it, as appropriate. This is why we beekeepers have so many different ways and theories for doing the same things!

Without this way of thinking, we would never progress in our thinking.

However...

I do think it should be clearer what is a theory and what is a known, evidenced, scientific fact. We can draw our own conclusions then. And then you avoid the dangers of us newbies taking everything as gospel and sucking it all up. I'm fortunate from my background that I take every piece of information with a pinch of salt until I've heard convincing arguements for or against- hence I will not be using matchsticks unless I see heavy condensation on my glass quilt!!

 

[RoofTops]

Which is really my point BM - by publishing it without any comment from the editor that the contents of the article are at variance with established theories and practice of beekeeping the BBKA News are a risk of causing much confusion.

Thought provoking articles should be encouraged but the outlandish ideas in the article are backed up with no facts whatsoever.

 

[For want of a better word]

​

Must send in an article about my Grandfather's famed bait sausage... and the bee whistle

​

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Which is really my point BM - by publishing it without any comment from the editor that the contents of the article are at variance with established theories and practice of beekeeping the BBKA News are a risk of causing much confusion.

Thought provoking articles should be encouraged but the outlandish ideas in the article are backed up with no facts whatsoever.

Agreed.

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A very strange article me thinks.

 

[newportbuzz]

​

Must send in an article about my Grandfather's famed bait sausage... and the bee whistle

​

now a bee whistle i could do with. can i get a copy of the sausage recipe for our local butcher to make me up some for next year as an exepriment....

 

[For want of a better word]

now a bee whistle i could do with. can i get a copy of the sausage recipe for our local butcher to make me up some for next year as an exepriment....

I will post it up next April 1st !​

 

[Into the lions den]

Love the bit about the beekeeper and his combs and if they are too big the vibrations are not going to have their proper effect...............seems possibly to be a slightly oblique cheap shot at big framed hives, perhaps those of a non BS persuasion ie Dadant and Langstroth.

Having removed numerous ferals for a friend in the roofing repair trade I can say that MOST of these colonies have natural combs that are way bigger than anything any of us ever use, and unless the space is cramped or irregular and small sizes are forced on them by that reason they will draw some quite prodigious combs.

The two classic ones are:-

1. The attic of Easter Logie house, west of Blairgowrie in Perthshire, a swarm had entered at the apex of the gable and had been there for about four years. They had drawn the combs in what would be called 'cold way' by National users, and the centre combs ran back the way for about 7 feet, and were over 4 feet from top to bottom. There were 23 combs across, although the outside ones were actually very small, and there was an increase in the frequency of joining or brace comb the further out you went, and all combs were classic feral shape, the lowest peak being perhaps a foot or so back inside from the entrance, which was at the top of course. This one was recent enough for us to measure cell size in response to the talk of it being important. It was 5.25 to 5.35 almost uniformly throughout the colony, although there was some 'flaring' towards the edges.

2. Balhomie Farmhouse, Cargill, Perthshire. A new roof was being put on the house when they encountered what turne out to be a feral colony of considerable age, This was in the latter part of February so the actual colony was still in cluster and was of fairly normal size and removal of it was quite straightforward (if a slightly 'derriere tightening' experience, being 3 stories up and on a sharply sloped roof). In this case the entrance was at the side of a roof window and the bees had built in the gap between two rafters, starting at the ridge near to the window, and running all the way down to the eaves. While the actual space between the sarking (the wooden layer the slates are nailed onto, and the inner layer attached to the underside of the sloping rafters) was only about 14 inches, and thus that was the maximum depth of the combs, the central combs of the colony ran almost the whole length of the colony, with only a few slight wiggles but staying continuous. Brace combs were minimal. The longest continuous comb was an unbelievable 23 feet 6 inches long. You could see how the colony had moved up and down the inclined space according to the good and bad seasons and the amount of stores they had tucked away. The top part was almost solid stores, the furthest up looked like of considerable antiquity, and we chopped to lot out, put it in buckets and melted it down. Nearly 500lb of what seemed almost entirely sycamore honey was taken out. The lowest parts of the combs were dry and looked as if they had not been used for a few seasons, so perhaps the colony had not had a bumper year for some time. This one was pre varroa and pre small cell debate so no measurements were taken.

Bee whistle was mentioned. My staff are of the firm belief I own a queen whistle.......they get quite frustrated when they have struggled for 10 mins in a colony looking for the queen to make a split, and I take over and find her right away............not invariably however lol, and its payback time when you hear the sniggering from another pallet as they see I have not found her either.

 

[Vergilius]

Both the BBKA new journal and Beecraft are full of the same crap. The only remotely interesting thing in this edition of Beecraft was the beekeeping 2012 calander - the articles are all so bland - probably due to the BBKA censors lol.

Ben P

 

[Nic Rhodes]

I was shocked at how little went on research, if you want new stimulating ideas (and articles) you have to do the ground work...

 

[jakethedog]

Both the BBKA new journal and Beecraft are full of the same crap. The only remotely interesting thing in this edition of Beecraft was the beekeeping 2012 calander - the articles are all so bland - probably due to the BBKA censors lol.

Ben P

Hi, I'm not sure that it's a censorship issue, probably just a dearth of engaging writers.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Just wondering..........

.......... How many forum members are also members of the much maligned BBKA?


Any chance of a poll?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think many of us are by virtue of our local BKA's subscription to it.

 

[Firefly]

Having removed numerous ferals

This is really interesting, thank you. I went to a talk by a bee academic this autumn and one of the things he said was that almost all our knowledge about bees is based on research in entirely man-made contexts like hives! Very little real science seems to have been done on feral bees. I have seen articles saying all feral colonies were killed by Varroa, which is clearly rubbish from what gets posted on this forum

Seems like a gap. I wish someone was working on it and talking to people like you

 

[Black Comb]

From memory a postgrad. at Leeds uni. was recently working on this.
I think she was having trouble finding ferals.

 

[alanf]

Both the BBKA new journal and Beecraft are full of the same crap. The only remotely interesting thing in this edition of Beecraft was the beekeeping 2012 calander - the articles are all so bland - probably due to the BBKA censors lol. Ben P

What I don't understand is why Beecraft is described as the 'official journal of the bbka' while BBKA news incorporates the British Bee Journal. Neither are what you would call a journal in the sense of a science publication. The nearest exception being the Hygenic Bee report in Beecraft p23.

There is probably some history I'm missing without reading through a couple of decades worth of issues but as far as I can see they are both general interest magazines aimed at the beginner or craft wax user. Rolling candles? Decorating eggs? Nothing against Dr Tew, but ITMA includes more actual examples of the range of wild comb in a recent post here than three pages of general introduction to the 'Natural Nest' on p8 of BBKA news. If you have somebody at professor level writing, then it really should be pitched at a more technical readership.

 

[tonybloke]

" which parts of the hypothesis have failed and should, therefore, be rejected? Adams did not say. Perhaps all the foregone suggestions are wrong, but then we would be left without nothing "(sic)

Am I the only one who noticed this section?

 

[RoofTops]

No, I read it but I am not really sure what it means. It seems to suggest that if his suggestions are wrong there is no remaining explanation for swarming. Which is nonsense.

"Adams" is I assume Brother Adam.

 

[Storm™]

"We would be left without nothing". Double negative. So you would have something then. I don't get it.