Buckfast bees in Ieland

[Finman]

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Instrumental Insemination in Bee Breeding is a common term

http://www.google.fi/search?hl=fi&q...e=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw&ei=EYcSUbTmF8z54QTK7YG4DQ


Nature tends to crossings and human tends to "pure" stocks, which means inbreeding too.

How many "Irish pure strains" Ireland needs that the genepool is viable.

What is the value of "Pure Irish Black Bee". What are the values what you are goping to hunt after?



I have never heard about such bees.

This advertising is a real fairytale: http://www.irishdarknativehoneybees.com/why-the-native-bee.html

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[Finman]

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Here is one advertising http://www.gbbg.net/nativeversusbuckfast.html

Native Irish Black Bee versus the Buckfast Bee



During 1967 The Beekeeping Research Unit at Clonroche, Co Wexford carried out some comparison trials of Irish and Buckfast Bees - side by side trials.

The stocks used in the trial were six colonies of dark bees of the native Irish strain and six Buckfast strain colonies. The six colonies of dark bees had been over-wintered as full stocks with ample stores and queens reared in 1966. Four of the six Buckfast strain colonies were derived from queens imported in July 1966


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I almost started my beekeping 1966. I build boxes for 20 hives.

In those days bee strains were totally different what they are now.

My yields are now 3 fold compared to those days. Reason is that hives are 3 fold bigger because they do not swarm so easily.

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I do not trust on these Irish guys

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[For want of a better word]

Fairytale.... then I have a lot of faries living at the bottom of my garden!

 

[Finman]

Fairytale.... then I have a lot of faries living at the bottom of my garden!

No. Fairy is a thing who lives in the big house.

 

[mbc]

so, the problem in this particular scenario is caused by the amm in the equation and not the lovely cypriot bred buckfast, a third of the cost and can be purchased from......

efa

 

[Finman]

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Does every country in Europe have its own "native black bee"?

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[For want of a better word]

Without AI or II the so called Buckfast strain of bee would have been assymilated into the general geenpool of honeybees considering the astronomical numbers of imported and differing sub species of Apis mellifera into the UK over the last 100 years, let alone since BA's death.
There are no sites isolated enough to assure that an "isolated bee breading site" could be established in the UK.
Conversely microsattelite DNA testing will eventually show that there is a massive gene pool of Amm extant in the UK, as it has in Denmark and Norway, where the governments have acted to prevent alien and hybridised bees from being kept in some areas.
Buckfast Bees are the myth

Now where can I get some nice Africanised Starlights from... prolific, non swarmy, massive honey producers, maintain their own policing actions..........

 

[For want of a better word]

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What other domestic animals are restricted in UK that they must be only native?

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Soa sheep
St Kilda mouse
Red Squirrel
Cornish Cough
Cornish Wildcat
English Otter
Red Kite
and not forgetting the Beast of Bodmin Moor.... bet you wont find many of that lot in the frozen north !

Amazing number of local breeds of Pony,cattle, sheep, pig, dog, cat... all "special breeds" bred for purpose in the UK, region by region....
like them Amm is valuable and is fit for purpose!

AND before you lot lash out at me for being an Amm man.. I also keep Carniolian and New Zealand ( lingusta) bees. But try to keep their genes well apart!

 

[Hivemaker.]

There are no sites isolated enough to assure that an "isolated bee breading site" could be established in the UK.

Wrong, there are plenty of islands and isolated sites in the UK, virgin queens can be placed in the isolated site here on Exmoor and they will never mate,no matter how good the weather is, without drone provider colonies being there.

Denmark has twelve isolated sites/islands for Buckfast, three for Amm,three for Ligustica and four for Carnica.


II equipment is expensive, but a very useful tool, mainly used by by the serious bee breeder.

 

[Finman]

Soa sheep
St Kilda mouse
Red Squirrel
Cornish Cough
Cornish Wildcat
English Otter
Red Kite
and not forgetting the Beast of Bodmin Moor.... bet you wont find many of that lot in the frozen north !
t!

We cannot keep wild animals captured except ostrich.

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[For want of a better word]

II equipment is expensive, but a very useful tool, mainly used by by the serious bee breeder.[/I

Incredibly expensive !

........... a bit of wire set with a ruby with a 0.2mm hole drilled through it $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ !
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[Hivemaker.]

........... a bit of wire set with a ruby with a 0.2mm hole drilled through it $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ ![/COLOR]
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We are lucky to have a member of the forum who makes these, an excellent job he makes of them as well.

 

[For want of a better word]

We cannot keep wild animals captured except ostrich.

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View attachment 7937

No surprise there then
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[Tdf]

Are there any Irish beekeepers in south Leinster who keep Buckfast bees?

check locally to see if there is any breeding program going on, not fair on others for you to just spoil it.

 

[PBee]

snip ...... then you say that when you import foreigners into the area, then it's the locals that are the problem.

snip ..... and you are now saying that over 3 thousand beekeepers in Ireland should invest in this, so a handful can continuously bring in foreign imports. HUH !!!!

check locally to see if there is any breeding program going on, not fair on others for you to just f**k it up

Would it not be more constructive to promote controlled mating programs amongst like minded beekeepers instead of trying to enforce a ban by proxy?

 

[sorbus]

I am somewhat confused by the number of replies to my query re. buckfast bees.

How long has AMM been in Ireland?

 

[sorbus]

Buckfast bees in Ireland

I am somewhat confused by the number of replies re.Buckfast bees.

How long has AMM been in Ireland?

 

[keith pierce]

I am somewhat confused by the number of replies to my query re. buckfast bees.

How long has AMM been in Ireland?

They would of migrated or been brought by people, when the last ice age retreated and the tundra was replaced with trees, which would of given them natural nest sites as they became hollowed with age.

 

[For want of a better word]

I am somewhat confused by the number of replies re.Buckfast bees.

How long has AMM been in Ireland?

Amm since the last ice age 10,000 years give or take a day... they are the endemic species of the British Isles

anything else ... 1852 was it a certain Mr Herrmann who was to bring Italian bees to the UK, may have got the date wrong but about that time... BIBBA document, one thing for sure them foreigners did not fly here!!

Perhaps Sorbus you should do a bit of reading before embarking on a career as a beekeeper... I am sure you will come good in the end
Good Luck

 

[Finman]

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How big is beekeeping in Ireland?

"Bees have been scarce over the last few years, but now a number of beekeepers have started selling hives, complete with bees, for €300 to €320 each.

Irish honey will always be in demand, but production has fallen in recent years, and around 200 tonnes were produced last year.

According to the CSO, we import 2000 tonnes of honey per year from all corners of the world. " Date 05-06-2010

http://www.farmersjournal.ie/site/farming-Is-there-money-in-Irish-honey--11112.html

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In Finland honey yield use to be 1500 tonnes annually.

Two biggest farmers produce here as much and whole Ireland.

50 kg x 4000 hives = 200 tonnes.

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We have too those "native bee" guys here. First we had a nuisance called "Black Bee Mongrel". Then varroa killed them almost totally. No one breeded then before. So we lost "ingenious genes of native bee" and it started the crying.

However at same to Carniolan bee came and it took Black bee's place.

Before that Finnish beekeeping assosiation did not want Carniolan bee to Finland but it came about 25 years ago.

Nowadays we can find from Finland what ever races: Egyptin, Russian, Chinese, Greek, German, Kenya mountain, Columbian, NZ, Cyprus, Italy....

Thery all are melted here and unproper ones die away.

My opinion is that it is splended that beekeepers personally use their money to make our bees better and healthier.
During 50 years beekeeping I have found that bees are becoming better and better.
I do not develope my "own bees". I buy "rippen fruits" from professionals which have about 500 hives.
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