Front Cover of Welsh Beekeeper

[B+.]

As someone else said to you not that long ago, a bit of self awareness would be desirable.

Oh, give it a rest for goodness sake. You are beginning to sound like a Troll

 

[For want of a better word]

There is a lady in my local association who had ~25 WBCs. The "lifts" were big and heavy so I don't know how she managed to lift them - quite a bit thicker than a wooden Langstroth, I would say. In fact, the brood box itself had various layers ("quilts") which I would say was an early form of insulation. She often complained that the bees would gather between the brood box and the lifts - so, they certainly had their problems.

Agree with you on that Paul....

WBC's seem to have been made in every shape and size... I have one made by Garfield Maddiver* from best marine grade mahogany.... from materials acquired by him at the Torpedo boat yards in Hale during WW2.

Durable but heavier than a National.

Bottom bee space designed to run the warm way... has a glass quilt.... built like a fine piece of furniture... I am actually keeping bees in it!

* the Maddivers were probably the largest beekeeping family in Cornwall, before and after WW2.... Bill ( the youngest now in his late 80s) still keeps a few "boxes of bees".. he used his "de mob" money to set himself up in 1950 ( but had to do plastering to make ends meet!)

Good luck
Chons da

 

[Beefriendly]

my stock of surrogate Italian bees that I use

Irony would be lost on you........

 

[For want of a better word]

Irony would be lost on you........

May seem ironic to you... but then you do not either raise or breed you own lines of bees that you can select from to improve... if you need to improve.

Much easier for you just to send a Eurocheque of to Karl in Daneland or Phill the Greek I suppose!!

Yeghes da

 

[Repwoc]

Much easier for you just to send a Eurocheque of to Karl in Daneland or Phill the Greek I suppose!!

Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh? Does he sell queens?

 

[maddydog]

Ask Cornwall Council Trading standards.

Suggest you get your order in to Herr B asap... asap as there are thousands of new beekeepers going to loose their delicate hybrids over winter who will want early ( March) queens!

Attitudes need to change!

Chons da

Imported 40 Slovenian carnies last year. No difference in over wintering to my mongrels.

Look forward to the day when my own queens are as good (in general) as those I can buy in. I have a soft spot for my pink queens because they're 'my' girls and do better the imports in certain areas. However, when I run the numbers to select queens for grafting the mother queens have so far been imports.

 

[Haughton Honey]

....send a Eurocheque of to Karl in Daneland....

It’s Keld, not Karl. And even his random mated Queens are some of the best that you will ever comes across.

Yeghes da

 

[mbc]

There was a serious point made at the start of this thread and, unfortunately, that is being overshadowed by side-arguments.

That serious point you refer to, that you happen tp agree with, was made nonsensical by the logic of my post 35 on the thread, what other justification should the wbka provide beyond it being the will of its membership?
Perhaps the editor felt it was self evident to the readership that buying bees from elsewhere poses more of a disease risk and messes up local gene pools.

 

[SDM]

So when was this pole of wbka members and their preferences that you claim are documented fact ?
And what was the definition of "locally adapted" that this vote agreed on. I highly doubt any two wbka members would give you the same answer as to what this means practically. Is locally 10 miles away ? 50 miles ?
Because to date the only research into local adaptation is at species level which says all of Northern Europe is local.
So tell me , what is the wbka's definition of locally adapted? You must know , surely so must every member, since they( you claim) universally agree on this.
Now , if the wbka's definition isn't , as per research ., but from some enlightenment known only to them ( and their members). Can you please point me to some evidence of local adaptation at anything below, let's say UK wide ?

 

[For want of a better word]

Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh? Does he sell queens?

It’s Keld, not Karl. And even his random mated Queens are some of the best that you will ever comes across.

Yeghes da Meur ras.... everyone should learn a few words of Cornish

I did not wish to denominate any particular exporter.... carry on like this and we all will end up in the Tower... like Trelawny!

Chons da

 

[Anduril]

So when was this pole of wbka members and their preferences that you claim are documented fact ?
And what was the definition of "locally adapted" that this vote agreed on. I highly doubt any two wbka members would give you the same answer as to what this means practically. Is locally 10 miles away ? 50 miles ?
Because to date the only research into local adaptation is at species level which says all of Northern Europe is local.
So tell me , what is the wbka's definition of locally adapted? You must know , surely so must every member, since they( you claim) universally agree on this.
Now , if the wbka's definition isn't , as per research ., but from some enlightenment known only to them ( and their members). Can you please point me to some evidence of local adaptation at anything below, let's say UK wide ?

At the Welsh Convention, Prof Robert Picard referred to AMM as tropical.

 

[Beefriendly]

And what was the definition of "locally adapted" ?

This raises a very good point as to what this much abused adage actually means. I find it difficult to think anything can be locally adapted to it's environment when they are treated for disease, fed for the winter. Overwintered in an insulated environment (in most cases) and then fed pollen/pollen substitute in spring and syrup during times of nectar drought.
It's total Bullocks that anything is locally adapted these days, yet the two words are trotted out with all to frequent regularity.
Locally cosseted might be more accurate.

 

[mbc]

So when was this pole of wbka members and their preferences that you claim are documented fact ?
And what was the definition of "locally adapted" that this vote agreed on. I highly doubt any two wbka members would give you the same answer as to what this means practically. Is locally 10 miles away ? 50 miles ?
Because to date the only research into local adaptation is at species level which says all of Northern Europe is local.
So tell me , what is the wbka's definition of locally adapted? You must know , surely so must every member, since they( you claim) universally agree on this.
Now , if the wbka's definition isn't , as per research ., but from some enlightenment known only to them ( and their members). Can you please point me to some evidence of local adaptation at anything below, let's say UK wide ?

Oops caught out! I'm not actually a wbka member, bfa is the only association I belong to and I believe I'm a bit of a "rare breeds" type within that.
I do remember reading the virtually unanimous agreement on local bees being best but I couldn't point you to the survey or poll or whatever it was, maybe someone who is a member could recall what I'm referring to, possibly it was a delegates vote at an AGM?

 

[Beefriendly]

then you do not either raise or breed you own lines of bees that you can select from to improve... if you need to improve.

I do raise my own queens from the best lines I import and excellent queens they are.
The obvious futility of trying to improve lines further when you have no or little control over the drone lines is akin to pissing up a stick.
Me things all your efforts over many years have left you with warm smelly hands.

 

[Beefriendly]

on local bees being best but I couldn't point you to the survey or poll or whatever it was,

It was a colossus paper that showed that when bees where moved long distances from one apiary to another they (not surprisingly) didn't do as well as the "local" bees that hadn't been moved. Although the differences where marginal.
A counter peer reviewed research study in Poland showed that Buckfast bees outperformed all the local natives over several years in all conditions.
I have the reference somewhere if you are interested.

 

[maddydog]

It was a colossus paper that showed that when bees where moved long distances from one apiary to another they (not surprisingly) didn't do as well as the "local" bees that hadn't been moved. Although the differences where marginal.
A counter peer reviewed research study in Poland showed that Buckfast bees outperformed all the local natives over several years in all conditions.
I have the reference somewhere if you are interested.

How about we ship your Fritz von Buckfasts down to Cornwall for a year and stick them next to Hoppy's black darlings and see who fairs better

 

[BMH]

How about we ship your Fritz von Buckfasts down to Cornwall for a year and stick them next to Hoppy's black darlings and see who fairs better

Now that I would like to see!

 

[Beefriendly]

How about we ship your Fritz von Buckfasts down to Cornwall for a year and stick them next to Hoppy's black darlings and see who fairs better

IF anything Hoppy says is to be believed .......he said he is using some of HM's Buckfast queens this season in a similar experiment. If he manages them correctly,,,,(he won't be used to bees that need double brood boxes) then I suspect the outcome is inevitable. And what will also be inevitable will be his reluctance to let anyone know the result.

 

[BMH]

IF anything Hoppy says is to be believed .......he said he is using some of HM's Buckfast queens this season in a similar experiment. If he manages them correctly,,,,(he won't be used to bees that need double brood boxes) then I suspect the outcome is inevitable. And what will also be inevitable will be his reluctance to let anyone know the result.

Should let someone impartial to the AMM vs Buckfast argument run the side by side tests.

B+ ???



Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

 

[foghornleghorn]

It was a colossus paper that showed that when bees where moved long distances from one apiary to another they (not surprisingly) didn't do as well as the "local" bees that hadn't been moved. Although the differences where marginal.
A counter peer reviewed research study in Poland showed that Buckfast bees outperformed all the local natives over several years in all conditions.
I have the reference somewhere if you are interested.

Would be interested in seeing that polish paper if you have the reference