Has the bubble burst?

[Stiffy]

Just been reading my local association newsletter and they say that 100 people have not renewed their membership. Also this afternoon I had an email from a queen importer saying they had queens available. Have you noticed that the number of new beeks is now dropping or just coincidence or something else going on?
S

 

[galileo]

After the washout of last summer and the dreadful winter/spring, I expect a lot of folk will be deciding that apiculture isn't for them.

 

[Neils]

I don't think it's burst but it definitely feels like its slowly deflating. We're seeing a lot of churn as well in terms of membership but still had a lot of interest in the beginners course.

I think the economic climate is playing a part as well, while you can "do" beekeeping on the cheap it can be an expensive hobby both financially and in terms if time and I do think a lot of new Beekeepers are finding that out and are either not taking it further or packing in as a result.

I'm speculating but I do wonder how many casual beeks have been wiped out over the summer and/or winter as well and have just decided to pack it in rather than restock.

 

[margob99]

I'm still wavering on the edge of giving up. My bees are in a very vulnerable state; waiting for a Queen to arrive to save them, but it will be a close thing.

After 4 years of battling I am very unsure as to whether to continue. It has been disheartening.

 

[steve56616]

After the washout of last summer and the dreadful winter/spring, I expect a lot of folk will be deciding that apiculture isn't for them.

Didn't put me off, made me more determined to keep bees as they need all the help they can get. Also, always been interested in lepidoptera so wildlife, conservation and botany have always been a huge part of my life. Although I am one of those people who is determined but do things myself and not really into joining clubs and going on courses...

 

[rockdoc]

Hang in there Margo. It sounds like you have had a bad run, but it will get better. There is plenty of support, not least from this excellent website. I've just had a small nuc I was about to give up on turn round in just 6 days. There are now masses of brood and I'm confident about there survival for the summer. I'm not sure I can imagine being without bees now, they somehow get under your skin!

 

[REDWOOD]

It's not easy but no one said it was, probably the worst 18 months for new beekeepers but it does get easier..........I hope, Stiff upper lip and hold your head high.

 

[Lautarinho]

Application numbers for the Cambs beekeeping course have been down this year apparently, though still fully subscribed.

 

[Swarm]

Quite understandable considering. Weather took a dive in 2007 and we've not had a decent Summer since, in fact seasons seem to be a thing of the past.

And it's not just beginners, there's experienced beeks as well who have had a gutsfull.

 

[Chris B]

If that's the case then we'll be seeing one or two equipment suppliers in difficulty, maybe even the big ones.

 

[Flatters]

I have said to many that keeping bees is harder than bringing up children (and I have four) but like having children it is very rewarding. I would say the hardest thing I have found is not the decline of colonies, but the increases. I went into spring last year with a few colonies and came out with seven and that was after I shifted four onto other people.

I was not prepared for the increases and so found it hard to keep up and I was disheartened on a number of occasions. This year I think I am more prepared but where the increases are going to go if new bee-keeper numbers are declining?

The cost was certainly in one direction in the first two years, but being in a HB abundant area I have still some of last year's honey to sell as I did collect a fair amount from the colonies and I know how lucky I am to be able to say that. Breaking even is my target from now on (excluding my own hourly rate of course)

Like with allotments there is the fad aspect; Lots of press and TV, lots come on board, then realise things are not so easy and instant, and then give up.

The positive could be a lot of cheap second hand equipment on the market as supply outstrips demand. I just hope a lot of the people giving up bought extractors. I could just do with my own at a small price.

 

[psafloyd]

We have a greatly reduced (compared to the last few years) beginners course this year, but that's the way it goes some times.

 

[For want of a better word]

Cornwall seems to be suffering from the economic triple dip more than some areas... foodbanks in Saltash... St Austel... Bodmin...
I wonder if the interest in beekeeping has waned as much in London and other wealthy Urban areas... Home Counties etc etc?????

 

[pargyle]

Cornwall seems to be suffering from the economic triple dip more than some areas... foodbanks in Saltash... St Austel... Bodmin...
I wonder if the interest in beekeeping has waned as much in London and other wealthy Urban areas... Home Counties etc etc?????

Whilst I live in a relatively affluent area of Hampshire a lot of the people I talk to about keeping bees are pretty horrified at the cost of the hobby if you go down the mainstream route and buy everything. Hives kits are relatively cheap ... its the frames, foundation and other bits that pile on the costs, before you even start buying bees. I think the people who can make some of their own kit will be the ones who continue .... but I can see how disheartening it must be when someone spends, perhaps, three or four hundred quid only to find that they have lost their colonies over winter ... or possibly over each of TWO winters.

 

[m100]

There are round about 1600 members of the Yorkshire Beekeepers Association, up somewhere around 20 - 25% on 12 months ago.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I think the people who can make some of their own kit will be the ones who continue ....

Everyone can make there own kit if they put their mind and some dedication into it.

 

[pargyle]

Everyone can make there own kit if they put their mind and some dedication into it.

Yes ... I do ... and I agree ... but a lot of people are put off by the need for some degree of accuracy in cutting. It's easy when you know how ... perhaps associations should be running basic hivemaking courses in the winter as well as beekeeping courses ...

 

[Stiffy]

Spoke to a local beek last weekend who had 200 hives at one point and has had enough and now selling his last few hives.
Sad to see someone with lots of experience leave
S

 

[Brosville]

I think it apposite to mention that a great many people are (and have been for some time) deeply discontent with the BBKA's "attitude", and their blatantly ignoring many members' wishes, and I think that the availability of insurance from "other sources" may well be the clincher for many voting with their feet and not renewing their membership....

 

[richardbees]

I wonder if the interest in beekeeping has waned as much in London and other wealthy Urban areas... Home Counties etc etc?????

dunno.... but the official view of London BKA is that there are too many beehives in London for available forage so don't take up beekeeping but grow bee friendly flowers instead.