Honey Makers

[DanBee]

The REAL Buckfasts at Buckfast Abbey

Long since gone. Fact check required.

 

[For want of a better word]

My purposefully purchased 2010 and 2011 Cornish bees did next to nothing bar one.

My biggest provider by far was a locally caught swarm that I caught a couple of years ago.

They are my darkest bees, but out in huge numbers whilst the Cornish bees were staying indoors due to the weather, which is probably WHY they did so well.

They were also first off the mark in Spring, and consistantly out the door first in the cool mornings.

Very aggresive, but with a consistant 0 Varroa mite drop and collecting more than all the other hives put together, HM stay of execution has been postponed.

If they weren't so grumpy they would make excellent breeding stock.

It will be interesting to see how they compare during a 'normal' year (unless this is now 'normal'!! I heard scientists believe this type of weather will stay whilst the North atlantic is as warm as it is... but am sure they are guessing! )

Wiltshire.... long rolling non maritime dessert of mono culture crops... NO WONDER the Cornish bees sulked !

 

[Stiffy]

My purposefully purchased 2010 and 2011 Cornish bees did next to nothing bar one.

Sounds about right, as with most things in Cornwall they will do it 'Dreckly'.

 

[For want of a better word]

Local swarms of nasty black bxxxds I collected April/May did okay.........

They would be Carniolians... pretty black bees with a pretty black moody temperament to match !

 

[Stiffy]

Local swarms of nasty black bxxxds I collected April/May did okay.........

They would be Carniolians... pretty black bees with a pretty black moody temperament to match !

Doubtful , I have a good idea they came from one of the avid Cornish Black bee producers fairly close to me and dont know of any Carnies.

Through work, I visit many farms and out of the way places and often if I see a hive get to talk about their bees. I am really surprised at how many say they have bought and keep local bees but then say how nasty and unproductive they are, each to their own I guess but not for me.
S

 

[BILL.HEARD]

The sad fact is that little remains of Brother Adam at Buckfast Abbey, the hives have gone, rotted or sold off, the extraction plant demolished etc. Fortunately for us however his work has been taken up by beekeepers both in this country and abroad to carry on the great work that he did there.

 

[peteinwilts]

Wiltshire.... long rolling non maritime dessert of mono culture crops... NO WONDER the Cornish bees sulked !

aaahhh!!! you are refering to the other side of the motorway.... where my bees are, is cow country.

the cows live in smaller sized fields that are rotated every few months which gives the land a 'rest' but also allows an abundant supply of wildflowers and masses of clover to grow.

The bees are surrounded by lots of ancient hedgerows and woods. Lots of streams and a very large nature reserve with a big lake very close by, which is next to an estate that shoots (not bees!).

Also, a village and some very well to do houses with grand gardens within easy flying distance.

certainly not monoculture... possibly even spoilt!

 

[Stiffy]

The sad fact is that little remains of Brother Adam at Buckfast Abbey, the hives have gone, rotted or sold off, the extraction plant demolished etc. Fortunately for us however his work has been taken up by beekeepers both in this country and abroad to carry on the great work that he did there.

Luckily there are some very good breeders still carrying on the good work BA started. I just hang onto their shirt tails and am grateful they are there.
S

 

[Skyhook]

the cows live in smaller sized fields that are rotated every few months

That sounds like heavy work!

 

[For want of a better word]

The sad fact is that little remains of Brother Adam at Buckfast Abbey, the hives have gone, rotted or sold off, the extraction plant demolished etc. Fortunately for us however his work has been taken up by beekeepers both in this country and abroad to carry on the great work that he did there.

And we must not forget a certain German Reich did their bit for bee improvement too !

 

[REDWOOD]

And we must not forget a certain German Reich did their bit for bee improvement too !

I thought it was human improvement

 

[Chrisfnvs]

Buckfasts, they gave 3 times the amount of honey when compaired to my other stocks of carnies, and they are to only ones still working in this bad weather and the only ones that do not need feeding for winter !

 

[For want of a better word]

I thought it was human improvement

sadly not

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

long rolling non maritime dessert

What would that be then Ican? spotted dick always a treat on board as is bread and butter pudding - apple pie or rhubarb crumble a staple.

I know! - souffle could be described as non maritime - heck of a job making it rise evenly on a rolling ship I hear

Or did you mean desert - they tend to be non maritime (due to the absence of water - salt or otherwise

 

[REDWOOD]

That's got to be a jam roll without it floating in custard

 

[REDWOOD]

My darker grumpy bees out shone the buckfast cecropia bees by about 5lb of honey which is neither here or there and a mongrel lot where rubbish. the dark bees where out flying in colder weather and the BC would fly in rainy weather, I might try a New Zealand queen next year

 

[farbee]

Three of my mongrel strains (not particularly related).

Expect the replies to be a bit skewed from anyone with only the one single strain?

Or the simple fact that the weather played havoc with the bees might just be another interfering function.

Along with young and old queens and other factors (such as how much they were fed early on) there is likely to be a rather mixed bunch of not-particularly-useful answers, in the main.

Absolutely right

 

[DanBee]

Wiltshire.... long rolling non maritime dessert of mono culture crops...

Salisbury Plain?

 

[DanBee]

They would be Carniolians... pretty black bees with a pretty black moody temperament to match !

Actually the carniolans I have worked have been extremely gentle. Good bees, by all accounts, and well suited to much of the UK.

 

[victor meldrew]

Salisbury Plain?

Can always forget honey and employ bees detecting explosives?
VM