Import of NZ bees into UK

[Chris B]

Hombre,
To clarify,
until 4 years ago it was not possible to import package bees from anywhere except the EU.
4 years ago EU laws were amended to allow packages from New Zealand.
It has never been legal in my time as a beekeeper to import packages from Australia.
It was possible for Australians to export packages to the USA and this is the trade that has been recently banned.
It is possible to import NZ and Australian queens into the UK.

 

[Hombre]

Hombre,
To clarify,
until 4 years ago it was not possible to import package bees from anywhere except the EU.
4 years ago EU laws were amended to allow packages from New Zealand.
It has never been legal in my time as a beekeeper to import packages from Australia.
It was possible for Australians to export packages to the USA and this is the trade that has been recently banned.
It is possible to import NZ and Australian queens into the UK.

I stand corrected. I assume then that the packages were previously from New Zealand or made up from UK bees and Australian Queens.

I really should do my homework more thoroughly. Sorry folks; I did say I might have missed something.

 

[Norton]

Hello,
Yes packages are only permitted from NZ not from Australia. My personal view is that this very risky, after all they say that they have tight bio-security, but Varroa managed to get through the door............ They say that they haven't imported bees for over 40 years, yet the link I posted on another thread says that several thousand queens are exported from Greece to NZ every year!!!!!

SHB and Varroa managed to get into Hawaii despite a ban on imports in to the islands.

The packages/nucs indicated on Beebase as originating in Cyprus are supposedly from me. An investigation carried out by the vets here show that there has been some sort of administrative error - no nucs or packages were exported from Cyprus to the UK.

Best regards
Norton.

 

[Chris B]

Hello,
The packages/nucs indicated on Beebase as originating in Cyprus are supposedly from me. An investigation carried out by the vets here show that there has been some sort of administrative error - no nucs or packages were exported from Cyprus to the UK

Roger that's surely got to get alarm bells ringing very loudly. Packages/Nucs have come from elsewhere on forged documents - that has to be the suspicion. Do you know if the bee unit are now aware they didn't come from you?

 

[Norton]

The district vets said that they were going to pass the information on to HQ in Nicosia so that they could inform DEFRA etc.
It just goes to show that the information presented on beebase can be incorrect.
It makes no mention of packages imported in 2010 from NZ. Look at the laboratory examination of the attendant workers with the queens, 80% of the samples were either infected with nosema or melitiphis!!!! Appears that they are exporting diseased bees from my point of view.
If the vets find nosema here in our hives they will not issue a health certificate.

Best regards
Norton.

 

[roche]

Interestingly, Apis Ceranae has just been confimed in NZ

 

[Norton]

Have you got a link to this news?

 

[Chris B]

Interestingly, Apis Ceranae has just been confimed in NZ

Do you mean nosema ceranae?

 

[roche]

Do you mean nosema ceranae?

Quite right - not enough sleep last night....

[/URL]http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/rural/69146/another-bee-disease-confirmed-nationally[/URL]

 

[margob99]

On a similar issue, I've noticed there are plans for an operation in Epping to host 800 hives - has anyone else noticed this and wondered about foraging capacity in the east of London?

 

[drstitson]

given the organisational skills of WPF the epping setup is likely to fold before they reach 800.

 

[hedgerow pete]

i was under the impression that he how should not be named at cheltenham suppling the bees only , and this is only what very little i know ,
he only imports queens and no other bees, once the queens get to him, he then adds a kilo or so into a plastic nuc box with the imported queen and sells them as a package. i was under the impression that he who should not be named does not import whole nucs full of bees??

but thats just me?

two biggest issues surely are the fact that there are very few areas that can support 200 or 300 hives in a set area, apart from four weeks work on the osr and beans they would be done for the year realy.

would this group also be the same people that hive maker supplied to?

and the second problem is the whole idea of the co op doing something so cras as this, may be the co op is the end user and they are unaware of the new suppliers, supplies. or may be its just money.

but by far is the whole issue to me of the crosses in the next couple of seasons, i shall have to get a suit of armour made with a brass screen veil cause those babies are going to be very hard on the beekeepers.
Africian honey bees, phiffle,

the realy bad un's are going to be GLOUSTERSHIRE HONEY BEES. so bad even the hornets leave them alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

now you will have to excuse me as i have a few hundred nuc/bait boxes to make up , now where abouts in glouster did you say they were going

 

[Norton]

now you will have to excuse me as i have a few hundred nuc/bait boxes to make up , now where abouts in glouster did you say they were going

I like beekeepers who take positive action...............

 

[peteinwilts]

now you will have to excuse me as i have a few hundred nuc/bait boxes to make up , now where abouts in glouster did you say they were going

this site is MY neck of the woods! I have already started planning a perimeter of swarm boxes!

 

[eddiespangle]

I’m going to have to start a psyops campaign on my mother so she’ll let me keep a bait hive at the bottom of her garden in South Cerney!

 

[Norton]

With a profile like that you shouldn't have too much of a problem

 

[drstitson]

what's the need for pressure - bait hives are just empty boxes (until occupied)

 

[peteinwilts]

what's the need for pressure - bait hives are just empty boxes (until occupied)

my empty boxes did very well last year! 6 swarms caught in two locations (none of them were my own bees!)

 

[Friar Tuck]

I bet the Co op market the honey as Local english sustainable honey

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Sounds like a really bad idea to me - importation on any level is risky, never mind on a large scale like this.
I'd be interested to see what the Co-op's response to this will be. It would be a great shame if all the support they have voiced for british beekeeping turns out to be hollow.