New publication from RP

[jenkinsbrynmair]

he ends by saying "There's a lot of noisy know-alls in beekeeping... they ought to be ignored"

Pity he didn't say it at the start - to save the uninformed having to sit through the whole thing.

 

[Brian Bush]

Not me. I’m in bed by 10.30 these days.

As should all good beekeepers be!!!!!

 

[Brian Bush]

Not me - I ain't a mod, someone gave me my soul back

I quite liked you as a moderator JBM. You were able to show your sensitive side. I thought it really worked. I said at the time "it was a poacher turned gamekeeper" situation but I felt it was good for the forum.

 

[Brian Bush]

Are you referring to the research that found that Virgin Queens 80% of the time fly to the next (nearest) Drone Congregation Area (DCA) and only 20% of the time fly to the nearest DCA: And that Drones fly to the nearest DCA 80% of the time and the next (nearest) only 20% of the time?

Yes I am. I had recently read the book by Gudren Koeniger and watched the video of her talk to the NHS. Her research clearly showed clear results but I cannot remember the exact percentages. For some it cahllenges their long held views as it requires a tremendous effort from every beekeeper in a large area to improve mating by "drone flooding" unless there are physical geographical boundaries such as isolated valleys, islands or peninsulars.

 

[Moobee]

To be fair the three of us have to answer to the owners. I’ve left posts which have then been removed and I’ve been upbraided about them. We can’t always get it right and sometimes we can all have a bit of a knee jerk reaction to the odd post. We all have a different sense of humour. Some more absurd than others. The only person who is always right is …….. fill in as appropriate.

Roger Patterson?

 

[IndiBee]

RP was the first UK beekeeper I ever met (having only been working in bees once I moved to France). On returning to the UK he confirmed that what is done in the UK is the same as in France. Unfortunately I have never since found a like-minded Uk beekeeper here!
So, I think he is French but doesn't know it.

And having seen the responses since my above post, let me clarify. In the area of France where I worked, beekeeping is an art, not a science. Its an art which works and has done for generation after generation. You do what you do because it works, it always worked, you don't know why, it just does. RP is the only sane beekeeper I have met in the UK. The rest seem to think you can explain beekeeping by looking at what happened one year on 2 hives.
Don't get me wrong, I am a great believer is science, but you get out of science what you ut in and you can't put all the variables of beekeeping into science. Too many unknowns.

 

[Anduril]

43:20 minutes into the Lecture "Challenge What You Are Told" by Roger patterson, the Subject MATCHSTICKS is mentioned.... he ends by saying "There's a lot of noisy know-alls in beekeeping... they ought to be ignored"

Overall it's a good lecture, presented in a individualistic manner, I would imagine the book is similar.

RP lives in tropical climes in comparison to Scotland, for an evidence based critique, I would point him in the direction of Vino Farm on YouTube, OK he's American and so shouldn't be relatable to the UK. However this year he lost all his bees bar one hive. The research he has done since then, he wouldn't use matchsticks if they were offered to him.
RP's talk should have been called 'Challenge Both Sides Of The Argument', which is more balanced. Experiment with your bees and use what suits you, until something goes drastically wrong then reevaluate.
These arguments remind me of one of the 2019 Welsh Convention lectures, regarding treatment free. The speakers were haranguing an NBU representative and trying to get them to back treatment free. If the NBU advocated the non treatment and beginner beekeepers were losing their hives, it would place the NBU in an unenviable position.

 

[mbc]

Not me ... and I don't think it's Dani ... so not sure ... I'll have a look.

It's still there ... as you started it ... with the cartoon. There's no moderator edit or notes on it ... Sorry - it looks as though someone has moved it to the Pesticides/Political section where, to be honest, it was probably destined to go once a few comments has been added. If you want to see it then you have to request to be let in to that section as it's not publicly visible ... Once you have access to that section you will have the three stars under your profile and you will see the threads/posts in that section - you need a thick skin sometimes .... not for the faint hearted.

Here you are:

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/hands-face-bottom.50762/

Erm, three stars? Can I have them please

 

[Erichalfbee]

Erm, three stars? Can I have them please

Go to the pesticides section and click where it says
Click here to request access

 

[Ian123]

Erm, three stars? Can I have them please

What are those stars

 

[user 20297]

What are those stars

Apparently they mean you're grown up and won't cry if someone says something you don't like.

 

[Ian123]

Apparently they mean you're grown up and won't cry if someone says something you don't like.

I won’t be getting them then

 

[Boston Bees]

I won’t be getting them then

The new sub-forum has been a really good idea I think. I find the rest of the forum a noticeably calmer place since its arrival. I have vowed to never ask for access!

 

[Ian123]

I won’t be getting them then

Also the little male/female symbol I find offensive as as how do you know how 1 identifies these days

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The new sub-forum has been a really good idea I think. I find the rest of the forum a noticeably calmer place since its arrival. I have vowed to never ask for access!

It's not new - it's always been there, ever since the forum started

 

[Mint Bee]

Your second sentence says everything about the attitude of a small number of haughty individuals on this forum who can rarely accept an alternative or enquiring point of view about anything.
I'm trying to work out how you can know that someone is one of the, " two year two hive experts" and even if any such person should "preach", why they can't have something to offer after two years?

Maybe its more about the way that some interact with the forum. there is a wealth of knowledge on the forum if researched. a lot of possible questions have been asked and answered before. If I inferred that a 2 year beekeeper had nothing to offer that was not my intension. It was more that as beekeepers we never stop learning, but at 2 years there's a hell of a lot of learning to go to be considered a competent and experienced beekeeper.
everyone experiments, but reinventing the wheel for the sake of reinventing it, then claiming it to be the only way forward is going to be treated with a huge amount of scepticism. N = 2, 3 or 4 etc over a couple of seasons might indicate a possibility of something interesting for a specific location with the bees and hives the keeper observes the effect in. Only further experimentation will tell

 

[pargyle]

I won’t be getting them then

You've already got them !!!!

 

[Ian123]

You've already got them !!!!

I want bigger ones!

 

[pargyle]

I want bigger ones!

I do a very nice line in magnifying glasses with hand turned hardwood handles .... a snip at £15 plus postage ... your stars would then be in the ascendency !!

 

[Ian123]

I do a very nice line in magnifying glasses with hand turned hardwood handles .... a snip at £15 plus postage ... your stars would then be in the ascendency !!

Your turning into Patrick