oh dear

[psafloyd]

It should be after some of the rubbish i have seen of late in the shops. Comb honey that was a rock hard brown mush that looked like dog s**t.

You sure that wasn't brood comb for added protein?

 

[Tim1606]

No this was a mucky blob on the bottom of the container and the comb was almost empty, not even capped.

 

[alldigging]

yep, heard that rumour from an ex BBKA trustee last weekend, it all depends on whether they pass a new EU regulation, if HoneyBees are re-classified from "wild" to "Domesticated" animals then EU states will be required to register Beekeepers just as they do with cattle,sheep farmers etc

There is then the possiblity that requires also they also need to grant licences, and source/sale procedures

though hopefully not bee passort for indivual worker bees

Attaching those yellow ear tags is going to be tricky though.

 

[Jed D]

Well , I had to take time out to read all the posting's and reflect upon them.
Admittedly, I mixed the threads, both in " Oh Dear " & " Old kit for sale ".

But for me , the issue is " reporting a fellow beek to the inspector ".
While The Inspector is not the Bee Police , when did we start policing each other , without warning ?

Well after two days of reflection , I don't agree with it.
If I were to have an outbreak of something nasty at any of our sites , I would have no hesitation in calling for help and letting the inspector know of any surrounding Beeks.

After only 4 years of beekeeping myself, I don't feel I have enough knowledge or experience to critisise others.
We have three other beeks in our area , that I know of. All Newbee's ( or newer than us )..
The first. We gave them, their first bees.
Second. Another , who was supplied with Bees on very dirty comb , by a professional Beek ! ( an excellent way of spreading disease )
Third. I don't think I can describe them as Barefoot Beek ', More haphazard !! ( our lure hives are in position ).

Wherever Beekeeping goes in the future , it's got to be better , working together , sharing knowledge , experiences. and opinions. as long as it never becomes personal.
This forum is a great way of doing it.

Bee Base , Yeah great source of info ' but is it a double edge sword ?
It's there for us ' but Big Brother could also use it to control beekeeping,
Licenses, Honey sales etc..
As we sell honey at our local Farmers market. The council and the food standard agency have already inspected us . Then of course there's the market traders insurance. So no more red tape & expense , please....

As for catagorising Bees.. Wild , Domestic Pets , Livestock , etc...?????

All I can say is , we've never bought a Queen , all our bees have come from " the wild " albeit , swarms & cut outs , we even got some out of a drain !!!
Where did they come from before that ? I have no idea !!!
Our first Bees came from a swarm , which came out of a chimney just down the road. 4 years on , the said bees are still living there. Are they the same bees ? I don't know ! I assume they are riddled with Mites ' but short of climbing up there and dropping a MAQS strip in the chimney , I can't treat them. If this colony spits out two or three swarms a year , then die's out. Is it dead ? Or have the genetics just gone on to live in a new home ?

Taking it back to basic's, a Hive is a hollow tree ( i.e. habitat )
So by building Hives, am I provding a wild insect with somewhere to live ?
Fitting removable comb ( ie Frames ) makes it easy for me to , have a peek inside their home and steal their food.
If I support them ( ie keep them warm & fed, disease free ) I can steal some more of their food next year..
If and when they swarm , have they escaped ? or just moved.
Pete D , how many of your colonies have come from the barefoot beeks, bees ?
Last year we removed a colony from a compost bin in the same village and delivered them to you !

I don't know how long Bees have been on our planet ' but despite mans intervetion and manipulation they are still here.

As for our beekeeping... Am I commercial , a hobbyist or a capitalist ? I can't be a barefoot beek , ie always wear shoes....
Well after 4 years of spending money , it would be nice to break even ' but I think that could take a couple more years yet....

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

I have been Beekeeping for three years. I have always been interested in insects and in Bees since I was a child. I am considered by some people to be a bit weird as my garden is not the usual suburban neat patch it is not treated with pesticides and I hate to use weedkiller but I will for the most pernicious weeds.
A Witch Hunt this is not! for a witch is a wise woman and this person is not wise she is a honey thief. She does not care if they die as she has stated that they die out every year, if she cared she would do something to find out why they die. She is ignorant and a disgrace to the name of Beekeeper.
When I lost a good queen through my ineptness I was mortified. Not for the loss of what I paid for her but for the loss of her life and potential and the sad waste of effort of the people who produced her.
She needs a visit from the bee inspector to make sure that the bees she pretends to keep are not riddled with infection and to educate her that bees need at least the minimum amount of food to feed on through the winter and spring for all we know the bees that remain after the swarming may be left with no food and starve through her ignorance. You surely would report a starving dog.
The least anyone can do when they become involved with a living thing is to find out how to care for it at a basic level.

 

[Pete D]

Met the bare foot lady again this evening, she has bees flying from only 1 of 5 hives she took into the winter, collected lots of her own swarms last year.
I asked her if she had checked them at all and she hasn't, no need as if they have died out then what normally happens is some new ones may move in or she will put a swarm in them, either way she leaves the hives as they are and only ever looks in the top super to see if there is any honey to take.
I asked her about changing brood frames every now and then but that's a no also, they have built lots of wild comb over the years and you can't get them out. They seem happy enough she said so I let them do their own thing.
They are down the wild end of her long garden cos they get a bit stingy sometimes.
She then asked me if I would have a look for her sometime and whether I had some spare jars I could let her have.
I seem to be getting through to her a bit, I told her I have 55 hives and so far have had 1 loss this winter and I saw pollen going in all the hives over the last few days and that most of them have had a bag of fondant on since I did my winter treatments.
Anyway will see her again next Thursday evening for the next update. If we keep meeting like this she might get me to hang up my hive tool and take my socks off, would certainly make my summer workload lighter and I would have loads more free time.

 

[Eyeman]

this winter and I saw pollen going in all the hives over the last few days and that most of them have had a bag of fondant on since I did my winter treatments.

Hi Peter
50 bags of fondant seems a lot of extra work?
I can see single nationals getting short of stores but my 14x12's don't have a problem.
Alec

 

[Pete D]

Hi Alec, I run both about 50/50, not all have it but most.

 

[sussexbaker]

I asked her about changing brood frames every now and then but that's a no also, they have built lots of wild comb over the years and you can't get them out.

Is the theory not that Wax Moth will destroy older comb?

 

[enrico]

Is the theory not that Wax Moth will destroy older comb?

You beat me to it, she probably breeds more wax moth than bees! Takes all sorts though, boring world otherwise!
E

 

[Jed D]

Pete D , that's a fab result.
Maybe with some gentle nurturing and a pile of new frames & foundation.
You can bring her in to our world.

 

[beehive1234]

Exactly how old is the Lady?

 

[beeno]

this winter and I saw pollen going in all the hives over the last few days and that most of them have had a bag of fondant on since I did my winter treatments.

Hi Peter
50 bags of fondant seems a lot of extra work?
I can see single nationals getting short of stores but my 14x12's don't have a problem.
Alec

Gentler on the back though. One source I read today stated that a lot of commercial beeks do it as a matter of course as it is quicker as well as less exhausting if you have hundreds of hives to look after.

 

[Pete D]

Exactly how old is the Lady?

Mid fifties would be my guess

 

[itma]

Exactly how old is the Lady?

 

[Pete D]

Pete D , that's a fab result.
Maybe with some gentle nurturing and a pile of new frames & foundation.
You can bring her in to our world.

I am not trying to tell her how to keep bees, she has been doing it for longer than us 2 put together, she can use what method she wants.
I was just trying to nudge her down the more responsible route, not letting her swarms terrorise old ladies and kids, not letting the bees starve and not harbouring pests or diseases that may effect other bees, wild or managed.
I don't report beekeeping techniques, just an e mail to the local inspector who is a committee member of the association enquiring if he is aware of a lady keeping bees at ...x y z.

 

[beehive1234]

Good, because I am thinking of reporting you to AGE CONCERN. This lady might be suffering from the beginnings of Alzheimer, I think you should ask her next of kin if you should interfere with her belongings. They might think you are taking liberties with her property.
JUST A THOUGHT!

 

[beehive1234]

ITMA .........please be more specific, as I don't know what your trying to say.

 

[Tawny Owl]

I am not trying to tell her how to keep bees, she has been doing it for longer than us 2 put together, she can use what method she wants.
I was just trying to nudge her down the more responsible route, not letting her swarms terrorise old ladies and kids, not letting the bees starve and not harbouring pests or diseases that may effect other bees, wild or managed.
I don't report beekeeping techniques, just an e mail to the local inspector who is a committee member of the association enquiring if he is aware of a lady keeping bees at ...x y z.

I disagree with your definition of 'responsible'. Swarming is a natural phenomenon, I have yet to see a swarm chasing an old lady or child down the street (entertaining though that would be). If her colonies routinely swarm it suggests that they are not weakened by disease but are in fact probably strong and healthy. It is also a good way of obtaining a new queen and engages with natural selection, which the evidence from Africa suggests is the only way we will ever develop varroa resistant bees. I think, if she is not farming honey,that this is a very responsible approach.

I can't comment on her bees starving over winter. I'm sure you think that feeding them fondant is a good idea, but when you do this you step away from natural selection. British bees have a very low requirement for calories over winter, hybridised bees need much more. Maybe her bees dying off are actually your responsibility for filling the skies with drones from these Spanish hybrids. You do this for their productivity, maybe she simply wants resilient British bees.

The same applies for bee diseases. Routinely inspecting and filling colonies with medicated candy and varroa treatments is farming, but don't go thinking you are doing the bees (as a species) any favours.

Having said that the choices I make are similar to yours, but I do this knowing that I am not contributing to bee species health or survivability in this country and that people like this lady are probably contributing a lot more than I ever will, whether she knows it or not.

/flame on

 

[theeggman]

ITMA .........please be more specific, as I don't know what your trying to say.

I think ITMA is suggesting one shouldn't ask a lady's age.