Perfect training apiary?

[Erichalfbee]

Extraction room and dissection lab. Twickenham and Thames Valley have excellent facilities - unfortunately their website doesn't give a very good idea of how well they are set up, but it might be worth contacting them.

That sounds absolutely wonderful
I used to live in Teddington but that was before bees. Such a pity, I wish I had the addiction in those days. Add an affluent area and an association peopled with a good few equally affluent hobbyists and you have the recipe for all these things.
My local association is struggling to find people with the knowledge and talent to run the infrastructure.....such a pity

 

[roche]

Yes - they have also had ( I haven't been there for a while) very knowledgeable people there in tutoring/mentoring roles. Coupled with the facilities, I think it was very hard to beat as a training apiary.

 

[bingevader]

Emergency telephone?
I know (almost) everyone has mobiles, but unless one is designated to the site or it is on you check-list of equipment then there will be an occasion when one isn't to hand.
We've got down to the site only for all of us to say, "Oh, haven't you got your mobile?!".
Thankfully we've not needed it yet, but if you are going to significantly increase the number of new people attending the site, then it's worth considering.

A German friend of mine tells me that its against the law to keep aggressive bees there. The beekeeper could be subject to an immediate fine. This is probably why they have such docile bees.
I think beekeeping in this country is very much behind the times in many areas.

Isn't it this kind of over regulation that made most people decide to leave the EU?!
I can walk round my apiary in shorts and tee-shirt, I wouldn't want to be able to inspect a hive like that.
They must be allowed to have some survival instinct, surely!
Or maybe be not, when you think of what the intensive dairy industry is doing to cows.
Could we manage that with bees?!
Sugar syrup in one end of a sealed unit, with honey out the other?!!!
Flow hive is half the answer!

 

[B+.]

Isn't it this kind of over regulation that made most people decide to leave the EU?!
I can walk round my apiary in shorts and tee-shirt, I wouldn't want to be able to inspect a hive like that.
They must be allowed to have some survival instinct, surely!

I don't think so. Are you REALLY arguing for the right to keep aggressive bees? Surely, none of us want that? If that is true, why would we not subscribe to a system where keeping aggressive bees is penalized? This just paints us all in a bad light.
It's aggression towards people that is being discouraged here, not bees defending their colony against wasps and other predators. There is a huge difference!

 

[madasafish]

Emergency telephone?
I know (almost) everyone has mobiles, but unless one is designated to the site or it is on you check-list of equipment then there will be an occasion when one isn't to hand.
We've got down to the site only for all of us to say, "Oh, haven't you got your mobile?!".
Thankfully we've not needed it yet, but if you are going to significantly increase the number of new people attending the site, then it's worth considering.


Isn't it this kind of over regulation that made most people decide to leave the EU?!
I can walk round my apiary in shorts and tee-shirt, I wouldn't want to be able to inspect a hive like that.
They must be allowed to have some survival instinct, surely!
Or maybe be not, when you think of what the intensive dairy industry is doing to cows.
Could we manage that with bees?!
Sugar syrup in one end of a sealed unit, with honey out the other?!!!
Flow hive is half the answer!

Without going into an argument about the EU, are you then if favour of keeping pitbulls?

Same arguments apply as bees.. Nanny state preventing owners owning a people killing animal/dog..

 

[Bee Bumble]

Emergency telephone?

Mobile telephones do not work at my out apiaries - too far off the beaten track!

 

[bingevader]

I don't think so. Are you REALLY arguing for the right to keep aggressive bees?

Nope, never said that, not the right, just not to be penalised if for what ever reason they turned nasty and I wanted to take the time to put it right rather than send the bees to the gas chambers!

Surely, none of us want that? If that is true, why would we not subscribe to a system where keeping aggressive bees is penalized? This just paints us all in a bad light.

Because I've had 2 aggressive colonies recently and have spent the time and effort to resolve the matter. I don't want some busy body saying it's against the law and telling me to destroy them.
Neither was my fault.
One was kicked over by youfs.

It's aggression towards people that is being discouraged here, not bees defending their colony against wasps and other predators. There is a huge difference!

And your bees can tell the difference?!!

 

[bingevader]

Without going into an argument about the EU, are you then if favour of keeping pitbulls?

Same arguments apply as bees.. Nanny state preventing owners owning a people killing animal/dog..

My bees won't bite the faces off small children.
And with time and management I can put it right.
You can't do that to ANY dog.

 

[bingevader]

Mobile telephones do not work at my out apiaries - too far off the beaten track!

But I'm not sure a Training Apiary should be without one.

 

[Herbalist]

A rather good idea and what a shame it does not apply to Ireland and the UK. The very sad fact is, most beekeepers do not know what a docile bee is. To our Irish friends I would say, look at some well bred Buckfast bees and see how they behave and see what they produce. Make up your own mind and do not be led astray by groups or individuals who have hidden agendas.

I agree 100%. The key is your words "well bred". I have experience of both well bred Buckfast and badly bred Buckfast. The difference is radical. The badly bred ones are truly awful. The well-bred ones are a joy to own. It is easy to see how a beekeeper that has no experience of a truly well-bred Buckfast bee can have lower expectations than he/she should have. It is all in the professionalism (and honesty) of the queen supplier and how smart the beekeeper is at sourcing a good supplier/geneline. (It is almost impossible to take a rogue supplier - selling F2 and F3 so-called "Buckfast Queens" - to task under the Trade Descriptions Act).

 

[B+.]

And your bees can tell the difference?!!

Yes. They are selected for non aggression (https://youtu.be/KGZ0ZmN-W8M)

 

[madasafish]

My bees won't bite the faces off small children.
And with time and management I can put it right.
You can't do that to ANY dog.

Your bees can kill small children and any dog and horses.

 

[Uncle Betty]

Yes. They are selected for non aggression (https://youtu.be/KGZ0ZmN-W8M)

How does this work ?

I don't understand non-aggression vis-a-vis humans, while retaining defensive abilities versus predators in the wild.

In other words, how would these bees fare if they swarmed ?

 

[Uncle Betty]

Without going into an argument about the EU, are you then if favour of keeping pitbulls?

Same arguments apply as bees.. Nanny state preventing owners owning a people killing animal/dog..

Utterly ridiculous comparison, sorry.

Unless pitbulls are useful pollinators, or producers of an incredible foodstuff ? Who knew ? Not I.

Not even remotely the same argument.

edit - Sorry, wanted to add...

if bees can kill a child/dog/horse, then so can a car or more to the point, a motorbike. Where would it end ?

 

[B+.]

How does this work ?

I don't understand non-aggression vis-a-vis humans, while retaining defensive abilities versus predators in the wild.

In other words, how would these bees fare if they swarmed ?

Swarming is another characteristic that is tested. Who wants swarmy bees?
It is all described in Coloss and "Selektion bei der Honigbiene". Alternatively, read this http://edepot.wur.nl/326724

 

[Uncle Betty]

Swarming is another characteristic that is tested. Who wants swarmy bees?
It is all described in Coloss and "Selektion bei der Honigbiene". Alternatively, read this http://edepot.wur.nl/326724

The reason I mentioned swarming is that (beginner here) I understood the Carnica/Carniolans of your link to be more inclined to swarm than other bees.

Now I see from the Wiki page on Carniolans, the following statement...

It is favored among beekeepers for several reasons, not the least being its ability to defend itself successfully against insect pests while at the same time being extremely gentle in its behavior toward beekeepers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniolan_honey_bee

No explanation give there as to why that is so. Interesting all the same.

Thanks for the links, I'm sure I will enjoy those.

 

[bingevader]

Yes. They are selected for non aggression (https://youtu.be/KGZ0ZmN-W8M)

Selected for non-aggression, not to tell the difference between humans and wasps though!
If they're non-aggressive, they're non-aggressive.
Less defensive against wasps too then.

 

[bingevader]

Your bees can kill small children and any dog and horses.

Yes, just by looking at them (but how did you know?!).
My bees have also been known to shatter glass windows if they all buzz at the right frequency.
As for the horses, they must have forgotten to tell me about the horses.

Death by multiple bee stings is very rare.
Death by anaphylaxis is also, thankfully, rare.

The incidence of death by Pit Bull was increasing rapidly hence the ban.
I don't know why you keep making the bogus link.

 

[B+.]

If they're non-aggressive, they're non-aggressive.
Less defensive against wasps too then.

....and yet they over-winter without treatment and can defend themselves against wasps/etc without any problem.

 

[B+.]

I understood the Carnica/Carniolans of your link to be more inclined to swarm than other bees. .

This is an often repeated generalization. It doesn't apply to the population I work with. If anything, they tend to supersede when the queen gets too old rather than swarm.