Photos of queens Mating.

[Erichalfbee]

I’d rather be the queen than the donor of the tether!

The queen is tied to a bit of nylon line so that she can’t escape but flies round and round.

 

[BugsInABox]

The queen is tied to a bit of nylon line so that she can’t escape but flies round and round.

Ah, a photographic technique - Thank goodness.

 

[Curly green finger's]

If you are really in to bee porn then you could not do better than get yourself a DVD of "More Than Honey" More than Honey - official film website This trailer includes a superb, but very short, clip of mating: The full film contains a lot more.

The film also happens to tell of:

• US commercial beekeepers' disregard of bee and human health - including the widespread use of chemical treatments which would be illegal in Europe
• China's use of pesticides so efficiently that they now have to pollinate trees by hand
• Heart wrenching section of an alpine beekeeper having to destroy all his combs once EFB (or is it AFB?) is diagnosed

More clips here:

Wow... That's shocking really..
Just goes to show if we could plant more wild flower meadows, even just a small area, how much of a difference we can make.
The first video has upset me to be fair.
How do such farmers deserve to look after such beautiful little insects.

It makes me feel sad that I'm a farmer.
Personally we are stock farmers and produce lamb and beef for M&S..
But know father has passed away the farm is in limbo, And my brother and I are at loggerheads because I want to get rid of all stock and turn the hole farm which consists of 320 acres into a nature park/nursery and grow our small bee farming business..
Im at present buying my brothers half of the farm which is creating a headache in its self.
Making the transition from stock farm to what my vision of what I would like to do with the farm and making it viable is maybe a crazy idea..but I will persist and die trying.. Even sell the clothes I'm standing in if I have to.
The neighbouring farmers think I'm abit loko, and have there concerns.

I never thought my life would come to me being a beekeeper and having such love for my girls and wanting to change our farm and my life so drastically.
This is All down to me moving 1 hive from the farm in 2016 to the Clee and not really having a clue how to look after them at that point.
They have left a lasting impression on me that I will never be able to shake of.

Cheers

Mark.

 

[Michael ECB's]

Wow... That's shocking really..
Just goes to show if we could plant more wild flower meadows, even just a small area, how much of a difference we can make.
The first video has upset me to be fair.
How do such farmers deserve to look after such beautiful little insects.

It makes me feel sad that I'm a farmer.
Personally we are stock farmers and produce lamb and beef for M&S..
But know father has passed away the farm is in limbo, And my brother and I are at loggerheads because I want to get rid of all stock and turn the hole farm which consists of 320 acres into a nature park/nursery and grow our small bee farming business..
Im at present buying my brothers half of the farm which is creating a headache in its self.
Making the transition from stock farm to what my vision of what I would like to do with the farm and making it viable is maybe a crazy idea..but I will persist and die trying.. Even sell the clothes I'm standing in if I have to.
The neighbouring farmers think I'm abit loko, and have there concerns.

I never thought my life would come to me being a beekeeper and having such love for my girls and wanting to change our farm and my life so drastically.
This is All down to me moving 1 hive from the farm in 2016 to the Clee and not really having a clue how to look after them at that point.
They have left a lasting impression on me that I will never be able to shake of.

Cheers

Mark.

Wish I could sit around a camp fire with you and encourage the passion that you have.... ( Or grab you by the throat and throttle you) - just joking!!!!
From where I come from, 320 acres is not a lot to work with for live stock.... But,,,,, a coffee/health shop on the premises helping with daily overheads.... a B&B focused on clean living and health, a couple of farm animals around just to keep that "Fresh Air" smell,,,, and finally..... Worked meat using honey... Smoked pork speciality products... small deli is what im saying..... Smoked pork neck with honey, ribs, kasler chops.... Good god man,,,,, even cereal tastes better with some honey...

Once again I say, if you have a passion - do it..... Just Do It... If you must sacrifice some land for an "Anchor tenant" do it... touch farm, home brewing whatever!
Live life! None of us are getting out alive!
Just Do It!

Well, my thoughts anyway.....

P.s. seen your work, seen your passion - Just do it already....

 

[Michael ECB's]

Sorry,,,, to add to comment above.... i have not watched the clip
I'm a farmer and do not want to be embarrassed or feel sad about my chosen career because of what some one else has done.....

 

[rolande]

Sorry,,,, to add to comment above.... i have not watched the clip
I'm a farmer and do not want to be embarrassed or feel sad about my chosen career because of what some one else has done.....

That footage of miller's operation has done a lot to damage the image of beekeeper's in general, the number of times I've seen it used (usually on Facebook) to prove a point. That's why I linked his TedTalk, to show there's another side to the man. Worth watching both.

 

[Apple]

Could have been worse and showed the Q behind

Alway make me splatter me coffee over the keyboard when the football commentator says such and such a team came from behind!
Chons da

 

[RichardBeeW]

Bit miserable really. The queen is tethered and flies round and round in circles on the tether

Just a question- if you had a valuable virgin queen that emerged with a damaged wing would that be genetic or through accident? - could tethering be attempted to still try to secure some offspring?

 

[RichardBeeW]

Wow... That's shocking really..
Just goes to show if we could plant more wild flower meadows, even just a small area, how much of a difference we can make.
The first video has upset me to be fair.
How do such farmers deserve to look after such beautiful little insects.

It makes me feel sad that I'm a farmer.
Personally we are stock farmers and produce lamb and beef for M&S..
But know father has passed away the farm is in limbo, And my brother and I are at loggerheads because I want to get rid of all stock and turn the hole farm which consists of 320 acres into a nature park/nursery and grow our small bee farming business..
Im at present buying my brothers half of the farm which is creating a headache in its self.
Making the transition from stock farm to what my vision of what I would like to do with the farm and making it viable is maybe a crazy idea..but I will persist and die trying.. Even sell the clothes I'm standing in if I have to.
The neighbouring farmers think I'm abit loko, and have there concerns.

I never thought my life would come to me being a beekeeper and having such love for my girls and wanting to change our farm and my life so drastically.
This is All down to me moving 1 hive from the farm in 2016 to the Clee and not really having a clue how to look after them at that point.
They have left a lasting impression on me that I will never be able to shake of.

Cheers

Mark.

My wife and I, then 25 and 27, left banking and a building society career and bought a 6 1/2 acre smallholding in west Wales in 1981 with a view to farming it (2 hand milked house cows, half a dozen goats, some pigs, some sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits and, of course, bees - and we'd only kept guppies before ). We concentrated on getting families to stay with us in our 3 bed 500 year old farmhouse - eventually rented another 3 1/2 acres) getting the children to collect their own eggs for breakfast, some progressed to milking lessons on a kindly old goat we had and a very few older ones, and adults, on our gentlest cow. We made a really good living with families coming back again and again and bringing others with them. Admittedly we did sell them our beef, lamb, pork etc. and home grown organic veg at breakfast and especially evening meals (which you might not want to do) but it worked and we would still be happily doing it if not for ill health. It can be done and was incredibly rewarding.

 

[Curly green finger's]

My wife and I, then 25 and 27, left banking and a building society career and bought a 6 1/2 acre smallholding in west Wales in 1981 with a view to farming it (2 hand milked house cows, half a dozen goats, some pigs, some sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits and, of course, bees - and we'd only kept guppies before ). We concentrated on getting families to stay with us in our 3 bed 500 year old farmhouse - eventually rented another 3 1/2 acres) getting the children to collect their own eggs for breakfast, some progressed to milking lessons on a kindly old goat we had and a very few older ones, and adults, on our gentlest cow. We made a really good living with families coming back again and again and bringing others with them. Admittedly we did sell them our beef, lamb, pork etc. and home grown organic veg at breakfast and especially evening meals (which you might not want to do) but it worked and we would still be happily doing it if not for ill health. It can be done and was incredibly rewarding.

Where abouts Richard in mid Wales? pm me if you don't want to share it on here.

The thing is B&B wouldn't be our thing as we are quite unsociable people me and my wife.
The wife more so... You wouldnt of thought it would you.
I don't mind visitors but an hour or two is plenty enough for me.

 

[RichardBeeW]

Where abouts Richard in mid Wales? pm me if you don't want to share it on here.

The thing is B&B wouldn't be our thing as we are quite unsociable people me and my wife.
The wife more so... You wouldnt of thought it would you.
I don't mind visitors but an hour or two is plenty enough for me.

We used to live on our smallholding just outside Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire but for the last year moved into a house just outside Llandrindod Wells in mid-Wales where, at last, we have bees again! Lovin it

 

[Curly green finger's]

We used to live on our smallholding just outside Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire but for the last year moved into a house just outside Llandrindod Wells in mid-Wales where, at last, we have bees again! Lovin it

Llandod is where my wife is from.
When I've more time another night ill pm for a further conversation..but take care and good night.
Im up at 5am daily.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just a question- if you had a valuable virgin queen that emerged with a damaged wing would that be genetic or through accident? - could tethering be attempted to still try to secure some offspring?

II might be easier
But I would squash her

 

[Swarm]

Interesting point.
My friend had a queen with no wings (she definitely had wings when I ran her onto the comb, following year gone) He found a different queen while inspecting, this one had only one wing. He asked me to take a look and sure enough, found her, one wing but also found her wingless mother.
Question was which one was laying eggs? We know mother has done for two seasons, so split the colony. The answer was both of them as we found eggs in with one wing so at some point she must have been intact for a mating flight. They were gorgeous colonies and we had big plans to raise some queens from them but sadly, they perished in the floods we had in March

 

[BugsInABox]

“following year gone”

I’m stuck in a logical spiral of temporal relativism. Please help me sleep tonight, which year does this reference?

 

[Swarm]

I’m stuck in a logical spiral of temporal relativism. Please help me sleep tonight, which year does this reference?

Queen was introduced in 2018, marked red. At this point she had wings. In 2019 he phoned me about this hive as he had seen a queen with what appeared to be a damaged wing so I inspected them with him. There was the red queen, walking the combs and she had no wings. Couple of frames away is the other queen, not a damaged wing as he thought, it was missing completely.
We split the hive, there were eggs present but obviously from the red queen, right? He found eggs with both colonies next inspection. Better still, they were gorgeous bees, very gentle. Tragically, both got washed away in the floods.
There is a bright side as well, a daughter queen showing the same traits (and three others raised from her this year)