Polytunnels for honey bees?

[Curly green fingers]

Hi , I have a very small nursery and mainly grow perennials and some veg. I plan to grow just fruit and vegetable's starting from this autumn and plan to buy another tunnel. Are there polytunnels that accommodate honey bee's ? Cheers. C

 

[Millet]

Hi , I have a very small nursery and mainly grow perennials and some veg. I plan to grow just fruit and vegetable's starting from this autumn and plan to buy another tunnel. Are there polytunnels that accommodate honey bee's ? Cheers. C

Bad idea IMO as it will give the bees a false reading of the outside temperature, it maybe too cold for the bees to fly but if you get a bit of sun on the poly tunnel the temperature could be a fair bit warmer inside causing the bees to fly into the cold.

 

[Poly Hive]

Polly growers use bumbles and I believe this is bacause for some reason they are not confused by the light that comes through the cover but honey bees are.

It certainly would be cheaper for the growers to hire in a few bee colonies than to buy bumbles which are imported from Holland (I believe)

So not a great idea unfortunately. But cheap to ask here and find out than to spend a lot of money on a disappointment.

PH

 

[Quevy]

If not mistaken, tomatoes have a better yield when pollinated by bumbles.
Bees are not good pollinators for tomatoes. Hence the use of the bumbles which are indeed way more expensive.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hi , I have a very small nursery and mainly grow perennials and some veg. I plan to grow just fruit and vegetable's starting from this autumn and plan to buy another tunnel. Are there polytunnels that accommodate honey bee's ? Cheers. C

I have seen beehives in poly tunnels in California. The tunnels are huge though. The sort you can’t see the end of. Bees don’t make honey in there, they are just used for pollination and fed. They don’t do well and lots of bees are lost from exhaustion bettering themselves against the tunnel walls. Bees visit my greenhouse and leave without bother so if you site a hive in the same area and keep the doors open they will do the job for you.

 

[fatshark]

Honey bees do poorly in these sorts of tunnels. Colonies will need feeding and they stuff the nest full of nectar and laying rate drops precipitously until they're barely ticking over. Foragers cluster in the corners and don't return to the hive. Not recommended.

My experience is with bees in poly tunnels covered with insect proof netting. I suspect it would be even worse under polythene.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Sorry folks I think I've got the question wrong I don't want to keep bee's in the tunnel. I just want to buy a tunnel that's ideal for them to forage in and be able to fly in and out of cheers c.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I just want to buy a tunnel that's ideal for them to forage in and be able to fly in and out of cheers c.

Any poly tunnel that is short with both ends open and the poly on the sides rolled up a third of the way and tied to the hoops.

 

[Curly green fingers]

I'm going to have a look at a nursery in Herefordshire there growing late Raspberry's now and have four hives hopefully get some idea the tunnel I'd like is 50 ft x 20 ft its only small in the grand scheme of things. Cheers. C

 

[Curly green fingers]

Hi I was thinking of being more crop Pacific for the honey Bee's broadbeans,French beans, Raspberry's, currants, perhaps even cordon fruit tree's. You can have Raspberry's flowering for five months of the year and fruiting for longer in the right conditions. Cheers. C

 

[Stiffy]

Sorry folks I think I've got the question wrong I don't want to keep bee's in the tunnel. I just want to buy a tunnel that's ideal for them to forage in and be able to fly in and out of cheers c.

I have a tunnel close to one of my apiary sites and bees seem to get confused when they enter and try to exit through the covering. I try not to let them get in but peaches and lemons when in flower appear to be very attractive to them.
S

 

[Beefriendly]

peaches and lemons when in flower appear to be very attractive to them.
S

Seems Cornwall is not quite the cold wet freezing tundra Hoppy would have us believe his Amm's survive in day in day out.

 

[Stiffy]

We get very few days with frost and snow is thankfully a raritywhich stops everyone moving, even though it rarely last a day. We do have more than our fair share of rain and gales though
Hobbit, I believe is based within spitting distance of Devon and close to 100 miles away....
S

 

[Curly green fingers]

We are very exposed up here we are 1500 ft or there abouts my hive is in my garden which has been terraced. And we have our own micro climate. I can grow tender plants that I've not been able to grow anywhere else. After looking at the tunnels/ nursery in Herefordshire I'm going to leave the new tunnel alone. It seems to me that big growers just use the honey bee for pollination with out a real care for the bees. I only have one hive and I want to look after them like I do my children. Cheers c

 

[Curly green fingers]

I can see how they get confused even with open sides and open ended tunnels I've also seen tunnels with mesh along the ridges to help the bees escape. But the bee's still looked confused not good I think I'll just plant in the raised beds instead out side 400 raspberry canes this autumn three varieties Early's mid season and lates. Cheers. C

 

[beebopper]

Have you thought about a bee shed. These are quite common in the alps - my grandfather had one. Hive is inside with a tunnel to the outside.

 

[Curly green fingers]

I'm already on it. My grandad had a bee shed in the black mountains that's where my bee's came from. I've built a temporary shelter for them so far . I'll look on net for some ideas cheers c