Questionaire for beekeepers in Devon and Cornwall

[srose]

Dear Beekeepers,

I am currently writing my BSc Environmental Science dissertation on captive honeybees in the UK.

I would be very grateful if beekeepers in the Devon and Cornwall area could fill in my questionnaire.

My aim is to understand the factors involved in honeybee survival and decline; the opinions of local beekeepers are a vital part of my research project.

Website for questionnaire; surveymonkey.com/s/6P5GWX9

Many thanks for your time.

 

[Excession]

hi

Best post ever.

Right up there with the twitter account 'onetweetpete'.

Top marks!

 

[PBee]

Best post ever.

Right up there with the twitter account 'onetweetpete'.

Top marks!

Have you tried aromatherapy?

 

[BeeJayBee]

You've chosen this as the title for your questionnaire :-

"An investigation in Devon and Cornwall looking at the causes of honeybee declines in the UK"​

Not wanting to be too picky, but it would be interesting to know where you learned that honeybees are in decline.

 

[Stiffy]

Sorry, I went to complete the survey but the questions really do need a little more thinking in through.
S

 

[Erichalfbee]

and you'll not get far with
"An investigation in Devon and Cornwall looking at the causes of honeybee declines in the UK"
Now if you picked any number of Bumble bees you would be more on track.
An investigation into whether the honeybee is in decline in Devon and Cornwall might give you more scope
Seems to be survey time

 

[madasafish]

I'm in N Staffs and my bees are not declining.

Maybe it's the well known Cornish inbreeding?

 

[MuswellMetro]

I'm in N Staffs and my bees are not declining.

Maybe it's the well known Cornish inbreeding?

Well, some of my Family would disagree that Cornwall was in the UK, they cross the Tamar to visit me and say they are going to England

 

[drstitson]

I'd imagine that any truly captive honeybee would be in decline.

 

[Ely]

Dear Beekeepers,

I am currently writing my BSc Environmental Science dissertation on captive honeybees in the UK.

I still haven't recieved my ransom, despite offing a few of my hostages

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

captive honeybees in the UK.

That's one way to get around the three mile rule - just shorten their chains!

 

[DanBee]

Hey play nicely, guys. We may be a bit sharp with each other once in a while, but what you might see as humour might come across as rather more pointed

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

O.K. but I doubt anyone would agree that we have 'captive' bees as they are free to come and go as they please (and leave altogether if they want)
And we all know tha the only people who think the honeybee is in decline are the poor misguided souls who read comics like the Mail or the Grauniad

 

[Drew]

Hey play nicely, guys. We may be a bit sharp with each other once in a while, but what you might see as humour might come across as rather more pointed

Yeah you lot! Quiet and listen to Big Nose!!

 

[DanBee]

Yeah you lot! Quiet and listen to Big Nose!!

 

[srose]

You've chosen this as the title for your questionnaire :-

"An investigation in Devon and Cornwall looking at the causes of honeybee declines in the UK"​

Not wanting to be too picky, but it would be interesting to know where you learned that honeybees are in decline.

I can't be sure its not just media speculation but quote from DEFRA: "Climate change, in particular warmer winters and wetter summers, has had a major impact on pollinators. As a result, the numbers of pollinators have been declining steadily in recent years, with the number of bees in the UK alone falling by between 10 and 15 per cent over the last two years."

I wanted to see if this has also happened with managed honeybees.

 

[oliver90owner]

I looked at the questionaire, and yes it is a little non-prescriptive, even naive, in more than one place, but the questions are as usual targetted at beekeepers and these are the people who are bolstering the number of 'unmanaged' colonies.

In simple terms, managed colonies are dependent entirely on the number of beekeepers and their individual colony counts. PERIOD.

However as ericalfbee says looking at bumbles would be better. Feral colonies of honey bees would fall into the same class for the purpose of this dissertation.

So, no, I don't read either of the comics quoted, but am not so misguided to think that 'all is well' with unmanaged honey bee colonies.

But I am now a little mystified as to why the dissertation is on honey bees and not simply beekeeper numbers - there is a subtle difference.