Smart Bee project

[dpearce4]

Has anyone else had an email tonight from the NBU asking for them to fill out a questionnaire for the smart bees project.

 

[JCD]

Yes ... but I haven't looked at it closely yet.

 

[gregior]

I got it and filled it in,takes about 10 mins.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Has anyone else had an email tonight from the NBU asking for them to fill out a questionnaire for the smart bees project.

Yes, i just deleted an e mail that fits this description.

 

[Frenchie]

Yes, filled it in and emailed back.

 

[dpearce4]

just done it now to.

why did you delete it HM?

 

[B+.]

just done it now to.

why did you delete it HM?

I haven't got around to it yet.

 

[Hivemaker.]

why did you delete it HM?

Because i could, like i choose to do with all the other endless surveys and petitions.

 

[einsteinagogo]

Has anyone else had an email tonight from the NBU asking for them to fill out a questionnaire for the smart bees project.

read, filled in and submitted.

 

[For want of a better word]

Suspect skewed to get the answer NBU is looking for... investment in a German like super hybrid....then I suspect all government based surveys.

Do you think the Barclay Bank and others, Billion dollar fines will ever find their way back into my coffers... stolen from my hard earned pension fund?

Yeghes da

 

[madasafish]

..

Do you think the Barclay Bank and others, Billion dollar fines will ever find their way back into my coffers... stolen from my hard earned pension fund?

Yeghes da

I'm in the queue before you. How do you think I can afford my yacht and tropical island?

 

[B+.]

I haven't got around to it yet.

I just did the survey...Its full of loaded questions IMHO!

 

[alldigging]

I got it and filled it in,takes about 10 mins.

Did you put all the map coordinates and postcodes they wanted?

 

[B+.]

Did you put all the map coordinates and postcodes they wanted?

I wasn't born yesterday

 

[user 6228]

Its project with an assumed solution i.e. bee genetics.
some of the questions & protocols seem to be at odds with increasing genetic diversity yet increasing genetic diversity is one of the aims?

 

[MikeT]

Completed, but I thought the questions were skewed to obtain the answers they wanted.

Mike

 

[B+.]

Completed, but I thought the questions were skewed to obtain the answers they wanted.

Mike

Yes. I thought so too.

 

[pargyle]

Yes, I completed it but they have, obviously, never head of this forum... talking about where I get information from most of the forward thinking and novel ideas I find on these pages.

Like others, I found that the survey appears to have questions that are seriously skewed to their views which appear to fit into some narrow channels - they are clearly thinking that 'pure' local bees are the Holy Grail and the FAQ section of the Smartbee website is very telling - German and Greek questions mainly.

The UK bee population must be 95% local hybrids and I wonder whether there is any real added value to British beekeepers in this survey as they seem to be solely geared to pure race breeding ~ whereas I think that the future of 'varroa tolerant bees' may be a much broader mix of factors that include how bees are kept, their location and local adaptation and a whole raft of environmental factors.

But what do I know ? Just a simple three (sorry FOUR !) hive hobby beekeeper ....

 

[Fritillary]

As usual it seems with such questionnaires, pretty much impossible anyway to give an accurate representation of what you actually do and think. I deleted my attempt at a response.

Or thought I had. I think, if you start, and skip through to look at the questions to the finish, your response goes in automatically, even if you hadn't finished with it or change your mind. Certainly never jabbed a 'send' button. ... Not that I trust that our responses would make a lot of difference to the agenda in this sort of situation ...

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Yes, I completed it but they have, obviously, never head of this forum... talking about where I get information from most of the forward thinking and novel ideas I find on these pages.

Like others, I found that the survey appears to have questions that are seriously skewed to their views which appear to fit into some narrow channels - they are clearly thinking that 'pure' local bees are the Holy Grail and the FAQ section of the Smartbee website is very telling - German and Greek questions mainly.

The UK bee population must be 95% local hybrids and I wonder whether there is any real added value to British beekeepers in this survey as they seem to be solely geared to pure race breeding ~ whereas I think that the future of 'varroa tolerant bees' may be a much broader mix of factors that include how bees are kept, their location and local adaptation and a whole raft of environmental factors.

But what do I know ? Just a simple three (sorry FOUR !) hive hobby beekeeper ....

Conspiracy theories aside, my understanding is that the underlying project is aimed at researching and improving "local" bee strains initially. Statistical Data gathering from regional multi hive (10 or more hives) testing stations is proposed over a two or three year period before analysis of the results. I don't suppose many hobby keepers would qualify as testing stations although some rigorously controlled association breeding stations might.