Stingless bees

[kazmcc]

I have been reading Bill Turnbulls Bad Beekeepers book, and he asked a beek assoc if they could create a strain of stingless bees would people prefer to keep them rather than stinging bees.

I understand they need stings as protection from hive invaders, but all that aside, I'd be interested to know how many would prefer stingless bees.

 

[darren64]

a bee with no sting!!yes the neighbours can't get stung and complain,no,bees without stings arn't bees

 

[kazmcc]

I think part of the thrill of bee keeping is the fact you could get the odd zap, even though I never want to be stung, the fact that it could happen gives me a buzz ( excuse the pun )

 

[Mike a]

Bee's with no sting...

Not a good idea imho - How would they defend their hives against wasps?

Had enough problems with wasps attacking one colony this year, its looking doubtful they will build up enough to make it through winter now without putting them into a nuc and giving them a candy board and hand filling a frame.

 

[eric]

I get stung everyday due to my ignorance ( lazy puker lol) like you said they need stings to defend themselfs and also everybody would have bees and the hives no honey for us and greater varroa
better stings it wakes me up in the morning

 

[georgia b]

i would perefer bees with a sting, all no it might not be nice to be stung .. and its pretty sad for the bee, their sting is their only defensive weapon ... how else are they going to stop predators come in and invading ??

 

[RoofTops]

Depends what you mean by stingless. There are a group of bees known as the stingless bees but they don't I think produce much honey and tend to live in warmer countries than the UK. They are quite a different species to our AM honey bees.

I went through 10 colonies of my AM honey bees yesterday and was only stung once and that was due to me trapping a bee under the lug when I lifted it out. I was wearing disposable latex gloves to keep my hands clean and was stung on the finger. This has happened many times before - I am a slow learner.

In the past I have had colonies which were very quick to defend themselves but those queens were replaced by ones I reared myself from colonies which were very well tempered and then mated in another apiary which also had good tempered bees.

Creating well behaved colonies is a basic beekeeping skill but it will only come when the beekeeper is able to selectively raise queens from chosen colonies or alternatively, buys in queens of known temperament ideally from a local beekeeper.

I suspect to breed a truly stingless AM bee, i.e. one without a sting as opposed to bees which are not disposed to sting readily, would take some genetic modification. It couldn't be done by simple selective breeding in any realistic timescale.

 

[Queens59]

I would rather have bees with a sting (despite having been on the wrong end too many times to mention). There is a respect for the bee - which I am not sure would be there if they didn't sting!

 

[kazmcc]

Interesting, thanks for your replies. I don't think I made my op clear though. I am assuming there would be no robbing problems, like in an ideal world or if there was another method for them defending the hive. Really, I suppose what I am asking is would you prefer not to have the risk of a stinging, or is it part of the thrill of bee keeping and what makes us want to keep doing it and take that chance.

I suppose I am a risk taker, I always have been and after my first experience of an unhappy colony I am even more hooked than I was before in a way. Although at the time I was bleating like a baby lamb, afterwards I felt elated that I had actually got through the task and completed it without running for the hills. Would I have had that feeling if there had been no risk of being stung, I don't think so.

 

[richy]

Bees without a sting is a bad idea how else would they let you know your doing something wrong

 

[Michaelf]

Bees with a sting...keeps you on your toes

 

[Friar Tuck]

stingless bee's would be grate as long as they were aloud guns

 

[THE DOG]

Deffo stings

A Bee without a sting is like a curry without any chilli (not for me)

 

[barry]

stingless bees would mean man messing with nature yet again. this has caused problems in the passed, if they didnt need a sting nature would dispose of it over time. as for me the thought of getting stung isnt pleasant so it keeps you on your toes.

 

[rink123]

Well I think that bees with no sting would be good for new beeks and young ones to learn on lol and my neighbours

 

[busybee53]

I'd like to have a go at the keeping the stingless bees, only as mentioned they have less honey and live in warmer countries than the UK. They are smaller than ours and must be pretty cute. The fact that they exist must mean that they have found a way to protect their hives, or that they have few or no preditors. At least they must be able to cope with the environment they are in or they would not exist at all.

Don't get me wrong my bees don't usually sting much and they gave me lots of honey this year even though other people were not so lucky. That's not why I keep them though. I keep them because they are absolutely fascinating, because they keep even experience beekeepers guessing, because there is so much to learn, both for me and for science. The organisation which goes into their society is so complex I feel it is a privelege to look into their hive and this would be the same without the stings but would mean that more people would be able to enjoy it.

It would of course mean that I would not get the admiring comments about how brave I am when people find out I keep bees, but nor would I get the other comment, "You must be mad".

 

[Luminos]

I'm happy with things as they are (stings as they are ) but I suppose stingless bees would allow those who suffer from anaphylactic shock to continue to keep bees?

 

[Tuma_Stingless_Bee]

a bee with no sting!!yes the neighbours can't get stung and complain,no,bees without stings arn't bees

I got 22 stingless bee colonies, 4 different spieces

 

[Tuma_Stingless_Bee]

stingless bees would mean man messing with nature yet again. this has caused problems in the passed, if they didnt need a sting nature would dispose of it over time. as for me the thought of getting stung isnt pleasant so it keeps you on your toes.

stingless bees would mean man messing with nature yet again. this has caused problems in the passed, if they didnt need a sting nature would dispose of it over time. as for me the thought of getting stung isnt pleasant so it keeps you on your toes.

My Stingless Bees

 

[victor meldrew]

I have been reading Bill Turnbulls Bad Beekeepers book, and he asked a beek assoc if they could create a strain of stingless bees would people prefer to keep them rather than stinging bees.

I understand they need stings as protection from hive invaders, but all that aside, I'd be interested to know how many would prefer stingless bees.

My Stingless Bees

I’m not sure our climate would suit stingless bees . They only have small colonies, meaning honey yields would be small ! However . As a matter of interest they could be a good educational tool ?