Tom Seeley - Darwinian Beekeeping

[Beefriendly]

Well - perhaps you are capable of being selective about what you take from those posts. I too am interested in beekeeping in foreign climes but the danger is that someone in a Scandihooligan country suggests that it's a good idea to put a heating pad under a brood box in March to assist build up - but doesn't qualify that it's because it is still bloody cold over there and the beekeeping season is very short compared to ours. There are a lot of new(ish) beekeepers who read this forum and taking such ideas as gospel could be disastrous.

I think most beekeepers have a lot more intelligence than you are giving them credit for. Actually, a heating pad under a UK hive in March isn't such a bad idea....would certainly give them a boost when they most need it. mmmmm food for thought!

 

[Finman]

I think most beekeepers have a lot more intelligence than you are giving them credit for. !

When Pargyle started few years ago with 6 frame swarm, he knew everything better than me. I salute his ego.
.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

When Pargyle started few years ago with 6 frame swarm, he knew everything better than me. I salute his ego.
.

Play nicely, you two or you'll be sent to bed early tonight.

CVB

 

[pargyle]

Play nicely, you two or you'll be sent to bed early tonight.

CVB

I never mentioned any names - clearly the cap fits !!

 

[Finman]

I never mentioned any names - clearly the cap fits !!

You have lost your memory. Blessed be the forum.
.

 

[pargyle]

You have lost your memory. Blessed be the forum.
.

Sorry ... Do I know you ? Are you talking to me ? You have a nice day - I'm sure I'll remember who you are eventually ! Something to do with losing hammers is dangling around in the grey cells - was it you or me that was losing their hammers ?

 

[Fusion_power]

so there is no reason to believe that we can, in my lifetime, see a development of bees that are naturally robust in the face of varroa.

Was this a typo?

I've noted a few things that finman does right. He maintains an upper entrance, moves his bees to get the most of the brief nectar flows in his climate, and pays attention to the things that are important for bees to winter successfully. We could all do a little more listening to the bees.

 

[Finman]

Sorry ... Do I know you ? Are you talking to me ? You have a nice day - I'm sure I'll remember who you are eventually ! Something to do with losing hammers is dangling around in the grey cells - was it you or me that was losing their hammers ?

You are worried about one 4£ hammer?

 

[Finman]

We could all do a little more listening to the bees.

I listen. When the bee is going to attack, it has very high sound. Like women.

 

[pargyle]

Was this a typo?

I've noted a few things that finman does right. He maintains an upper entrance, moves his bees to get the most of the brief nectar flows in his climate, and pays attention to the things that are important for bees to winter successfully. We could all do a little more listening to the bees.

Yes .. There is no reason NOT to believe ...

 

[pargyle]

Was this a typo?

I've noted a few things that finman does right. He maintains an upper entrance, moves his bees to get the most of the brief nectar flows in his climate, and pays attention to the things that are important for bees to winter successfully. We could all do a little more listening to the bees.

Perhaps in Finland ... but most UK hobby beekeepers (and some who are a little beyond the hobby status) do not always have the option to follow the forage - it's a different rural environment in the UK - the only crops we have a real opporunity to follow are the likes of Rape, Heather, field beans and occasionally the likes of borage. There is competition from beekeepers who have resident rights and the season for these crops is relatively short (and in the case of heather - occasionally unreliable).

As for caring for his bees to winter successfully I'm not sure that emptying all the honey from thr brood box and subsituting it with Lidl SUGAR qualifies in that respect ?

 

[Finman]

I'm not sure that emptying all the honey from thr brood box and subsituting it with Lidl SUGAR qualifies in that respect ?

your 4 years as a beekeeper against my 54 years. And you are not sure?

Winter food only 10€/ hive with Lidl.

 

[pargyle]

your 4 years as a beekeeper against my 54 years. And you are not sure?

Winter food only 10€/ hive with Lidl.

OK - I am certain your beekeeping methods in this respect are totally reprehensible.

 

[Finman]

OK - I am certain your beekeeping methods in this respect are totally reprehensible.

Remember 2000 km between us. It helps.

 

[Beefriendly]

Winter food only 10€/ hive with Lidl.

Is that about 20kg in sugar?

 

[Finman]

Is that about 20kg in sugar?

yes

There are in brood frames too honey, about 5 kg.

 

[Finman]

- the only crops we have a real opporunity to follow are the likes of Rape, Heather, field beans and occasionally the likes of borage. ... respect ?

Pargyle first, you should know a little bit more about bee plants before you write about pastures. I have visited in England 6 times and I have seen, that you have very rich vegetation in gardens. They are full of foreign plants and Thomson & Morgan sells more if you do not have enough.


And Pargyle, I do quite much work with my bees when I migrate my hives from pasture to pasture. And you say that I am not allowed to extract the yield what I get this way. You do not accept that somebody want to earn money with beekeeping. No one cannot be so good.

Only way is that you buy my whole yield, and then you do with it what you want.

.

 

[pargyle]

Pargyle first, you should know a little bit more about bee plants before you write about pastures. I have visited in England 6 times and I have seen, that you have very rich vegetation in gardens. They are full of foreign plants and Thomson & Morgan sells more if you do not have enough.


And Pargyle, I do quite much work with my bees when I migrate my hives from pasture to pasture. And you say that I am not allowed to extract the yield what I get this way. You do not accept that somebody want to earn money with beekeeping. No one cannot be so good.

Only way is that you buy my whole yield, and then you do with it what you want.

.

Sorry Finnie ... Just your usual tripe - but thank you for taking the trouble to to try and educate us ignorant beekeepers in the UK. Clearly at 54 years you are a slow learner .. perhaps you should be 'helping' those over on the flow hive forum - they could do with your help and you haven't been banned from there (yet !).

 

[Finman]

Sorry Finnie ... Just your usual tripe - but thank you for taking the trouble to to try and educate us ignorant beekeepers in the UK. Clearly at 54 years you are a slow learner .. perhaps you should be 'helping' those over on the flow hive forum - they could do with your help and you haven't been banned from there (yet !).

You are quick learner, but you do not have any goals in beekeeping, what to learn.
You do not know, why to learn, because you do not try to achieve anything. It is called "stay alive level".

For example, if you would keep terrarium heaters in beehives, you could see a miracle in buildup. Instead you bark on them who want to learn.

If you set a goal to get 150 kg honey / hive, you should build in your mind, what you should arrange that it is possible. You should first load the gun.

This kind of things make challenges and make beekeeping interesting. Just keep 6 hives on backyard and love bees.... It is not my life. Boring.

But it is not my life either, that I debate with you every week sbout nothing.
However I taught you to treat varroa. It took 4 years from you, the quick learner. To me it has taken 30 years.
.
Your only goal in beekeeping is to ban me.

 

[pargyle]

You are quick learner, but you do not have any goals in beekeeping, what to learn.
You do not know, why to learn, because you do not try to achieve anything. It is called "stay alive level".

For example, if you would keep terrarium heaters in beehives, you could see a miracle in buildup. Instead you bark on them who want to learn.

If you set a goal to get 150 kg honey / hive, you should build in your mind, what you should arrange that it is possible. You should first load the gun.

This kind of things make challenges and make beekeeping interesting. Just keep 6 hives on backyard and love bees.... It is not my life. Boring.

But it is not my life either, that I debate with you every week sbout nothing.
However I taught you to treat varroa. It took 4 years from you, the quick learner. To me it has taken 30 years.
.
Your only goal in beekeeping is to ban me.

No .. I don't want to see you banned .. and there are things I have learned from you and others on this forum. Just because I only have 7 hives does not mean that I don't have goals or challenges to meet. Aspiring to get the most honey out of my bees is just not one of them - Yes, I enjoy the fruits of a honey harvest and I get a real kick out of seeing a few more tubs sitting in storage than there was last year - but I get just as much out of seeing my bees healthy, overwintering successfully and from keeping one step ahead of what they want to do - naturally - and doing what I can to assist them. J don't want to stress my bees by forcing them to follow paths they would not follow naturally. I don't buy battery farmed meat and I either grow my own fruit and vegetables or I buy them from organic or known local sources. One of the problems we have on the earth is our continual desire to overproduce, grow faster, grow bigger or grow easier. I just don't happen to think this is a sustainable situation.

I think you have never understood my philosophy and the principles I apply to my beekeeping - they are so far away from how you keep your bees that we will probably never agree. The issue I have with you is that you 'speak' with the authority of 54 years of keeping bees and disparage anyone who has any differing views - and refuse to accept that anyone else's way is right if it does not meet your point of view - because, really, all you have is a point of view. There are many right ways to keep bees - I don't happen to think a lot of what you do is the right way and I will challenge those ideas that you put forward that I feel are inappropriate in the UK. People can take from our debates what they will - I mean you no malice even if I sometimes poke fun at you and you are sometimes very funny !