Why do you keep bees?

[REDWOOD]

its about the maths and the physics they embody, from these aspects they are a very interesting puzzle to understand. The more I get into the puzzle the more i see the beekeeping and academic views of the thermal behaviour of bees are like some one looking through a keyhole into a very large building and thinking they know all of it. If I wont be able to open the door at least I can is try to look in through the physics window.


When you have 30,000 sensor arrays with distributed computation solving the partial differential equation of heat transfer below must be easy, since the honey bees are dealing with one that has terms that cover population size growth and longevity, Nectar and pollen availablity, etc etc.

Really!!! I would have never of thought that

 

[REDWOOD]

Many clouds came together, a child hood memory, a holiday abroad, interest in nature, the need for something new and the quality of honey sold in supermarkets.
I have never looked back and met some great friends on the way. It is truly a fascinating subject/hobby/pastime/ business.
Beekeepers come in all different shapes & sizes and walks of life with one common interest.
Bless them who bless their bees

 

[Ammerbee]

wow - what a diverse lot we are!

 

[B+.]

I've found the beekeepers I've met to have so many stories about how and why they keep bees - there seems to be so much about beekeeping, but very little about what 'drives' the beekeeper

Unlike most of you, I am not "driven" by the enormous volumes of honey they can produce, or even the pleasure of handling such interesting creatures. For me, I consider it my duty to continuously improve the character and performance of the bee. Anything else would be a betrayal of my sons memory.
My breeding stock gets better each year, but, I don't think they will ever be good enough. Thats why I only ever give them a B+.

 

[birdsandbees]

There must be something hard wired into me and my family, for a long time Both myself my brothers and my Daughter wanted bees, as soon as one of us got some we all did, I've three brothers with bees and I get assistance from my daughter and son in the summer.
Initially for me it was the prospect of honey and doing my bit to help boost the numbers of bees, but as I got more into it it has become more about the bees and how they work, I dabbled in queen rearing a bit last year and will be trying again this year, I love swarm collecting and talking to folk about bee behaviour and how a colony works, that said the honey helps pay towards new kit and this year I've recently started making mead, fingers crossed it'll be okay otherwise it's a waste of perfectly good honey.
All being well I plan on having a go at showing in 2017.

 

[chrisb]

Unlike most of you, I am not "driven" by the enormous volumes of honey they can produce, or even the pleasure of handling such interesting creatures. For me, I consider it my duty to continuously improve the character and performance of the bee. Anything else would be a betrayal of my sons memory.
My breeding stock gets better each year, but, I don't think they will ever be good enough. Thats why I only ever give them a B+.

 

[Robbo8916]

Pure fascination and awe. I don't particularly like honey, which is good because mine are yet to yield any to me. I do love a good glazed parsnip though.

It is also something that I read was a good way to learn to cope with PTSD which I was diagnosed with around 8 years ago. I have certainly found this to be true for the most part, although my bees have also given me added anxiety at times!!!! The peace and tranquility of sitting on a summer evening, watching my girls go about their business is really grounding and allows the mind to wander to a quieter place and take away some of the stress.

And the fact that it I am obsessed with animals and as mentioned earlier, it is much easier to keep a couple of hundred thousand bees than it is cats or dogs!

 

[Fusion_power]

From as young as I can remember, I've been fascinated by honeybees. One of my earliest memories is of visiting a neighbor and seeing bees on apples that had dropped from a tree. I was 3 at the time. By the time I was 10, I had 2 colonies that had been given to my dad. By 15, I had a dozen colonies and was building my own equipment. I've kept bees 47 years now through some of the worst times ever for beekeeping. I lost all my colonies to acarine in 1988, rebuilt and lost them again to varroa in 1993/1994. Today I am completely rebuilding my beekeeping equipment using square Dadant hives and with a nuc based queen production system. My goal is modest, I want to run 30 colonies for honey production and to produce a few queens to sell while doing enough selection to improve my stock. I've been completely treatment free since 2005 and my bees are thriving. Genetic selection works.

 

[GaryB]

Pure fascination and awe. I don't particularly like honey, which is good because mine are yet to yield any to me. I do love a good glazed parsnip though.

It is also something that I read was a good way to learn to cope with PTSD which I was diagnosed with around 8 years ago. I have certainly found this to be true for the most part, although my bees have also given me added anxiety at times!!!! The peace and tranquility of sitting on a summer evening, watching my girls go about their business is really grounding and allows the mind to wander to a quieter place and take away some of the stress.

And the fact that it I am obsessed with animals and as mentioned earlier, it is much easier to keep a couple of hundred thousand bees than it is cats or dogs!

I'm very much in the same boat, when it comes to keeping the "little terrors". I'm sorry to learn that you suffer from PTSD, which is a very big struggle for many people, however, I am glad that our mutual "pass time" gives you such internal peace. Long live bees, and all those that care for them..

From as young as I can remember, I've been fascinated by honeybees. One of my earliest memories is of visiting a neighbor and seeing bees on apples that had dropped from a tree. I was 3 at the time. By the time I was 10, I had 2 colonies that had been given to my dad. By 15, I had a dozen colonies and was building my own equipment. I've kept bees 47 years now through some of the worst times ever for beekeeping. I lost all my colonies to acarine in 1988, rebuilt and lost them again to varroa in 1993/1994. Today I am completely rebuilding my beekeeping equipment using square Dadant hives and with a nuc based queen production system. My goal is modest, I want to run 30 colonies for honey production and to produce a few queens to sell while doing enough selection to improve my stock. I've been completely treatment free since 2005 and my bees are thriving. Genetic selection works.

Truly committed. I applaud you. To go through losses with acarine and varroa on that scale, and keep going. A lot would be disillusioned and give up!

 

[Gilberdyke John]

From as young as I can remember, I've been fascinated by honeybees. One of my earliest memories is of visiting a neighbor and seeing bees on apples that had dropped from a tree. I was 3 at the time. By the time I was 10, I had 2 colonies that had been given to my dad. By 15, I had a dozen colonies and was building my own equipment. I've kept bees 47 years now through some of the worst times ever for beekeeping. I lost all my colonies to acarine in 1988, rebuilt and lost them again to varroa in 1993/1994. Today I am completely rebuilding my beekeeping equipment using square Dadant hives and with a nuc based queen production system. My goal is modest, I want to run 30 colonies for honey production and to produce a few queens to sell while doing enough selection to improve my stock. I've been completely treatment free since 2005 and my bees are thriving. Genetic selection works.

I've never seen bees take an interest in dropped apples in my locality although the apple trees are humming if i stand near at blossom time.
I started because I was given an empty wbc hive and things grew from there.

 

[Tremyfro]

We used to get bumblebee nests in our garden...in the raised beds. I found it fascinating...the bees crawled all over my hands whilst I was gardening...never stung me. I got to thinking about bees in general but there were too many houses around us at the time. So I waited until we moved back to Wales. I have 6 hives running ATM. A langstroth Flow hive, a jumbo Polyhive, a jumbo nuc and three beehaus. I love having them...love their lifestyle.....and they give us enough honey for the whole family.....although that honey probably works out as the most expensive ever!

 

[enrico]

I've never seen bees take an interest in dropped apples in my locality although the apple trees are humming if i stand near at blossom time.
I started because I was given an empty wbc hive and things grew from there.

Coincidentally I posted this earlier in the year
E
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38408

 

[Fusion_power]

I've never seen bees take an interest in dropped apples in my locality although the apple trees are humming if i stand near at blossom time.

The kids had been stomping on the apples and eating a few of them. There was lots of apple juice exposed in the middle of the local July dearth.

 

[Millet]

I have been interested in birds and wildlife from a young age, i had more books on wildlife than any other subject then and now, that maybe why i'm crap with spelling and everything else that school tried to teach me, i was not interested in school so it never sunk in, i would rather have been in the garden or in the fields pottering about looking for bumble bees /caterpillars ant nests/ birds nests and so on.
The honey bee subject only hit me about ten years ago when i was working on a private estate, one of the rich people on there kept bees and one day he gave me some cut comb honey when he was passing, the taste of that will stay in my mind forever.
From that day on the seed was set and the reading began, i researched and read about them on and of for years but never thought about getting a hive, then one day around 4yrs ago i picked a book up and it kicked me off wanting a hive, after reading more into it i was hooked but stuck for a location to place a hive at the time.
After another year a house move happened into a perfect spot and so it begins, once i had acquired the bees two years ago i thought i knew everything i needed to know to keep this Superorginisim in my Hive alive, i could not have been more wrong.
However after getting the bees i have delved further into there behavior and it astounds me even more how they live and how each one has a job to do.
I will never progress into a professor of bees or anything near that but after getting them my wild flower identification has became a lot better..so we never know i might be good at something one day..

 

[Beefriendly]

one of the rich people on there kept bees and one day he gave me some cut comb honey when he was passing,

Not one of the super rich then....he would have charged you for it

 

[Millet]

Not one of the super rich then....he would have charged you for it

He was a nice man and obviously appreciated what i/we where doing, i agree though what you are getting at, super rich people are the greediest people on the planet.
I am on the bones of my arse and have been through life, however i have done private work for a bank manager and a high profile building problem solver designer in the building game, i have never met a more greedier pair, they will be millionaires and when i needed paying they would pay me to the last penny in a money bag and ask me if i had 10p to give them to make the price right if they had no change for a £1 coin
.

 

[B+.]

He was a nice man and obviously appreciated what i/we where doing, i agree though what you are getting at, super rich people are the greediest people on the planet.

.

I think you are describing "new money wanna bees".

 

[Beefriendly]

i agree though what you are getting at, super rich people are the greediest people on the planet.

.

Some bloody Tykes are as well.... I used to work behind a bar. One couple used to alternate who bought the rounds. He had a pint of Tetleys she had a half of lager. She always asked for a half of Carlsberg, he always asked for a half of Skol.....It was 1p cheaper. I always reminded him his wife preferred Carlsberg just in case he'd made a mistake...but he always insisted on the cheaper brand. God knows what he did with the threpence he saved every Friday night.

 

[Millet]

I think you are describing "new money wanna bees".

The folk i mention will be in there late 70's and fit for there age, so i do not think they are new money wanna bees.

 

[Millet]

Some bloody Tykes are as well.... I used to work behind a bar. One couple used to alternate who bought the rounds. He had a pint of Tetleys she had a half of lager. She always asked for a half of Carlsberg, he always asked for a half of Skol.....It was 1p cheaper. I always reminded him his wife preferred Carlsberg just in case he'd made a mistake...but he always insisted on the cheaper brand. God knows what he did with the threpence he saved every Friday night.

Skol.. hahahahahaha.