Would you buy?

[Poly Hive]

A person has had AFB this yewar and now is deemed clear with a letter from the BDI to that effect.

The beekeeper wants to sell some bees.

Would you consider them about as safe as houses or a potential time bomb?

PH

 

[mazzamazda]

Very easy to say no way!

If he/she has had AFB, they know what to look for and as such probably a much better beekeeper for it, unless it was the inspector who has found it.

My concern is that the bees may not be as hygenic. There is also the added risk of more than average spores being around the apiary and you really dont know where the bees picked up the disease.

Without a doubt risk is higher but no potential time bomb imo

 

[madasafish]

"clear this year".

Nope: I would wait a year for them to be deemed clear after the next year inspection.

Been there with AFB. Sold no bees until year 2 inspection OK..

Frankly as a buyer , there are lots of choices (rather like cars). Any whiff of risk = run away - is my motto.

 

[For want of a better word]

"clear this year".

Nope: I would wait a year for them to be deemed clear after the next year inspection.

Been there with AFB. Sold no bees until year 2 inspection OK..

Frankly as a buyer , there are lots of choices (rather like cars). Any whiff of risk = run away - is my motto.

How on Earth would you know that the kit the bees come with is "clean"???

OMG just hope you do not have a "Community" extracting / frame exchange outfit in operation in your area!

Shock Horror.....

Yeghes da

 

[mazzamazda]

How on Earth would you know that the kit the bees come with is "clean"???

OMG just hope you do not have a "Community" extracting / frame exchange outfit in operation in your area!

Shock Horror.....

Yeghes da

Its really really not that bad!

The kit can be contaminated, its how the bees react to it is the important factor.

Its very easy to tell if you have AFB or not, I'd say very slightly higher risk due to spores. You would have to wait 40+ years to be certain too not just a season.

I normally have a few hives with AFB, this year I have had one cell up to now, it usually shows itself earlier in the season too.

If I get it I deal with it, no drama!

 

[Ely]

No Chance. But at least they are honest.

 

[beebopper]

No!! Why take the risk?

 

[MartinL]

. . . . . .
The beekeeper wants to sell some bees.
. . . . . .
PH

The question should be, would any fool want them if he was giving them away?

Probably NOT!

If he's had AFB I would have expected him to be in the market to buy, NOT sell.
Where did the bees come from?
How come, (after destroying all his bees earlier this year) he has more than he needs now?

 

[bontbee]

deleted - not directly relevant to the original post

 

[mazzamazda]

The question should be, would any fool want them if he was giving them away?

Probably NOT!

If he's had AFB I would have expected him to be in the market to buy, NOT sell.
Where did the bees come from?
How come, (after destroying all his bees earlier this year) he has more than he needs now?

Why not? I would, but who would give away healthy bees? AFB spores are apparently in every apiary.

I had AFB earlier in the year but I only lost the frames in one hive.

When it comes to AFB there is a huge difference between losing a hive or say 30 hives in an apiary. Poly Hive, do you know what happened here?

 

[MartinL]

I had AFB earlier in the year but I only lost the frames in one hive.

When it comes to AFB there is a huge difference between losing a hive or say 30 hives in an apiary. Poly Hive, do you know what happened here?

There also seems to be a bit of a difference as to how it's treated outside the UK!

 

[mazzamazda]

There also seems to be a bit of a difference as to how it's treated outside the UK!

Think it is pretty much all the same, destroyed in a fire. Whether they save the bees or not is the difference. I try and save as much as I can. Destroying a perfectly good hive and killing bees when it is found early is a waste IMO. I have been in a situation where I have burned 30+ hives in one sitting though, not one of my best beekeeping days.

 

[REDWOOD]

I often hear cases where AFB pops its ugly head up every few years in the same apiary

 

[madasafish]

I often hear cases where AFB pops its ugly head up every few years in the same apiary

Could be a local cake factory/maker using honey leaving contaminated honey containers outside open to robbing,,,

 

[mazzamazda]

Could be a local cake factory/maker using honey leaving contaminated honey containers outside open to robbing,,,

Could be, however imo it is more likely where AFB has been allowed to run. Here we have lots of backstreet beekeepers, they never treat for varroa, their hives get weak, they allow their bees to die, not before they take the honey, it is then an open door for other diseases. They leave them and never know what killed the hive. Bees then rob, always snoop around then pick up the spores. I have heard AFB spores can also remain around waste dumps too. There are problem areas where it just isnt worth keeping bees.

I had a few apiaries I gave up on. However since using younger queens, keeping stronger hives, buying Buckfasts queens from a quality breeder I have seen my cases drop year on year, early diagnosis and treatment have worked well too.

 

[pargyle]

With caution and good apiary hygiene and an apiary well away from any other beekeepers or at least kept in quarantine it would be worth the risk .. let's face it, if he's not going to keep the bees or kill tje colonies they have to go somewhere and an experienced beekeeper will know what to look for.

I can't see anyone paying full price for them though ... bargain basement I would suggest.

 

[bontbee]

I often hear cases where AFB pops its ugly head up every few years in the same apiary

Often following a good year...during which rarely used supers were pulled back into commission...?

 

[WearBees]

Nope, definitely not!