Your thoughts on this breeder.

[Apple]

As Mad said, plenty of higher priority activities that the government need to try and sort out first. think Defra will have its hands full with food supply issues for some time, unless there is a big compromise in the next week or so.

Any feedback from BFA members on the press release? I'm sure there are significant number of members who either import bees or purchase the imports.

No doubt about it... I would support a ban, in fact I am drfinitely not going to import any bees, packages, queens or otherwise... and that would include the Island of Ireland and the deeply concerning sea boarder between Ulster and the mainland UK!

Chons da

 

[Curly green finger's]

We brought in some of these warm climate bees from BS Honeybees 2 years ago... seemed to be from the Northern Greece area... 10 off £350... thought I would try boosting my surrogate early brood for queen rearing of our Native Cornish black bees that do not start brooding up until a little later in the year.
Kept in an apiary side far away from our Amms where the local beekeepers had all kinds of stripey mongrel stock, so no problem of a gene pool mix up!
Of the 10 only 7 were successfully introduced to nucs made up with the stripey mongrel stock.
Of the seven surviving to produce brood all but 2 were superseded and overwintered.
This last season lost both of those to EFB, that was in all probability brought into the apiary in a swarm from a nuc of bees sold by a local swarm collector to a newbee for £100... which of course swarmed on a marked queen.

I will NOT be buying any more imported bees and strongly suggest that others do likewise.
Lesson learned.

2020 has been a terrible year beekeeping wise for many,
Let us try to make 2021 a better one.
Two new years resolutions...
Do not import bees and encourage others not to do so
Do not sell swarms and encourage others not to do so
Breed local selected stock and encourage others to do so

well that three!
Chons da



T

It might take a few years so maybe look into a longer time scale.
As I've read from previous threads on here, even from 2009 onwards there isn't any big time UK breeders.. The only way I can see this happening is if lots of BFs club together and work together to achieve this.
I may be wrong in my above thoughts.

 

[Curly green finger's]

No doubt about it... I would support a ban, in fact I am drfinitely not going to import any bees, packages, queens or otherwise... and that would include the Island of Ireland and the deeply concerning sea boarder between Ulster and the mainland UK!

Chons da

I've queen's coming from Ireland next year are you saying the native stock from the said breeder will not surfice? and be any better than the native stock from the UK.?

 

[Apple]

I've queen's coming from Ireland next year are you saying the native stock from the said breeder will not surfice? and be any better than the native stock from the UK.?

Schools out on that bone of contention... are the bees "from this breeder" native to the UK or are they reminants of the French bees imported to the Island of Ireland during the last century when all the Irish bee died out from a combination of disease, famine and depleted contingent of Irish beekeepers????
I simply do not know.

 

[Apple]

It might take a few years so maybe look into a longer time scale.
As I've read from previous threads on here, even from 2009 onwards there isn't any big time UK breeders.. The only way I can see this happening is if lots of BFs club together and work together to achieve this.
I may be wrong in my above thoughts.

May be supply and demand... and the "hobby" beekeepers will be paying a massive premium for bees, possibly our efforts in running queen rearing courses will pay off and those who attended who have not started queen rearing ( and bee improvement) will rue the day!
Chons da

 

[madasafish]

Ban imports for all I care.
I will sell overwintered Qs in early Spring for £75 each..
And in early summer for £50.

But of course, there will be lots of new beekeepers seeking bees so I will sell nucs at £300 in Spring as well..

In reality:
It is not going to happen. But if it does, Irish beekeepers will become very rich selling non imported Q s brought in from Southern Ireland (via Romania )

Edit: (as EU law applies to N Ireland trade, then banning imports will be illegal in N Ireland)

Edit: I suspect the BBKA have not considered the above.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Ban imports for all I care.
I will sell overwintered Qs in early Spring for £75 each..
And in early summer for £50.

But of course, there will be lots of new beekeepers seeking bees so I will sell nucs at £300 in Spring

Maybe that's is what is needed to stimulate breeding in the UK. If we were all getting decent prices for queens and nucs we would all produce a few more!

 

[Curly green finger's]

May be supply and demand... and the "hobby" beekeepers will be paying a massive premium for bees, possibly our efforts in running queen rearing courses will pay off and those who attended who have not started queen rearing ( and bee improvement) will rue the day!
Chons da

That's a nice notion to think about or not?
I've not taken a queen rearing course.
I've only learnt from two mentors and trial and era..
Plus reading on this forum, hopefully that's enough to carry me through.
Am I still a hobbest with 35 colonys?
£ 45 isn't cheap and a good price for a near native queen.
I've seen prices of Bucks for £30.
@Newbeeneil who would buy queen's for the price you suggested?
For the effort of rearing queen's and selling colonys.
Imo nucs are responsible @£220
And Queens locals/natives @40-50 as long as they are what they say on the tin.

I've got friends who have bought nucs supposedly Bucks and they didn't even last a winter.
They looked more like locals.
Maybe it was beekeeping husbandry issues on there part as to why they didn't survive or just the bees genetics.

 

[Apple]

Maybe that's is what is needed to stimulate breeding in the UK. If we were all getting decent prices for queens and nucs we would all produce a few more!

With depressed prices on honey production for UK Beefarmers selling in bulk, prices controlled by the big bottlers and little being done to maintain better prices due to overseas aid being paid to some of the honey producing countries ( forget Fair Trade!) and cheap Chinese honey being dumped into our market....
Many would be better off by far, concentrating efforts on the hobbist market for home bred bees.
AND then also getting a real price for home produced honey... that actually tastes like honey, and not the sugar syrup that some of our supermarkets peddle as "honey"!!!

Only problem is with the projected post Covid 16 million +++ unemployed and on state benefits... only the super rich will be able to afford to buy it!
Nadelik Lowen

 

[Apple]

That's a nice notion to think about or not?
I've not taken a queen rearing course.
I've only learnt from two mentors and trial and era..
Plus reading on this forum, hopefully that's enough to carry me through.
Am I still a hobbest with 35 colonys?
£ 45 isn't cheap and a good price for a near native queen.
I've seen prices of Bucks for £30.
@Newbeeneil who would buy queen's for the price you suggested?
For the effort of rearing queen's and selling colonys.
Imo nucs are responsible @£220
And Queens locals/natives @40-50 as long as they are what they say on the tin.

I've got friends who have bought nucs supposedly Bucks and they didn't even last a winter.
They looked more like locals.
Maybe it was beekeeping husbandry issues on there part as to why they didn't survive or just the bees genetics.

Get five more colonies and join the Beefarmers' Association.... and get queen rearing!

Chons da

 

[Murox]

One major hurdle to overcome is routing out the scoundrels who will sell any bees as "buck fast' and are only interested in money.

 

[Apple]

One major hurdle to overcome is routing out the scoundrels who will sell any bees as "buck fast' and are only interested in money.

Too many have already bought a pig in a poke in the past!

 

[pargyle]

One major hurdle to overcome is routing out the scoundrels who will sell any bees as "buck fast' and are only interested in money.

Often known as Fast Buck to those who know ....

 

[madasafish]

Maybe that's is what is needed to stimulate breeding in the UK. If we were all getting decent prices for queens and nucs we would all produce a few more!

If only...

If it were that simple.

The UK climate is fickle. You cannot and probably never will be able to rely on good weather in Q mating season. (Unless you are in a sheltered valley near to the West Coast with the Gulf Stream).

If beginners want early nucs, either the queens have to be overwintered or you have to raise them in early Spring..
Overwintering makes it very expensive to keep Qs. Unless you use min nucs (highish maintenance), you need a 2-3 frame nuc. Lots of money tied up in bees and equipment. We are talking 10,000 to 15,000 imported Qs being replaced here..

Based on the BBKA membership, (and say 1/4 do queen rear) that's an extra 2-3 queens per beekeeper. Extra.
And then the producers have to be prepared to post them.
(I have done it as a once off.. You really need to be organised to do it on any scale)

Frankly anyone who suggests there is any likelihood of that happening on that scale within 5 years is not living in the real world.

This debate reminds me of a certain (prominent non beekeeping) person making promises which are never met and which are made in the full knowledge they will not be kept.

 

[Apple]

Often known as Fast Buck to those who know ....

Or a Siberian Hamster.... Shirley!! !

 

[Apple]

If only...

If it were that simple.

The UK climate is fickle. You cannot and probably never will be able to rely on good weather in Q mating season. (Unless you are in a sheltered valley near to the West Coast with the Gulf Stream)

Like Rame Penninsular or the Greatgreygreenslimeytamarrivervalleyallsetaboutwithqueenrearers!

 

[madasafish]

If only...

If it were that simple.

The UK climate is fickle. You cannot and probably never will be able to rely on good weather in Q mating season. (Unless you are in a sheltered valley near to the West Coast with the Gulf Stream)

Like Rame Penninsular or the Greatgreygreenslimeytamarrivervalleyallsetaboutwithqueenrearers!

Rudyard Kipling is so second-last century

 

[Curly green finger's]

Get five more colonies and join the Beefarmers' Association.... and get queen rearing!

Chons da

Im already queen rearing 24 in a season all mated

 

[Apple]

Rudyard Kipling is so second-last century

A beekeeper... and wrote many a good story about bees and a few songs too
Hark to your bees was added to my repertoire as a folk singer many moons ago... something I also share with another hero of mine.. Bo. Cooper!

 

[Curly green finger's]

A beekeeper... and wrote many a good story about bees and a few songs too
Hark to your bees was added to my repertoire as a folk singer many moons ago... something I also share with another hero of mine.. Bo. Cooper!

Do you play any instruments apple to accompany your folk singing?