Large scale imports of bees into Scotland

[The Drone Ranger]

Bonita.
If you want to get into beekeeping buy the basic equipment, brood box, frames, floor and roof.
Set it up in a site where you may attract a swarm.
This is known as a bait box and there is loads of info about this on the internet
If you get a swarm and you are not happy with its behaviour you can requeen it later.
This year there will be a shortage of bees but later in the summer there should be plenty of local queens.

That's good advice it does work plus the bees are free.
You need a couple of used empty brood frames (a local beekeeper will give you those gratis)
Also it helps to put in a couple of drawn empty super combs
Swarms usually like to build their own comb right away below the super frames
A new Hive box with new frames and foundation won't work most of the time

[Jimbo]

Bonita
Our local area rep has suggested that if Associations provide nucs for their members and there are spare nucs going then these can be offered to other local associations in the West area who require nucs for their members. My association is next to the Dunoon association and will be participating in this scheme. I would speak to your local association secretary or contact the west area rep (Mike Thornley)

[The Drone Ranger]

Great stuff Jimbo
Last year was wet and horrid followed by endless winter but if we have a good summer I'm going to make sure I have some spare bees in future to help other people
Three people have asked me for bees this year so far and I haven't been able to help any of them because I don't have enough strong colonies.
I haven't given anyone bees for years now since before the EFB in Angus and Perthshire when everyone was asked not to sell or move bees and also as they are hybrid types I don't want friction with black bee enthusiasts

[Jimbo]

Personally I don't care if they are pure Amm or hybrids as long as they are local, disease free and not agressive. This should give any beginner a good start and can be improved in the future

[The Drone Ranger]

Going back to the original post
I can't see how giving cash to commercial beekeepers makes any sense
They are not economically important their bees are not needed on rape or heather
I doubt there is much tax revenue for Scotland from their honey sales
They are not employers of any importance except of migrant workers
The money they spend on buying stocks leaves the country
They go their own way irrespective of public opinion and subvert funding initiatives like the Co-op
So where is the case for subsidies ?
Would they be missed? I doubt it
(flack jacket on )

[drumgerry]

No need for a flak jacket with me DR! As you can probably tell from my earlier posts on the subject. I don't wish ill of commercial beekeepers though but equally I don't see why they should be getting help when there's so many better ways £200k could be used.

[gavin]

That's called trolling DR! And at this time of year they're unlikely to have the time to defend themselves. Maybe I should.

1. Significant UK honey sales of traditional Scottish product, esp heather honey. What, 100 tons? 200 in a semi-decent year? Wild guess. Might be way out.

2. Previous significant export market for quality product, eg heather honey to Germany. Need better summers and in some cases better beekeeping to make it happen.

3. Some types of sale contribute to the tourist experience. Another important Scottish earner.

4. Pollination services to soft fruit growers. Also wild plants.

5. Employment extends to retail, packing and the like. Not all direct beekeeping employees are from outside Scotland. Some of the East Europeans are permanent residents and those I've met are lovely folk. I greatly welcome their presence and I'm sure most people do.

6. There is potential for expansion, for quality schemes, for pressure to shift away from the less sustainable approaches to the more, essentially to shift commercial beekeeping more towards an industry that Scotland can be proud of.

7. Potential to blur the boundaries between large-scale and craft-scale. Upgrading and sharing extraction facilities, discounted consumables.

8. What about a (near-native, selected, productive, gentle) queen raising industry in collaboration with or run by commercial beekeepers.

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[prakel]

Assuming that the recipients of any such funding are running viable businesses is there any reason that it couldn't be worked along the lines of a loan (with maybe a two year grace period) rather than a subsidy, with the interest being earmarked for a native/local breeding project of some description. Make the money work twice.

[drumgerry]

Gavin - according to this Scottish Government page http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Rele...05/11/22121939, 99% of beekeeping activity in Scotland is carried out non-commercially. Admittedly it dates from 2005 but I'd imagine if anything there's more amateurs around now than then. So I'm sceptical that the commercial beekeeping guys add a huge amount to Scotland's beekeeping life. I agree all of the points you list are things of value but most of them are being done by amateurs. Not at all opposed to Eastern European workers (we have plenty of them here in Speyside and very nice they are too) but again I don't see why their jobs merit subsidies when no-one else's do.

I'm firmly of the belief that we need a radical change in how we go about our queen rearing/breeding but I don't see the commercial guys as the people to be given the charge to do it.

[The Drone Ranger]

That's called trolling DR!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29
http://www.duchyoriginals.com/Heather_Honey.php

I don't think it is trolling
The purpose of subsidy would be to create a beneficial outcome for Scotland
Hence subsidising affordable housing etc has general support
Normally Government spending of this type should be directed to stimulate a local economy or enhance employment chances
By giving money to private companies who will spend it on imports and create no new jobs the money is wasted
Perhaps New Zealand would like to chip in since they will be the greatest beneficiaries of a bad season for these beekeeping enterprises
They should be covered by insurance