Anyone read this one It has being recommended to me so Ill put it on my wish list.
http://www.amazon.com/Following-Bloo.../dp/1585422800
Anyone read this one It has being recommended to me so Ill put it on my wish list.
http://www.amazon.com/Following-Bloo.../dp/1585422800
Yes, it's an interesting read but i did find it a little hard going in places. Dated of course, but that shouldn't be an issue for this kind of book.Originally Posted by Greengage
Last edited by prakel; 14-11-2015 at 08:43 PM.
I look at that another way
All honeybee diseases are present at low levels somewhere all the time (paraphrasing Bailey)
Resistance also develops when a creature is exposed to sub lethal levels and survives
So let's say in the case of varroa my bees which are exposed to a low level of varroa because I treat them
And Ron Hoskins untreated bees have about the same chances of developing resistance
(Very low because its mostly the virus issues that kill the bees)
I would say our bees have more chance of developing resistance if they are still alive after exposure to the pest (at least the drones)
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Hi DR, I don't disagree, in theory, in fact Taber goes on to advocate a practical application of the principle where afb is concerned (while admitting that he was suggesting something which "goes against most state laws concerning afb") but I've tried to avoid detail as it does clearly go against our regulations and could be taken too literally; Ive no time to fend off a lynch mob of the outraged. Anyway, the book's still in print so I shouldn't quote too much. As things stand, I don't see how we're going to find afb resistance in the UK if all cases are reported, as they should be without question.
Last edited by prakel; 15-11-2015 at 09:35 AM.
http://www.scottishbeekeepers.org.uk...ing%20Year.pdf
There is a bit of something for everyone in the (free) download from Ian Craig
Strong opinions (sensible ones though) and a step by step approach make it well worth a read
Haven't tried the salt for chalkbrood tip yet
Possibly it might make them tastier for birds when the bees throw them out
Barbecued is my preferred option at the moment
Its an interesting theory and one I believe to be correct. It begs the question, how many hives have been destroyed due to a sub leathal presence of AFB detected by PCR.
If one was to PCR varroa mites I'm sure AFB would be found. I theorize that this years really bad AFB outbreaks here in Northern Ireland coupled with bad summer weather is partly due to the much higher levels of varroa and subsequent spread by this vector rather than moving hives, after all varroa spreads rather fast accross the country from county to county
On the discussion on AFB there was talk of resistant lines being held by the same Margaret Logan mentioned above. They were reputedly 'of the dark European race' (Robert Couston - 1989 - Fly With the Beeman, p77). Margaret Logan is pictured in Beowolf Cooper's book on British native honeybees, taken during a visit to her apiary. You might still be able to identify such stocks today if they remain clean in an infected apiary but breeding from them would be impossible unless you were allowed to keep the disease around to identify resistant daughters. The University of Sussex have pinned their hopes on freeze-killed brood being helpful in identifying AFB resistant stocks but the real mechanisms are likely to be more complex than that.
On PCR, it has been mentioned recently and might allow a shook swarm to clean the stock before the disease breaks out. Subclinical infections don't generate a destruction notice.
Surely the recent splurge of AFB discoveries in N Ireland is just the latest in a series of catching up events after years of neglect? By neglect I mean a failure to identify and report the disease. Once it has spread enough there is that eureka moment when there is a realisation that there is an issue and inspector effort reveals a spreading problem. How that spread takes place is very often via one or more beekeepers with diseased stock and equipment selling the disease with bees ... or equipment .... plus some additional spread from infected apiaries to neighbouring ones. Our last eureka moment here was in 2009. Discoveries continue, and the pleasing thing is that beekeeper-reported discoveries are more common now. What I mean is that it is not just the inspectors finding it.
Last edited by gavin; 15-11-2015 at 06:11 PM. Reason: words in the order wrong, and the Sussex assay
Hi Gavin
Thats good background info on Margaret Logan thank you
I have two copies of Bob Couston's "Principles of Practical Beekeeping" one is reprint for general stick finger use
The other is a first edition (not in perfect condition though) which had a little hand written letter inside the pages
letter.jpg
Don't know who the sender was or recipient but it's interesting just the same to know the book was recommended reading
I can think of only one experienced beekeeper by the name of Bernard that plied his trade in Scotland! Could be a letter worth preserving
No real clues though Gavin except the show being entered was in July and it could be Birmingham although it looks like Bigham
The person being written to (Trevor) apparently is retiring no date address nothing
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