Colonsay reserve approved!

[The Drone Ranger]

As the thread began with Colonsay reserve I suppose it's worth making the point that without general support from the beekeeping community it wouldn't have happened
Perhaps in fairness it was driven by the AMM enthusiasts and relied to some extent on passive support from the rest of Scotland's beekeepers
It's probably wrong to interpret that as the general beekeeping population showing any a desire to keep AMM bees
Certainly lots of inexperienced new bee keepers are sold on AMM but people who have kept bees for years probably not
The comments made by the SBA President (who was an active supporter) have unfairly come under fire from the Amm lobby
The next time they need that passive support it might not be so forthcoming

[gavin]

Au contraire, DR, my reading of responses to surveys and discussions in local associations is that the majority of beekeepers are well-disposed to Amm, whether or not they think their own bees are of that type or whether it is feasible for them to keep lines pure. But we don't really know. I'd also posit that quite a few beekeepers go though a phase of buying/obtaining in 'stuff' from all over before coming to the realisation, eventually, that to make progress selecting your stock you need to let it settle down to one strain - and that is only realistic in Scotland with something near Amm. A few don't, of course, but I see many that do.

[The Drone Ranger]

You might be right Gavin
I don't see much AMM interest in the few people I know
John

[Jon]

Certainly lots of inexperienced new bee keepers are sold on AMM but people who have kept bees for years probably not

Well I would not consider Micheál Mac Gilla Coda as callow although he would likely play down the 83 years.
The Native Bee Society has some of the best beekeepers and bee breeders in Ireland on its committee.
And that youngster Keith Pierce could teach most people a think or two about queen rearing and there are a few older guys who are total experts as well. There are quite a number managing 50-100 apideas which is an indication they take queen rearing pretty seriously.

My experience is that most beekeepers are fence sitters but are generally well disposed towards native stock if they see it is considerably better than what they are working with already.
We have 40-50 in the Belfast queen rearing group and they have been replacing some or all of the queens they have in their colonies at home.
They do this happily as they see the bees opened every week and know how they behave. For most beekeepers keeping bees in a home garden, docility is about 90% of what they are looking for and low swarming tendancy as well. Our bees in the breeding group are very docile and swarm preparations are rare. the only swarm this year was from a queenless colony I was using as a cell raiser which made a sneaky queen cell on the face of a comb. I missed the cell and had to retrieve a swarm with the virgin from a hawthorn tree beside the apiary.
I really notice the difference now when I handle other people's bees and often get stung up to hell's gates as I have got used to working with good stock.
The people locally who are pro Buckfast and anti AMM tend to be the older generation of beekeepers who started their beekeeping in the 1960s or 70s in the heyday of Brother Adam - and Department of Agriculture directives about replacing local stock with Buckfast.

[Rosie]

The picture in my part of North Wales is similar to Jon's. I would say that about 90% of our beekeepers of all ages and experience support our local amm initiative and vast majority of those are keeping local near natives or are actively trying to improve their purity.

Steve

[drumgerry]

I find here in Strathspey that most beekeepers, experienced and new, when asked are pretty keen on the concept of native bees and not importing. Of course there are the curmudgeonly few who don't care which strain they use as long as they get them honey (temper being a lower priority I'd say). In fact when we founded our new association here last winter people were only too happy to include a clause in our constitution stating our opposition to imports and our support for improving on our native bee status.

I honestly don't think your experience is a typical one DR.

[Jon]

The picture in my part of North Wales is similar to Jon's. I would say that about 90% of our beekeepers of all ages and experience support our local amm initiative and vast majority of those are keeping local near natives or are actively trying to improve their purity.

Steve

Where have you been this past while Steve?
I thought you must have been trampled to death by all the goats and various beasts you keep in that polytunnel.

[mbc]

The picture in my part of North Wales is similar to Jon's. I would say that about 90% of our beekeepers of all ages and experience support our local amm initiative and vast majority of those are keeping local near natives or are actively trying to improve their purity.
Steve

Likewise in my part of West Wales.
When I ran a queen rearing course with the local association the overwhelming unsolicited consensus was that we should breed from not only the best bees available, but the best most native bees we could identify. This in an area familiar with imports since the 1950's when Holgate honey farm moved here from a then pesticide soaked England.

[Rosie]

Where have you been this past while Steve?
I thought you must have been trampled to death by all the goats and various beasts you keep in that polytunnel.

Fraid not. I'm still alive and just about kicking. I found that keeping up with all the posts and making the odd contribution myself was absorbing too much time so had to go cold turkey and wean myself off it. I hope this doesn't get me back into bad habits.

Steve

[gavin]

I hope this doesn't get me back into bad habits.

10 min a day or half an hour twice a week. You know it makes sense!

Sounds like you need a NWHBS too. Or just completely refresh BIBBA, if that is possible.