Zest Hive

[prakel]

You'd need to sell an awful lot of over-wintered queens to make £750.

Not if you kept them for yourself

[fatshark]

You'd need to sell an awful lot of over-wintered queens to make £750.

Not once the import ban is imposed

PS Have you seen these puppies … 'Selected breeder queens' http://www.buckfast.dk/en/order-now.html

[Little_John]

Not once the import ban is imposed

PS Have you seen these puppies … 'Selected breeder queens' http://www.buckfast.dk/en/order-now.html

Strewth - that's money.

But - even the bog-standard over-wintered queens @ 160 Euros ....

I'm going back to bed - 'cause it seems like I've woken-up this morning in a parallel universe.

LJ

[Adam]

I have also looked at the Zest and thought, 'what's the point'. The last time I was at my association apiary the Dartington needed serious TLC and was used for putting coffee cups on. However for those with a dodgy back, some alternative hives may be great*

* Not a Zest however.

[The Drone Ranger]

I fairness to Rob Dartington the hive plans give a cutting list
That minimised the amount of waste and saves you buying more ply than you need
I never got around to making one though
I have the plans somewhere
The amount of work to make one would possibly explain Thornes price
Mind you they charge £36 for an Apidea which is way over anyone else

The Zest hive and the Cowpat/Sun hive are not for me

[prakel]

But - even the bog-standard over-wintered queens @ 160 Euros ....

Well, they're actually Island mated queens rather than what I would call bog-standard:

Island mated Queens
The small island of Nexeloe, situated three miles from the harbour and village named "Havnsø" on the west coast of Sea land. It is free of feral colonies and the islanders do not keep bees. That makes it is a safe location for isolated matings. 15 strong colonies headed by identical sister queens are used to produce the necessary drones, which ensures that the queen are mated with males of known parentage. Colonies remain on the island Nexelø for three weeks, and are then returned to a temporary apiary where the queen is checked and her brood is examined prior to dispatch. Island mated queens are suitable for production of F-1 queens.
Marking:
All island mated queens are line marked, often with two colors.

So, for what ever effort is involved in overwintering, including any losses during that period, they're adding an extra 35 Euros to the unit price. Doubt many would be happy paying an extra 35 Euros for the usual open mated mongrels commonly sold in the UK even if they have managed to survive the winter. But we're drifting off topic now, again, aren't we I reckon fatshark hit the nail on another thread with his comments about Autumn re-queening (and encouraging it); that's probably the way to establish a flourishing queen rearing trade in these islands, not by promoting the value added 'over-wintered' end of the market as the 'standard'.

[Pete L]

I reckon fatshark hit the nail on another thread with his comments about Autumn re-queening (and encouraging it); that's probably the way to establish a flourishing queen rearing trade in these islands, not by promoting the value added 'over-wintered' end of the market as the 'standard'.

I re-queen mainly in the late summer/autumn, but many of the queens required in the spring seem to be for making up nucs and doing splits.

[The Drone Ranger]

Just noticed on thornes that the Dartington assembled and empty is £375
Thats not cheap but comparing it to the cost of a WBC it probably is fair
http://www.thorne.co.uk/whats-new/wh...roduct_id=6128

[fatshark]

I re-queen mainly in the late summer/autumn, but many of the queens required in the spring seem to be for making up nucs and doing splits.

Interesting Pete … I strongly suspect that a lot of the demand is for new beekeepers wanting bees NOW after doing a winter training course (and, from those that have lost stocks overwinter and see a spring nuc as a quick-fix … when better management might actually be preferable). There are a couple in our association that are talking about a better way to train beginners, with more hands-on for a season during which time they generate a nuc that they overwinter.

Bees and instant gratification are not a good combination.

[fatshark]

Pete
I meant to also ask … do you see a difference in overwintering success between late-season requeened colonies and 'older' queens? You're likely to have the numbers to back up or refute my (largely uninformed!) guess that late-season requeening might be better.

Of course, the very fact that this is what you practice would be a clue

Cheers