I have a thick hide and am hard to offend lol.Originally Posted by The Drone Ranger
SHB....in the opinion of MOST places that have had it......is almost a non issue. The horror stories all come from a small number of southern US states, as do the scary photos much reproduced in the alarming documentation supporting strong action. I do not fear it at all, and having spoken to people who actually have it their response is generally to ask what all the fuss is about.
That you have very few losses ever does not actually reflect on the true picture of beekeeping across the country. In one recent winter the overall loss rate was close on 60%. That you had 10% is both laudable and probably fortunate. I saw very good beekeepers almost wiped out. Angus was a badly hit county, and the highest I know of, outwith the very small amateurs where some had no bees left at all, was 98% losses in one outfit. That same winter we only lost 15% in our poly operation but variable between 40 and 60% in the wooden hives. They were well fed, looked OK in autumn, but collapsed in the late winter. The worrying thing was, like in 2015, all had seemed ok, they were well fed and dry and in proven winter locations, but they had had to work in September to get a harvest and they were worn out.
However the heavy losses were not just a Scottish phenomenon. It was true in parts of Wales, many places in England too, including SE England. It was the same in France and Germany too. Demand for packages was so high that in the end we could only get about a third of what people wanted. It was not down to beekeeper proficiency in most cases (there were exceptions) just the bees were done in before winter even came along.
I NEVER have losses that, when looked at by mid April, are 10% or less. I will always have a percentage of that order with queen defects....either drone layers or queenless or superceders at an impossible time of year. To me these are losses. Two seams of bees or less? Its a dink and to be boosted or replaced. Maybe I have a harsh interpretation of what losses are, but from all causes (includes autumn re-unites too btw...still one down) I expect to see between 15 and 20% most seasons, often a bit more. What constitutes a winter loss is a movable feast. One mans 5% could easily be another mans 20%, so to make any sensible comparison you have to know what is being counted. Colonies killed by winter itself are a rarity. From the way I read it on here I could quite easily claim to have winter losses of 5% or maybe even less, but its self deception. The true losses, from all causes, and an empty hive is an empty hive and a non earner whatever the cause, will be more like 20%. Now say you want then filled up in one season then you have to do a lot of splits and for every one you need to fill you need to make about 1.25 splits (allows for failures). This means that by heather time your unit consists of 55% full colonies and 45% that are either split colonies or actual splits. If you look at it that way you can see where the economics for the beekeeper comes in. If the duds are filled with fresh stock the crop should normally be better.
The advice about not putting bees in till 20% flower is understandable but not actually much used in practice. Our unit down there is resident and still does the job. They only go away from the fruit farm to the heather and thus also out of the way of the picking staff, as they are in a dearth at that time unless there are copious levels of balsam about, and in consequence can be a little cranky when disturbed by machinery.
Where bees are *permitted* to come from is not in any way the decision of the BFA or any company importing them. This policy is decided at EU level. You can import from any member state (there are local exceptions in some states for clearly defined special objectives) and only have to give notice you are doing so and provide a proper health certificate. You can also import from third countries that meet EU and UK legislation regarding notifiable diseases, and the presence of them at source. At this time only Argentina and Western Australia fit into that category and for queens only. There is also New Zealand which, by dint of its health status and high level of supervision of the sector, has been granted 'EU equivalent' status. It is treated as per other third countries as regards certification and post import checks, but you can bring packages in from NZ only, which is not permitted from any other non EU country. Where they are actually sourced from is a matter for each importer, within the framework of the existing rules and the special restriction currently in place for Sicily and Calabria. The BFA has no role whatsoever in this, other than to report that there is no consensus among our members favouring any bans. Individuals yes, but also those equally vociferously opposed.
You can buy UK bees from anyone here. Once they have come into the UK and fulfilled import requirements a trader can sell them anywhere in the UK without further certification, indeed none required at all. Its the least regulated and safe source in Europe because there has normally been no official presale inspection whatsoever. In the EFB area there is a voluntary code in place about sales of nucs outwith the area (should have more teeth IMO) but the issue is that EFB is present in the rest of the UK at a higher rate than we now have in the infected area, yet the code does not permit us to sell into those areas, yet anywhere in the clear part of Scotland can buy from all of the UK except our area.........not quite logical. I agree about not moving potentially EFB colonies to...for example....Skye, but we should be able to move our bees as nucs or whatever to places where EFB already exists. Not an SHB issue per se, but its the same principle.........clear areas should not be at risk from actual infected areas.
Can you tell its a dreadfully dreich afternoon? Frame wiring and waxing holds little charm today.
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