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Thread: Bees for sale

  1. #11
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Hmmmnnn .... coach and horses there through the 'local are best' and the 'we prefer Amm' in the 'Word from your Sponsor' above! You were kidding anyway, right?!

    Also the legal side which I suppose is similar in Scotland to England and Wales: https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/bee...ent.cfm?id=299

  2. #12
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    Hi,
    well it does raise some issues, local are best unless there are none to be had at a reasonable price.
    AMM - sticky bunns to convert them if you have queens now, or one laying queen next year.
    Vets or agriculture ministry bill of health is no problem, I priced airfreighting live prawns from Inverness to Munich once - less than 30 € per box 8 years ago.
    So that should be less now. I wonder how many would fit on a pallet - they are about 60€ in a lorry a pop from here to the UK.
    Making sure the bees are drone free is easy to if transported at the right time. Or you have to seperate them with an excluder.
    In the usa they import plane loads from australia, so yes only half kidding....

  3. #13
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    ... and in Scotland they import plane-loads from New Zealand ...... !

  4. #14
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    ok then bavaria is local in that case

  5. #15
    Banned Stromnessbees's Avatar
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    Hi Calum

    I think there are several reasons for keeping the trading of bees as local as possible.

    @ Even if - seen superficially - bees from different regions might have the same parasites and viruses, these might well be different strains which, transported to other areas and mixed with whatever is there, could turn out more virulent than before.

    @ Importing bees is just an easy way out for those who make no or just half-hearted efforts to breed their own replacements. We should all try to become self-sufficient with our stocks and at the same time work on improving our local strains, then we will end up with bees that are perfectly able to handle local conditions and bring optimal yields.

    @ It might be easier and therefore cheaper to produce bees further south, so you can, despite transport cost, offer your bees at a cheaper rate than we can here. It's probably better to let the price here develop according to local supply and demand.


    It's great that you have made the effort of producing extra bees for sale. I am sure that you can sell your bees at a good price somewhere near you, if not now then in spring, when there is always a great demand.

    All the best, Doris

  6. #16
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    Hi Doris,

    many valid points there.
    I was only being half serious, of the 14 colonies I have for sale, 6 are already reserved, I would not let any more go this year in case I need them myself to replace losses.

    It will be hard to attract new beekeepers if we all have to be self sufficient in the future, not everyone wants to nor should have to. I would like to be myself, but untill I get into sending my bees of to special breeding sites (where there are only selected drones) there is no point in selecting, and with only 7-9 primary colonies I do not have enought selection choice. So I will have to buy new 'pure bred' queens from time to time.

    It is important that clubs are self sufficient though, and it is good money for those that make the effort to do it right.
    Here a queen costs 10-15€ unmated, to 15-25€ mated, so selling some queens can be a tidy little earner.
    Nucs go for 10€ / frame of bees. So if my colonies come through I'll be sitting on about 1500€ there. But it wont be that much, I'll loose 2 I bet and likely sell them cheap as I don't like making money (well not from beginners).


    Quote Originally Posted by Stromnessbees View Post
    Hi Calum

    I think there are several reasons for keeping the trading of bees as local as possible.

    @ Even if - seen superficially - bees from different regions might have the same parasites and viruses, these might well be different strains which, transported to other areas and mixed with whatever is there, could turn out more virulent than before.

    @ Importing bees is just an easy way out for those who make no or just half-hearted efforts to breed their own replacements. We should all try to become self-sufficient with our stocks and at the same time work on improving our local strains, then we will end up with bees that are perfectly able to handle local conditions and bring optimal yields.

    @ It might be easier and therefore cheaper to produce bees further south, so you can, despite transport cost, offer your bees at a cheaper rate than we can here. It's probably better to let the price here develop according to local supply and demand.


    It's great that you have made the effort of producing extra bees for sale. I am sure that you can sell your bees at a good price somewhere near you, if not now then in spring, when there is always a great demand.

    All the best, Doris
    Last edited by Calum; 24-08-2010 at 02:07 PM.

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