I didn't read it as a rebuke at all C4u. But I realised I had a myopic view of this and am grateful for the bigger picture. It's distressing to know the hardship the SHB outbreak has caused down there.Originally Posted by Calluna4u
I didn't read it as a rebuke at all C4u. But I realised I had a myopic view of this and am grateful for the bigger picture. It's distressing to know the hardship the SHB outbreak has caused down there.
Its tough on those Italian breeders ,but somebody selfish brought the SHB into their area and now they are paying the price
Lets hope it doesn't happen here
How it got there is not known yet. It may have been adventitious, or the darker spectre being raised there is malicious. A deliberate act of revenge.
Good people are being devastated financially and I know certain sections of the UK lobby don't give a **** as long as it can be used to keep imports out.
However......the beetles themselves appear to have done little damage there, the regulations massive damage.
They are in all probability innocent victims. I detect no sympathy from you for our fellow bee people. There but for the grace of.......etc.
The typing of the beetles to determine the origin of the infestation will be interesting......then the finger pointing can begin.
I wouldn't say it's a lack of sympathy per se C4U. Personally speaking there are few beekeeping businesses I would want to see go down the tubes and from what you describe the affected Italian queen breeders seem to be decent people. It seems a pity that their businesses are export dependent although it sounds like their domestic trade has been severely curtailed by SHB as well. To me though it makes the case for keeping things local ever stronger.
As for "There but for the grace of God etc"
small hive beetle got to Italy through earthly means and thats how it will get here
Wandered across to the bee shed to collect something I'd left there by accident yesterday.
The heavens opened.
Fortunately, I've taken a deck chair over there for precisely this sort of eventuality. I spent a dry and relaxing 20 minutes listening to the faint hum of the hives and the film review on Radio 5.
Note to self #1 ... leave an umbrella there for the next time
Note to self #2 ... and a kettle
Lovely to see the bees working the willow here in Speyside this afternoon. Does the spirit good!
I too took refuge in the bee shed, where I cut myself twice trying to drill holes in an acrylic sheet, and had to listen to a medley of songs by the popular crooners Def LeopardWandered across to the bee shed to collect something I'd left there by accident yesterday.
The heavens opened.
Fortunately, I've taken a deck chair over there for precisely this sort of eventuality. I spent a dry and relaxing 20 minutes listening to the faint hum of the hives and the film review on Radio 5.
Note to self #1 ... leave an umbrella there for the next time
Note to self #2 ... and a kettle
What is radio 5 ?
Is it new ?
Possibly the accumulator on my radio needs charging
Does Angus only get the BBC Home Service still? Disappointing.
Spent yesterday building a shed-load of frames. Having knocked up a few boxes of foundationless frames I switched to using full sheets of foundation ... why is Thorne's Premium National foundation consistently too wide for the frame? Grrr. Every sheet had to be trimmed by a couple of millimetres. In contrast, the few dozen sheets of Maisemores standard stuff were a perfect fit ... but every one of them is going to need the hairdryer treatment as the stuff is old and 'bloomed'.
160402-15.jpg
Before ... you know what a sheet that fits properly looks like.
This might be wrong but sometimes I find if you get frames from one supplier and wax from another they dont fit
The easipet stuff is too thick
I have had to shave a few mm off standard wax as well at times
Its worse when the frames are seconds because nothing fits
If it was easy everyone could do it
I have dashed off a telegram to Angus asking him to confirm the broadcast status in his area
As yet he has not replied, perhaps the runner has been intercepted by a band of feral farmers
Last edited by The Drone Ranger; 05-04-2016 at 05:05 PM. Reason: left an f off
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