Scottish Government report on the 'Restocking Options' study

[The Drone Ranger]

DR your "Nicky" story reminds of the time I was talking someone through a procedure on the phone, they got stung (maybe a couple of times!), started shouting to their companion to "Get them off me!" followed by a long beeeeep as the line went dead. Oh how I laughed! Whoops - bit of thread drift creeping into our very serious thread

It is a bit of a drift but fun nevertheless
I think a lot of folk like the idea of bees but soon realise it's not for them
Kids all want rabbits but not cleaning out the hutch

I gave Lois a queen once for her "queenless" hive
When she went to put the cage in she found young brood
She rings me up "Its ok I have young lava and eggs"
Yay!
I say"what about the queen I gave you then"
"Oh I let her go" she says
"Go where ??"
"in the garden" was the reply

(Sorry if you are reading this Lois I let the plant you gave me in return die so I'm no better)

[gwizzie]

It is a bit of a drift but fun nevertheless
I think a lot of folk like the idea of bees but soon realise it's not for them
Kids all want rabbits but not cleaning out the hutch

I gave Lois a queen once for her "queenless" hive
When she went to put the cage in she found young brood
She rings me up "Its ok I have young lava and eggs"
Yay!
I say"what about the queen I gave you then"
"Oh I let her go" she says
"Go where ??"
"in the garden" was the reply

(Sorry if you are reading this Lois I let the plant you gave me in return die so I'm no better)

DR you crack me up LOL, just having my breakfast and decided to read your last couple of posts and I could not eat with laughing, my good lady asked what I was reading to make me laugh so much. I replied a few posts on the bee forum, she asked me to read them to her and she now is rolling about on the couch laughing (think it was the road kill that got her) You should write short stories bud

[The Drone Ranger]

This thread is about an important issue though so apologies Gavin
Could you could move this stuff ?

[fatshark]

It's peripherally on topic ... the point is that BKAs train large numbers of beekeepers but don't necessarily have the means (willingness, experience, [wo]manpower, organisation) to generate sufficient nucs and queens to meet demand. The report makes this clear. The demand itself is variable ... not least because a significant proportion of those on the training courses never take up beekeeping but instead return to their pheasant-slaughtering or whatever. Of course, that's no reason for them not to take a course.

What's the solution? Is there a solution? I think Roger Patterson pre-screens people taking their beginner courses to ensure they have whatever it takes to become a beekeeper (no fear of large amounts of flying bees?). This might reduce the 'unpredictable' numbers a bit.

Secondly, perhaps BKAs should match trainees numbers to available nucs ... building the cost of the nuc into the course, ensuring local bees (whatever they are Bumble) and reducing the demand for bees from unknown and untested sources.

Finally (and perhaps some do this, but I'm not aware of any that do) could BKAs encourage more experienced members to overwinter nucs by providing a guaranteed price/sale for them the following year? The economics of this would have to be carefully worked. I sell a few nucs but generally can't be bothered to overwinter large numbers because of the hassle associated with selling them (which far outweighs the hassle of generating them) ... if I knew I had a guaranteed sale of half a dozen in early May to local beekeepers at a fair price I'd be a lot more inclined to do it.

[mbc]

. I sell a few nucs but generally can't be bothered to overwinter large numbers because of the hassle associated with selling them (which far outweighs the hassle of generating them) ... if I knew I had a guaranteed sale of half a dozen in early May to local beekeepers at a fair price I'd be a lot more inclined to do it.

Spot on!

[drumgerry]

I'm the secretary of our local BKA (a small affair with 20-ish members) and we don't have the man/womanpower to offer training to new beekeepers. If we were to do so the burden would most likely fall upon yours truly and perhaps one or two others - mainly me though. To cut a long story short I simply can't afford to act as an unpaid volunteer over the number of weeks a half decent course would take. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

It begs the question why beekeeping relies on the services of volunteers to provide basic training. Perhaps it makes the case for a paid scheme with certified trainers or the like. I don't know. Maybe if people had to pay a few hundred quid for a course rather than the typical £25 or £50 I see they might think a bit harder about getting involved.

(oh look 1,000 posts! 6 years worth of drumgerry waffle!)

[The Drone Ranger]

How about your Summer training course 10 Sundays through the Season and finishing with buying a hive with bees ready to go through Winter

What happens now?
Do folk buy bees in Spring and either lose a swarm or make splits at all the wrong times (sometimes more than one)
They weaken the colony and end up with two or three demoralised hives who die out in Winter

In the rush to get more hives they just lose the ones they have

The best way might be to begin with a colony at the end of the season and learn how to get that through to Spring
Then they will have a better idea what not to do in the Summer when everything seems possible

Normal advice is get your nuc in early Spring but is that truly the best way
Could get your training in Spring and your bees at the end of Summer be better

[drumgerry]

The question remains DR - who wants to/can afford to give up 10 Sundays? If it's paid work maybe but as a volunteer?

[The Drone Ranger]

The question remains DR - who wants to/can afford to give up 10 Sundays? If it's paid work maybe but as a volunteer?

Angus College ran a course £80
10 Sundays "Introduction to Beekeeping" all practical
The now defunct local association apparently objected and they stopped after 2 courses

[prakel]

Do folk buy bees in Spring

The best way might be to begin with a colony at the end of the season and learn how to get that through to Spring.....

Normal advice is get your nuc in early Spring but is that truly the best way
Could get your training in Spring and your bees at the end of Summer be better

Not very fashionable these days but our grandparents always said that the best time to buy bees was just before they need their winter feed. But I can't imagine, even as beginners, they would have needed the level of hand-holding that a lot of people now seem to demand.