[Mary B]

I've just spent an afternoon with the local bee keeping group, as I'm thinking of keeping bees - maybe next year, when we've got some more fruit trees going?  (and my other half has found his mead recipe ....)

It was amazing, and I was fascinated by what these little creatures do and how they work.

Does anyone else have any info/tips/stories about bees?

Mary 

[marigold]

Hiya
I'm thinking of getting bees too. But we're in the middle of Scotland  and there is a scare about some deadly disease just now. what are you thinking about that?
Whereabouts' are you?
It would be sensible for me to research the whole thing before diving in but I have a horrible feeling that life is too short and that I should just ring the advert in the Saturday paper and dive in at the deep end. I believe that we have a local bee keeping club. I will ring them too.
It will be interesting to hear any other mor experienced posts in this thread.
Kirsty

[doganjo]

My daughter and son-in-law have given me a day with a  local bee-keeper as an advance Christmas Present but it has been postponed because of that disease.  However, the gentleman is going to come and have a look at my place to see where best to put a hive.  I was worried about people getting stung but apparently the legal position is that while the bees are in the hive they are the property of the bee-keeper, but as soon a they leave the hive they are wild creatures and not governed by law.

[sellickbhoy]

I was worried about people getting stung but apparently the legal position is that while the bees are in the hive they are the property of the bee-keeper, but as soon a they leave the hive they are wild creatures and not governed by law.

yeah, that might be the legal position, but if you are in a built up area or have neighbors with pesky kids, you can be sure they'll be into everything and should 1 of them get stung you know damn well the neighbour will be round complaining about your killer bees!!!!!

i remember seeing a program (might have been River Cottage) and a guy lived in central london kept bees on his roof. apparently the honey was fantastic

[Hilarysmum]

We kept bees for some years in our back garden which backed on to a school.  Bees are under threat and need as many people as possible to farm them.  Go for it.

[Tullywood Farm]

Hello

Under Food Storage and Rotation by Kev Kev - 3 pages down from here, on the third page we were discussing bees and Rusty, Kev Kev and Joes made some good points for anyone interested - I would copy and pate them in here but it will not let me
regards
Julie

[jameslindsay]

My daughter and son-in-law have given me a day with a  local bee-keeper as an advance Christmas Present but it has been postponed because of that disease.  However, the gentleman is going to come and have a look at my place to see where best to put a hive.  I was worried about people getting stung but apparently the legal position is that while the bees are in the hive they are the property of the bee-keeper, but as soon a they leave the hive they are wild creatures and not governed by law.

Annie, we have a couple of bee keepers come in to the hotel and they seem to have a terrible time with their bees over the last few years. It seems that the stories about bees dying are all very true. I think it is quite a peaceful picture looking at bee hives in a garden, not that you see many here.

[doganjo]

I would love to have bees, so I'll wait till Rob comes to have a look at my garden, see if I have suitable plants. and that the contours of my garden relative to the lane and village are also suitable, take his lesson early next year and then take a decision based on actual facts.

[rustyme]

there are huge problems with bees at the moment , no doubt man made most of them , but no one really knows . Some beekeepers have lost all their colonies , some just a few . It is however, still worth keeping them .
    Just about anywhere would be ok to keep them really , very few places would be unsuitable. As for your plants in a garden , they would make very little difference to keeping bees.  Bees have a range of about 2-3 miles from the hive , in all directions . So that is a truly huge area , and the comparatively  very few plants you have in your garden, would be sorted by the bees in just a few minutes really .
     I would just ask your direct neighbours , if they are allergic to bee stings . I wouldn't want to be responsible for the death of someone , due to my keeping bees . I know that they could get stung anyway , but if the people next door had problems, then I would think about keeping them elsewhere. 
     If you know of any bees/hives /anything !!! going spare, grab it/them fast !!! You really can learn as you go with bees . Any number of books are available , or just google it ....loads of info on bees is available on the net. 
    I have just received my brand new honey extractor kit today .
https://secure.thorne.co.uk/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/millhouse/thorne/shop/springer?ACTION=thispage&THISPAGE=page10070.html&ORDER_ID=325940209
I got the bees on a budget kit for £108 , £125 with vat and delivery. So I hope to get some honey at last !!! . Thornes carry just about everything to do with bees , and have an excellent service online. You can keep bees for very little, by making you own hives etc and collecting secondhand gear.
    If you are thinking about keeping them , just do it . It is easy to learn as you go , I doubt you will regret it , but if you do ? there will always be someone waiting to pounce on your collection ., no reason to lose a penny if you go careful !!
http://www.biobees.com/
the above site has loads of information , even a pdf on how to make a topbar hive yourself. This site alone, should keep anyone interested in keeping bees, fixed to the pc for hours .


cheers

Russ

[Mary B]

I think the bee diseases are fairly widespread - we're on the Welsh border near Abergavenny.

If you join your local bee keeping group, the fee includes third party insurance. It is also possible to insure your bee hives against loss through disease.

I'm planning to go on the local beekeeping course starting in February, which then includes visits to various hives through the year, but hopefully get our own hive in the spring and put some of the theory into practice (and hopefully honey!!)

Mary

[rustyme]

http://www.mygarden.ws/beekeeping_for_all.pdf

the above link is for a book on beekeeping in pdf form . Lots of information for free....

cheers

Russ

[rustyme]

http://www.swienty.com/uk/home.asp

another beekeeping supplier .  In Denmark but they do deliver all over the world !!

cheers

Russ

[Hardfeather]

I heard something the other day, somewhere, about some sort of sponsored effort to get more people into bees..........possibly just in England and Wales, though.

I think it said something about 'eco hives' being given to anyone who wanted to start a colony.

Does anyone else know anything about this?

[doganjo]

Will try to google that - but just found this scary article - and here's me that doesn't like all the doom and gloom!

from  http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/april2007/100407beesdying.htm

Many people don't realize the vital role bees play in maintaining a balanced eco-system. According to experts, if bees were to become extinct then humanity would perish after just four years.

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man," said Albert Einstein.

Others would say four years is alarmist and that man would find other food sources, but the fact remains that the disappearance of bees is potentially devastating to agriculture and most plant life.

[Hardfeather]

Will try to google that - but just found this scary article - and here's me that doesn't like all the doom and gloom!

from  http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/april2007/100407beesdying.htm

Many people don't realize the vital role bees play in maintaining a balanced eco-system. According to experts, if bees were to become extinct then humanity would perish after just four years.

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man," said Albert Einstein.

Others would say four years is alarmist and that man would find other food sources, but the fact remains that the disappearance of bees is potentially devastating to agriculture and most plant life.

A huge reduction in bee numbers would, indeed, be very detrimental to mankind, but I take heart from the knowledge that the world would go on very well without us.