| Author |
Message |
 Topic: Leftover honey from hive |
Jon
Replies: 14
Views: 13293
|
 Forum: Beginners start here Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 3:08 pm Subject: Leftover honey from hive |
| looks like granulated honey possibly from ivy |
| Topic: Apis mellifera mellifera |
Jon
Replies: 6
Views: 11856
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2016 9:19 pm Subject: Apis mellifera mellifera |
Orkney has native type bees but not pure Amm afaik. Same for Isle of Man. Andrew Abrahams on Colonsay has pure Amm.
Several Irish breeders have AMM as well. |
| Topic: Queen cells in supers. |
Jon
Replies: 10
Views: 12905
|
Forum: Beginners start here Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 8:48 am Subject: Queen cells in supers. |
| I have seen queen cells in the super once of twice. I think the most likely explanation is that they are started from an egg laid by a laying worker and this will be a drone cell started from a drone ... |
| Topic: Would this jacket be OK for a beginner? |
Jon
Replies: 19
Views: 31611
|
Forum: Beginners start here Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:43 pm Subject: Would this jacket be OK for a beginner? |
I agree with Zaunreiter. All I ever use for protection is a £5 observation smock from Thorne and a pair of nitrile gloves and I manage over 30 colonies plus a load more at the association apiary.
The ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 5:21 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
Sicamm is a virtual organisation with no income as far as I can see.
It holds a conference every now and again.
They did a joint conference with Bibba in Wales last September and I think Bibba got ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 9:13 am Subject: British Black Bee project |
I'll write an e-mail to all members of SICAMM. We'll see what they think. I know some of them personally. We'll see, if their view changed...
You hear back from any Sicamm members re. their percept ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:35 am Subject: British Black Bee project |
Bees do not get driven out.
Subspecies get lost through hybridisation.
All the subspecies and Buckfast freely hybridise, although as mentioned earlier in the thread there is some evidence that Apis ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 10:57 am Subject: British Black Bee project |
| The bacterial spores of AFB can last for 50 years and it is a notifiable disease leading to compulsory destruction of the colony in most European jurisdictions. |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 9:47 am Subject: British Black Bee project |
| I would get those bees tested for foulbrood. Look at the sunken cappings, perforated cappings, and the discoloured cappings in that last picture. |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 7:48 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
You would need to deal in evidence rather than anecdote and hearsay if you want me to take that seriously!
There is a European Black Bee organisation known as Sicamm.
Check with some of the members ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 5:49 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
>Just passing another thought: black bees are much more defensive than other bees. Rolling Eyes
Wouldn't deny it any further or you loose credibility.
Zaunreiter, maybe you have some aggress ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 4:19 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
| I think the area of queen mating and drone congregation areas is still quite poorly understood. It definitely happens over the apiary and I have seen this many times at 4 different apiaries including ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:01 am Subject: British Black Bee project |
>Is this true?
I doubt if it is true that black drones stay closer to home but the Polish study I mentioned in a previous post found that Amm drones are more likely to mate with Amm queens. Ther ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2015 6:58 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
As I said earlier, I think the anti black bee stuff started with beekeepers who had a vested interest in selling imported queens from the more commercial strains such as Ligustica and Carnica.
Any of ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:13 am Subject: British Black Bee project |
Drones and queens of the different subspecies have different times of day they fly out? Different time windows.
I have heard that but have never come across any real evidence. What about all th ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:49 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
Colin.
A lot of my queens mate over the apiary site itself so you can get good results by using 8-10 drone producing colonies on the same site.
It takes 6 weeks from unfertilized egg to sexually mat ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 6:35 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
That's a shame but you don't actually need a huge amount of funding to make a start.
The format of a queen rearing group can work well.
Charge people £20 a head and raise £500 and that will cover al ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 1:43 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
Thing is though Barbara, if we don't take steps to save our Native bee we will lose it through hybridisation and that would be a real shame.
The bee scientists can quite clearly identify Amm or any ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 11:38 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
| I can agree with your first two points but not the third. Those grey squirrels do so much better in the UK than our native reds. I am not happy about that nor a range of similar issues involving invas ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 8:52 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
Bernhard, if you did that with my bees you would bee off down the road screaming!
I do this with all sorts of bees, even with those stingy hot black bees. (As shown.) You need the right karma to do ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 2:06 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
Drone saturation and finding mating sites which are reasonably isolated.
There is very little Carnica here, just some Buckfast or Buckfast origin mongrels so introgression of genetic material will ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 11:42 am Subject: British Black Bee project |
I am most interested in rearing queens and intend to scale up a bit this year.
But it's hard to keep bees without getting some honey as a by product!
I intend to set up a new apiary with 6-8 colonie ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 8:17 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
These are mine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnN9uK2JvCg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxGcwNlMTAo
This was a little cast swarm or abscond of black bees we came across at the site of the ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:48 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
As you said yourself above you need to select for optimum results. When you breed queens you get a range of characteristics and even with sister queens, some colonies will be better than others.
All ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:35 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
Click on the video link above from the 1930s.
The myth that black bees were always bad tempered just wont die. |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:22 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
| Zaunreiter, I suggest you try and visit some projects working with black bees/Amm. Some of the bees in the Galtee Bee Breeding can be worked without any protection. I have seen that myself and have ph ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 3:54 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
That sounds like Roger P!
He is the denier in chief re. wing morphometry as he used to run the training courses for Bibba.
Actually, reading that it sounds like he has moved back quite a bit for wha ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:23 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
| >However, I believe you can select a near-native bee by appearance, which, if tested, will show good morphometry and also show good results when DNA analysed. As a result I am happy to select my be ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:25 pm Subject: British Black Bee project |
I have done a lot of morphometry and I bought an Epson V330 scanner especially for the purpose.
Everyone loves it as it gives the impression of being able to do some real science without having your ... |
| Topic: British Black Bee project |
Jon
Replies: 146
Views: 327402
|
Forum: British Black Bee Project Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:48 am Subject: British Black Bee project |
Andy.
What you are describing re morphomery is what the practitioners do but there is no logic to it.
What you are doing is selecting just for wing pattern - not the rest of the genome.
There is no ... |
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