In message , Ophelia
writes
A report on radio4 this morning, asking people to keep a bee colony in their
gardens and even on a balcony (for example) for city dwellers. How
practical is this?


There are quite a few instances of this happening in other European
countries although I have not seen it in the UK. I guess it depends on
ease of accessibility to food source. A balcony on a flat in a small
rural town would be somewhat different to that in a high rise block in a
major industrially based city - even allowing for the greater awareness
of the green issue.
--
Gopher .... I know my place!
Deepest Dorset

"Gopher" wrote in message
...
In message , Ophelia
writes
A report on radio4 this morning, asking people to keep a bee colony in
their
gardens and even on a balcony (for example) for city dwellers. How
practical is this?


There are quite a few instances of this happening in other European
countries although I have not seen it in the UK. I guess it depends on
ease of accessibility to food source. A balcony on a flat in a small rural
town would be somewhat different to that in a high rise block in a major
industrially based city - even allowing for the greater awareness of the
green issue.

There was some mention of a food source, I didn't hear it all. I might look
on 'Listen Again' and see if I get hear it all.

How easy is it to acquire a bee colony, and from whom?

On 2009-08-05 09:40:01 +0100, "Ophelia" said:


"Gopher" wrote in message
...
In message , Ophelia
writes
A report on radio4 this morning, asking people to keep a bee colony in
their
gardens and even on a balcony (for example) for city dwellers. How
practical is this?


There are quite a few instances of this happening in other European
countries although I have not seen it in the UK. I guess it depends on
ease of accessibility to food source. A balcony on a flat in a small rural
town would be somewhat different to that in a high rise block in a major
industrially based city - even allowing for the greater awareness of the
green issue.

There was some mention of a food source, I didn't hear it all. I might look
on 'Listen Again' and see if I get hear it all.

How easy is it to acquire a bee colony, and from whom?

If you're out and about today, this week's Country Life has an article
on this very subject. Don't know if it's online yet.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
If you're out and about today, this week's Country Life has an article on
this very subject. Don't know if it's online yet.

Excellent! I shall buy one in the morning, thank you.

"Ophelia" wrote in message
...

"Gopher" wrote in message
...
In message , Ophelia
writes
A report on radio4 this morning, asking people to keep a bee colony in
their
gardens and even on a balcony (for example) for city dwellers. How
practical is this?


There are quite a few instances of this happening in other European
countries although I have not seen it in the UK. I guess it depends on
ease of accessibility to food source. A balcony on a flat in a small
rural town would be somewhat different to that in a high rise block in a
major industrially based city - even allowing for the greater awareness
of the green issue.

There was some mention of a food source, I didn't hear it all. I might
look on 'Listen Again' and see if I get hear it all.

How easy is it to acquire a bee colony, and from whom?

As a beekeeper, I am very aware of the dramatic loss of bees in the UK. It
is certainly true that bees in towns or cities are doing much better. This
is probably due to the variety and abundance of nectar plants in our gardens
and the very low use of insecticides in towns and cities. Bees were hit very
hard 20 or so years ago with the appearance of the varoa mite, which caused
many beekeepers to give up. More recently there have been outbreaks of CCD
(colony colapse disorder), the cause of which is still unknown. Various
theories have been put forward from mobile phone masts to a new virus
originating in Israel - bees are regularly shipped worldwide nowadays so a
virus can be disseminated rapidly. Most of the beekeepers in my area
(northern Scotland) lost all their bees 2 years ago, and have found it
almost impossible to obtain new stock. The only large supplier of bees are
Thornes of Wormit (Tayside) and at the last enquiry the waiting time was 2
years. The cost of a starter colony of bees is in the region of £70 and when
you add to this the cost of the hive components, you have an outlay in the
region of £200. If anyone is interested in keeping bees, they should try and
spend a couple of years helping an established beekeeper to get the hang of
things, before investing in their own bees.

I was without bees for two years due to CCD, but fortunately (and
surprisingly) managed to cature a wild swarm this year and now have bees
again. They are more 'pets' for me as here in the far north we generally
only have a surplus of honey every 3 or 4 years.

Phil

Phil Gurr wrote:


As a beekeeper, I am very aware of the dramatic loss of bees in the
UK. It is certainly true that bees in towns or cities are doing much
better. This is probably due to the variety and abundance of nectar
plants in our gardens and the very low use of insecticides in towns
and cities. Bees were hit very hard 20 or so years ago with the
appearance of the varoa mite, which caused many beekeepers to give
up. More recently there have been outbreaks of CCD (colony colapse
disorder), the cause of which is still unknown. Various theories have
been put forward from mobile phone masts to a new virus originating
in Israel - bees are regularly shipped worldwide nowadays so a virus
can be disseminated rapidly. Most of the beekeepers in my area
(northern Scotland) lost all their bees 2 years ago, and have found
it almost impossible to obtain new stock. The only large supplier of
bees are Thornes of Wormit (Tayside) and at the last enquiry the
waiting time was 2 years. The cost of a starter colony of bees is in
the region of £70 and when you add to this the cost of the hive
components, you have an outlay in the region of £200. If anyone is
interested in keeping bees, they should try and spend a couple of
years helping an established beekeeper to get the hang of things,
before investing in their own bees.

Many thanks for that, Phil. Most informative and interesting!

I was without bees for two years due to CCD, but fortunately (and
surprisingly) managed to cature a wild swarm this year and now have
bees again. They are more 'pets' for me as here in the far north we
generally only have a surplus of honey every 3 or 4 years.

May I ask, the far north of where?

I think I might investigate the option that Sacha mentioned. Do you have
any information on that, please?

"Ophelia" wrote in message
...
Phil Gurr wrote:


As a beekeeper, I am very aware of the dramatic loss of bees in the
UK.

snip

I was without bees for two years due to CCD, but fortunately (and
surprisingly) managed to cature a wild swarm this year and now have
bees again. They are more 'pets' for me as here in the far north we
generally only have a surplus of honey every 3 or 4 years.

May I ask, the far north of where?

I think I might investigate the option that Sacha mentioned. Do you have
any information on that, please?

The far north of the UK, 40 miles north of Inverness. Sorry, I don't have
any specific information about Bumblebees, but you can glean a lot from
Google

Phil

Phil Gurr wrote:
The far north of the UK, 40 miles north of Inverness. Sorry, I don't
have any specific information about Bumblebees, but you can glean a
lot from Google

Thanks very much, Phil I will have a wee search

ps I know Inverness We used to live in Aviemore.

"Martin" wrote in message
...
You could enquire here. http://www.britishbee.org.uk/
http://www.britishbee.org.uk/getting_started.php

Thank you for these.