'Natural' beekeeping

[AdamD]

As I understand it - I was around 9 or 10 years old at the time - Dad identified a problem and called in the Bee Inspector who confirmed it. Straight-forward stuff.

[Beeblebrox]

I meant, why did your father / the bee inspector assume the church colony was the source? You said they could not inspect it. I'm not doubting that they found it in his hive but why did they blame the feral colony?

[AdamD]

No idea! I am reporting what my Father said; I assume that the inspector knew his patch (as best as anyone can). As far as I know there were no importers or factories around that could have resulted in AFB being imported, so where it came from is anyone's guess.
As you point out AFB is thankfully very rare. The destruction policy works, although brutal.

[MickBBKA]

One of the issues I find is we are often taught the 'BBKA way' to keep bees, which is very good, but it does not encourage forward thinking or experimental beekeeping. There are some brilliant old ways of keeping bees we can and should learn from, but in the last 30 years there has been a total change in the environment. Climate change, neonics, farming methods, pests, virus and diseases. Beekeeping is going through a step change and evolution and some of the older experts need to listen a bit more to some of the new thinkers and take the blinkers off. Just say'n
Cheers, Mick.

[Chrisbarlow]

One of the issues I find is we are often taught the 'BBKA way' to keep bees, which is very good, but it does not encourage forward thinking or experimental beekeeping. There are some brilliant old ways of keeping bees we can and should learn from, but in the last 30 years there has been a total change in the environment. Climate change, neonics, farming methods, pests, virus and diseases. Beekeeping is going through a step change and evolution and some of the older experts need to listen a bit more to some of the new thinkers and take the blinkers off. Just say'n
Cheers, Mick.

I agree about enormous changes within beekeeping. I suspect many issues come from not enough competent beekeepers to pass their skills down and a lack of tolerance or open-minds with in the older beekeepers in general.

[Patrick]

The inconvenient truth for some is that bees are remarkably resilient and for most (maybe not all) aspects of beekeeping there are plenty of options which can and do all work. The operative word there is probably “can”.

What seems unusual about beekeeping in terms of keeping stock or pets, is it has always attracted a strong attachment to dedicated systems management and anthropomorphic attitudes to bee behaviour. That doesn’t always help with open mIndedness.

Having found a system that works, well enough, for some that is job done. And fair enough. That can translate into experienced beekeepers being experienced only in a quite narrow path however.

[NigelP]

Yup, spot on Patrick. The further problem from this is when it is insisted that this is THE way to keep bees.

[AdamD]

"Having found a system that works, well enough, for some that is job done. And fair enough. That can translate into experienced beekeepers being experienced only in a quite narrow path however".

This can translate into an 'instruction-based' system - do this at the beginning of April or only use a single brood-box National, give candy as a Christmas present, whether the bees need it or not. Etc etc. I suppose many rules are good 'rules of thumb' for someone to start with but we must all have an open mind and should keep learning. If we keep chickens we are not told what sort of hut they are kept in yet there is possibly a strong traditional view on beehives despite the Langstroth is the most commonly used on in the world. Maybe there's a reason for that.

[Patrick]

[quote="AdamD" ... view on beehives despite the Langstroth is the most commonly used on in the world. Maybe there's a reason for that.[/quote]

I’ve wondered about that too. Anybody know why they never got taken up in the UK?

[NigelP]

I can give an opinion....
Many of our local bee strains would struggle to fill a langstroth brood box...whereas Italian/Carniolans etc would have no problems.