BBKA Forum

British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

  • IMPORTING BEES. Good or Bad?

  • Please Ensure all sale of bees are checked & sold within the correct guidelines, State the location, Type and package/nuc/hive
Please Ensure all sale of bees are checked & sold within the correct guidelines, State the location, Type and package/nuc/hive
 #10178  by AdamD
 08 Mar 2021, 15:38
As you may be aware, bee imports from the EU cannot take place now.

"DEFRA 8th February.
Since the end of the Transition Period, it has no longer been possible to import colonies or packages of bees directly into Great Britain from the EU. It’s still possible to import queen bees, and in 2020 we imported over 21,000 to GB.
Anyone looking to import bees to the UK should check the guidance available before doing so to avoid importing prohibited material. Any packages and colonies of bees that are imported into GB from the EU would have to be returned to their original location.
Why can’t colonies or packages continue to be imported from the EU into Great Britain?
As we are now outside the EU the legislation has changed and it is no longer possible to import bees (other than queens) from the continent.
We continue to work with the beekeeping sector to support them, as well as working with the devolved administrations given that bee health is a devolved matter."

Is this good in that it will support a UK industry in producing queens and nucs and reduce the chance of diseases entering the country, or will it cause anyone's beekeeping activities harm?
 #10179  by Steve 1972
 08 Mar 2021, 17:34
I don't import package bees so i will not be effected ..however i buy UK F- l Queens to make my own nucs in autumn from a fellow who imports F- 0 island mated Queens..
 #10181  by Patrick
 09 Mar 2021, 07:57
Whilst I know some that use queens from imported breeder queens, I am not aware of anybody around me who imports package bees.

Is it a commercial supplier thing?
 #10182  by NigelP
 09 Mar 2021, 08:11
Yes, lots of cheap package bees from warmer climes (like Italy) were imported and then sold on as spring nucs .
Importation of queens and a few assistants is still allowed. I believe I covered this earlier where the exceptions to animal imports were described.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/importing-or-moving-live-animals-animal-products-and-high-risk-food-and-feed-not-of-animal-origin
Import non-harmonized animals such as reptiles, amphibians (except salamanders) and invertebrates (except bees, molluscs and crustaceans)

Interesting that the government wording refers to bees plural rather than a queen and attendants...
 #10183  by MickBBKA
 09 Mar 2021, 08:35
We have nice reasonably productive bees in my local area so I have no reason to buy foreign bees. But in other areas that is different. What I find more concerning for less experienced keepers is the huge volume of so called Buckfast bees available . Every man and his dog is selling them and many must be F30 strains by now.
 #10184  by NigelP
 09 Mar 2021, 08:47
Beware in buying Buckfast, or any other strain for that matter. I once has some ( advertised as gentle) Carniolans that competed with my local bees for aggression. I would have put it down as a one off but friend had also acquired some from same dealer and they were also awful.
When I complained I was told I wasn't keeping them right.
Last time I ever ordered anything from that queen supplier with a lot of ZZZZZ's in their name.
They appear to be stack 'em high sell them cheap merchants.
Research your queen seller and the reputation of their bees carefully.
A "proper" Buckfast breeder will be listed in the buckfast breeders directory where their specific crosses are documented.
Many don't need to advertise as their books are already full of satisfied customers.
https://perso.unamur.be/~jvandyck/homage/elver/archiv.html

Mick your local bees may be gentle and productive but they do appear to be annual swamers, something I usually only come across when my Buckfast's are diluted to 75% local genes (F2's).
 #10193  by MickBBKA
 10 Mar 2021, 00:43
Yes you are almost correct Nigel about the swarminess of our locals, that's one of the reasons I take such an interest in swarm prevention. I do however now have a regular amount of colonies that get into their 3rd season with a queen. The main issue with those is managing to breed from them before the bees do her in, 3 seasons is all they will put up with. Working 6 days a week I am just not able to give the time and effort required to have a proper breeding programme. One thing I have done a few years ago was to remove myself from the swarm collectors list. Apart from 160 calls one weekend from Hartlepool about tree bumbles I find not introducing swarming bees every year into my apiaries has made a huge difference to my stocks likely hood to swarm. In the past I also never understood what a big colony really was thinking a brood and 3 supers was big. Available space is so important its no wonder some colonies swarm, that's more down to poor beekeeping than swarmy bees in a lot of cases I think.

I didn't know there was a register for Buckfast bees, that should be promoted a lot more. Having been in business for 21 years I know that the people who are doing a good job don't need to advertise, I imagine your suppliers probably are over subscribed every year as they are breeding high quality pedigree mongrels..... :D :D Springadors and cockerpoos are worth a fortune these days.. ;) Your imports have amazing honey production so not to be sniffed at by anyone's ideals, just don't tell the British black bee folk....... BBBM...? :lol:
 #10194  by AdamD
 10 Mar 2021, 11:39
I don't pick up many swarms and tend to re-queen most of them - either they are not well-behaved which becomes apparent a couple of weeks after they arrive, or the queen starts to fail. I did get a lovely cut-out last year (a particulalry messy job that was) which had survived in a concrete tree trunk over winter and it was delightful, however the queen started to fail a month or so after the stock was hived so I have a 2020 queen from that and I'll see how they go this year. Chances are that it will be an early swarmer though.
 #10195  by AdamD
 10 Mar 2021, 11:42
"...had also acquired some from same dealer" Dealer being the operative word perhaps?
Carni's are supposed to be gentle but need a lot of space as they expand quickly in spring. They also have a reputation for swarminess but some of that may be due to the need for room and can catch the beekeeper out - especially a new one.