OT one for the bee keepers

http://www.hemmy.net/2007/09/16/bees-makes-hive-in-a-jar/

Does exactly what it says and looks very impressive.

 

Yeah, they do that. 'Wild comb', it's called. Can be a right PITA in a
proper hive, where they'll make it if all the frames and other space
is taken up.

We've got 50lbs of hunny all ready for jarring, now. Yum.

 

Out of interest, how much do you sell a jar for? A local tourist
attraction had jars for £5-6 each. Each jar probably had roughly 1/2
pints worth.

 

The Doctor sells it for about £5.50/lb.

 

On Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:22:59 -0700, TOG@Toil wrote:

lb? FFS ;-)

 

That's how she buys 'em.

Indeed it has. Fewer bees, less honey, and a load of iffy Chinese
stuff being periodically banned in the EU. I think The Doctor
underprices hers, actually.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, "TOG@Toil"

I can never be bothered to go through all the hoops you need to get
through to sell it.

I give mine away.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

To those with a crinoline fetish?

But what about the honey?

 

Not many, really. Nice new jars, labelled (Thorne's does a service), and
properly weighed. That's about it. Oh, and a best-before date[1].

So do we, to family & friends.

[1] Silly really, as honey lasts practically forever.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, The Older

You mean she doesn't keep documentation of all treatments (dates,
chemical, amounts) used to treat the hive? <sucks teeth> You're going
DAAAAAAHN, you slags!.

I think the point where I gave up was when Trading Standards threatened
a local bloke with prosecution because he had a picture of apple blossom
on his labels, and he couldn't *prove* that his bees had been on apple
blossom.

No, really.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

Oh, I think she does that. That's just ordinary husbandry, really.

That's very silly.

 

I think it's quite sensible.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Colin Irvine

Maybe if we required all bees to carry ID cards with little RFID tags
built-in, then we could track them through some sort of national plant
database. Then we could be sure that...

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

Well I suppose ID cards are one of this week's buzz words.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, The Older

Speaking of which:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8177938.stm

AFB outbreak in Jockistan. :^(

Hope it stays up there...

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

<fx:watches with interest>

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 145 2.0 Cloverleaf 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

There's a certain symmetry in a disease called Foul Brood occurring in
Scotland.

 

Have a look at the BBKA website:

www.britishbee.org.uk/

and find your nearest group.

http://www.britishbee.org.uk/local_associations_about_us.php

There's also a downloadable Getting Started guide on the main page.

Go from there. Any local group will welcome you, and there'll always be
several members who'll be glade to show you around and let you get
stung^h^h^h, er, have a peer inside their hives and see what's what.
That'll give you an idea of whether it's for you or not.

Bear in mind that a lot of beekeepers seem to be delightfully eccentric
in one way or another. This adds to the appeal.

Starting costs: a self-build hive costs around £200-300 new, depending
on type. Then you'll need a bee suit, veil, smoker and so on. Thornes,
the big supplier, does starter packs with all these in, or you buy quite
a bit second-hand.

A 'nucleus' of bees is a couple of frames with a viable starter quantity
of bees and a queen. These are sent through the post or via courier, and
it's always amusing to see the postie handling them *very, very*
carefully.

Or your local group might give you some, or invite you to collect a
swarm, which is always a laugh and something you'll have to do one day
anyway.

But start via the BBKA.

 

<considers ukrm beekeepers>

You don't say...

 

<vbg>