Beekeeping in the Western Isles

[smeesue]

Hi there,
My husband and I are interested in bees and beekeeping, but are unsure if there's any that are suitable for our location. Does anyone know if there's any bees that are fairly wind resistant and would do well here?

[Stromnessbees]

Hi smeesue and welcome to the forum!

There are some beekeepers in the Western Isles, I am not sure if any of them are on the forum yet.
I am in Orkney and and it gets pretty windy here, too. We stick to the dark/native bees, as they are the most suitable for this kind of climate. Be sure to get your bees locally and you should be able to get lots of advise at the same time.
It is important that you chooose your apiary site carefully. Out of the worst of the weather but not in a damp hole.

Best of luck, Doris

[gavin]

Hi Smeesue

Excellent advice from Doris. Yes, there are people from the Western Isles registered on the forum and I'm sure that you will find them helpful. If you are anywhere near Stornoway there will be a meeting next Monday 26th April (Mission House, next to Lava's Garage) at 6pm. The purpose is to try to formally establish a local beekeeping association for the Western Isles, one of a network of such associations linked to the Scottsh Beekeepers' Association. It might be a good opportunity to meet local beekeepers and hear of their experiences.

There are beekeepers on Mull, Colonsay, Lewis, Orkney, Shetland, and the coastal fringes of the mainland including Wester Ross, Sutherland, Caithness and Argyll. In Wester Ross and probably elsewhere there are surviving wild colonies in croft roofs, so although beekeeping will be challenging, in favoured spots it certainly is possible.

As Doris mentioned you should try to get bees locally. This can be difficult as there are many people now looking for bees and stocks are low in many places. However in your environment keeping the bees alive will be challenge enough in some years, and the frugal, adapted native types (known to fly in cooler conditions) are definitely the way to go. Some have bought in bees from afar and - without realising - spread the Varroa mite to new areas and diluted the adapted genetics of local bees. Some places are more sensitive than others in that they may not have the Varroa mite or they may be trying to maintain the native strain, so as Doris says local advice is invaluable.

best wishes

Gavin

[Trog]

Welcome, Smeesue, and I hope you'll be able to get to the Stornoway meeting. I'll just re-iterate what everyone else has said regarding getting hold of local bees - they're lovely to work with and buying locally helps to stop mainland problems spreading to the isles. If you can't get to Stornoway, if you PM me I'll send contact details.

[POPZ]

Smeesue ?? I wonder what that stands for??

I just want to welcome you on the forum and hope you find it both instructive and enjoyable. Great to see that you have already asked a very sensible question, got some answers and hopefully you keep that up - lots of questions with some differing answers, but that is the joy of beekeeping!

All the best, and welcome aboard. POPZ

[kennycreed]

hi smeesue, maybe someone at the meeting on moday might have some bees to spare in june,,july if they dont want to keep doubling up, those bees would have been bred in the island and should be more adjusted,,after the cold this winter and spring I am going to cover all my hives in bubble wrap for next winter,,might see you at the meeting,,kenny

[gavin]

Did the meeting go well last night?

[Cal]

Hi - just joined after I was looking for info on beekeeping in Lewis. We are moving up to the westside in June/July, and I had wondered if any beekeeping went on there. I completed the beginners course with the Edinburgh group last year, but haven't started keeping bees as yet. Very excited to read this thread and see that it does actually happen.

[kennycreed]

Did the meeting go well last night?

Hi Gavin, eight to ten turned up, I can't be sure, as they were moving around to keep warm, BUT!! the guy with the key to the shed didn't turn up, so we had a wee yarn beside the road untill the wind kind of blew us away. We're still looking for the guy with the key to give him a severe talking to

[gavin]

Kenny and All

When I read this with my coffee this morning - and please, nobody take offence - there was a small explosion as I thought that this was the most entertaining thing I'd seen for a long while! You paint such a vivid picture Kenny, with such humour. A private correspondent has likened it to the writing of the great Flann O'Brien. If I knew how to put five gold stars up there I would.

So - I am sorry that the meeting ended that way (couldn't you adjourn to the pub?!) and hope that you can try again soon (after you track down the man with the key!).

G.

[kennycreed]

Kenny and All

When I read this with my coffee this morning - and please, nobody take offence - there was a small explosion as I thought that this was the most entertaining thing I'd seen for a long while! You paint such a vivid picture Kenny, with such humour. A private correspondent has likened it to the writing of the great Flann O'Brien. If I knew how to put five gold stars up there I would.

So - I am sorry that the meeting ended that way (couldn't you adjourn to the pub?!) and hope that you can try again soon (after you track down the man with the key!).

G.

Aye, the pub was the first place we went to look for him, and after a while nobody could remember what we went there in the first place for, so we left it like that hoping somebody would remember in the morning

[gavin]

Kenny - do let me know if you ever decide to write a book. I'll be first in the queue at the bookshop. Perhaps in the meantime you'd like to start your own Blog?

I'm now off to Camserney in remote (well it seems like that to me) Highland Perthshire to give them pretty much the same talk they had last year. Let's hope that their memories are short and that they think I have new things to say. As far as I recall it is a woman who comes with the key for this particular hut, so I have no fear that she will forget.

[jennelaine7]

Hello all,

I moved to Lewis a year ago and am expecting some family from the States to come for a visit this coming week. My aunt is a new beekeeper living in North Carolina and is interested in meeting up with a Lewis beekeeper. Thought I'd check here to see if anyone would be interested in giving her some time in the next 5 days or so?
Thanks!

Jenn

[kennycreed]

HAY!! Jennelaine, What's she like?? Will she take a dram??

[Alvearium]

Very sorry to hear that the meeting didn't come off. You have been given a lot of sensible advice about the bees to get. They will be a fairly dark colour (of course) and if anyone does some wing morphometry they will show certain characteristics already posted on other parts of the forum. An old friend of mine is retiring from teaching and leaving the Western Isles. He has complained that over the past 25 years the weather has become windier and wetter so you need a local bee more than ever! These bees will fly in poor conditions.......wing morphometry is basically measuring those larger wings. They will have a smaller brood nest area and will gather pollen at every opportunity and place it close to the brood nest and even under and in the brood nest area. They will readily stop and start brood rearing depending on weather and forage available and so conserve their stores. They are likely to have drones flying in cooler conditions and mate close to the apiaries. If you can source bees like that they will be worth their weight in gold. They may not produce massive crops of honey but will get honey even in the bad years and will be able to look after themselves. I have seen just how unsuitable some bees can be in the Highlands. Many years ago I saw a stock of Italian bees eat themselves out of stores and die of starvation in November. Looking into a single brood box of wintering local bees alongside, there was no sign of any bees. They were tightly clustered hidden under a canopy of honey.
Alvearium

[Neonach]

Alvearium's observations about Amm and characteristics that are well suited to Outer Hebrides correspond with my own experience. I should say that I have no experience of other types of honey bee, but I have certainly noticed how Amm are very good at starting and stopping brood-raising (I've learnt not to panick that I must have lost the Queen!) when a storm sets in for more than a few days, and survive the winter by compacting down to a very tight ball; yet on a still sunny winter day they will be out and about doing some house-cleaning - a really cheering sight!